Today we leave Dealul Moșului and make a short stop in the city center, at the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church. The place of worship is easily distinguished by its non-conformist tent shape with a cross-shaped roof.
Besides the fact that it is a real architectural gem, there are several other aspects that make this church so special. One of these would be the period in which it was built, between 1972 and 1976, being the only Catholic church built in Romania during the communist period.
How was this possible? Well, in Old Orșova, about which I have already told, important communities of Germans, Czechs, Romanians and Hungarians lived. With the displacement of the city, they were left without a place of worship in the new settlement, and thus the construction of the church was allowed.
Another interesting thing is related to the paintings inside the church, which are not exactly the secular images that come to mind. The painter Gabriel Popa slipped into the biblical scenes contemporary characters, such as Nadia Comăneci at the crucifixion of Jesus, Lenin inciting people to hatred on the Way of the Cross and John Lennon happy at the Resurrection of Jesus.
Something from the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church reminds us of the old place of worship, which is now under the waters of the Danube: the organ and the statues, displaced together with the whole city more than 40 years ago.
Photo source: urban.ro
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