The Roman Catholic Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God is presently located in the district of Mănăștur, on the territory of the former village of Mănăștur, situated west of the city of Cluj. The church was built within an early medieval fortress, oval in shape, built of earth on a beam structure. The royal fortress and the residence of Cluj County was built in the 11th century. In the second half of the same century, a Benedictine monastery was established within the fortress. The royal abbey was devastated several times during the 12th century by the armies of the bishop of Transylvania, and again during the Mongol invasion of 1241-1242.
The reconstruction only began around 1280, when two of the architectural elements of the previous building were reused in the foundation of the rotunda built north of the nave. These pieces are the only elements preserved from the early construction phases of the complex, dating from around 1200.
Since 1339 the abbey of Cluj-Mănăștur has functioned as a place of notary public, becoming one of the most important public institutions in medieval Transylvania. During the 14th century, the church was rebuilt, and the polygonal sanctuary, built without buttresses in the first half of the century, was one of the first examples of this type in medieval Hungary. The nave was probably rebuilt later, as the decorative details of its west portal were typical of the 1500s. The closest analogies of the portal consoles are the Angevin period fountain consoles of the royal palace in Visegrád.
Between 1818-1821, the ruined church was partially demolished, and only the sanctuary and sacristy were preserved. The west portal was rebuilt in the new west façade of the sanctuary. The actual nave was built between 1895-1896 by the Roman Catholic diocese. The west façade of the nave was decorated with the modern copy of the west portal, as the original was donated to the Numismatic and Antiquities Collection in 1901.
(Illustration) The church sanctuary in 1869, photographer Ferenc Veress (Fővárosi Szabó Ervin Könyvtár, Budapest)
(Illustration) The church sanctuary in 1859, photographer Ferenc Veress (“Octavian Goga” County Library, Special collections)
(Illustration) Aerial photograph of the church, photographer Szabó Tamás, 1974