Calvinist Parsonage, Erősd

The design of the parsonage is almost identical to the 1926 plans of the Hincz House, published in Erdélyi Helikon in 1928. The level of elaboration—uncharacteristically for Kós—suggests that this design was more likely derived from a published illustration than conceived as a new plan tailored to a specific site. The roofing of the semicircular projecting living room was not successfully resolved. The current façade finishes and colors probably do not reflect the original appearance.

(Excerpt: Károly Kós and Sepsiszentgyörgy, p. 188)

Károly Kós’s essay The Art of the Dwelling House was published in 1928. Issued by the Erdélyi Szépmíves Céh, the journal Erdélyi Helikon reached a broad circle of Hungarian intellectuals in minority contexts, and thanks to Kós, architectural designs frequently appeared in its pages. In 1928, a perspective drawing depicting the holiday villa of Dr. Gyula Hincz in Cluj was published in Erdélyi Helikon. This building design closely resembles the parsonage in Erősd.

There is no documentary evidence that Károly Kós was formally commissioned to design the parsonage; however, it is certain that a “Kós-style” building was intended. This is evidenced by church records stating that “even an imitation of a Károly Kós design would be very costly for Erősd.” In the same archival material, a drawing by a master builder depicting the realized parsonage is preserved.

Since the sketch of the Hincz holiday villa was published in 1928, while the parsonage plans date from February 1929, it is quite possible that the Erősd parsonage design represents an adaptation of the Hincz villa. This assumption is further supported by the fact that, at the entrance of the realized building, the arched forms shown in the master builder’s drawing were not executed; instead, a straight beam was used, corresponding exactly to Kós’s design.

The supervising dean of Erősd, the dean of Sepsiszentgyörgy, considered the Kós-style design too expensive, even though in nearby Nagybacon, within the neighboring Erdővidék church district, it had already been demonstrated that a fine building could be erected at low cost—as was ultimately the case in Bodos, where the parsonage was built according to Kós’s plans. In this context, the influence of Dr. László Fábián must also be considered, who at the time (1928–1930) served as a senator and contributed to Kós’s rising popularity in Erdővidék around 1929.

The completed building largely corresponds to the sketch of the Hincz villa drawn by Kós, differing mainly in minor construction details, such as the tiling of the semicircular projecting roof or the articulation of the plasterwork. None of these differences would have precluded later correction. In the case of Nagybacon, Kós described these same details precisely in his correspondence and cost estimates.

The elongated ground plan of the building is somewhat unusual within Kós’s design practice—the Hincz villa itself is more square than rectangular in proportion. If the Erősd parsonage was indeed not an independent design but emerged under the influence of Kós’s published works, this would validate the practical effectiveness of his intention: namely, to shape contemporary building culture through the dissemination of exemplary designs.