Mobilierul de lemn al bisericii evanghelice C. A. din Rupea
Wooden Furniture of the Lutheran (Augsburg Confession) Church in Rupea

Summary/Abstract: This article presents the repair, conservation, and restoration works carried out between 2019 and 2022 at the Ensemble of the Lutheran Church in Rupea. At the start of the project, the church was in a deplorable condition, primarily due to the high level of humidity in the building. Having suffered floodings and fungal attacks in the early 2000s, the building had a desolate appearance, resembling a construction site, with no flooring and unable to fulfill its function as a place of worship. The furniture was scattered across the buildings within the complex, being at risk of deterioration due to improper storage. The noted degradation and its causes, as well as the numerous valuable artistic elements found in danger of increasing degradation dictated the order of the subsequent works: soil drainage, masonry ventilation, rainwater and humidity management, and conservation and partial restoration of the artistic components. Besides the works aimed at controlling the humidity level in the church, a series of other necessary repair and maintenance works were also completed. The continuity of the church and tower roofing was restored. After various interventions, the walls were whitewashed. The stone elements of the facade were cleaned and repaired. A brick floor was installed inside the church. During the interventions, valuable artistic components were recovered or identified, and the archaeological works led to discoveries that further enriched the history of the ensemble. All these interventions contributed to the monument’s reinstatement as a cult edifice and improvement of its state.In the Lutheran (Augsburg Confession) Church in Rupea, a very rich ensemble of wooden furniture, decorated with painting, is preserved; this includes valuable pieces made between the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 19th century. This article chronologically presents the construction stages of the furniture, reflecting on some details of cultural-historical and technical significance, on the historical interventions on the ensemble, as well as on its fate from the beginning of the 2000s up to the recent conservation-restoration works.

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