Tourism
Siklód
Siklód
Siklód is located on the edge of the Sóvidék in the valley head of the Siklódi stream and belongs to the Kis-Küküllő catchment area. It is a little village in Harghita County, and has an altitude of 700-800 metres above sea level, the highest point is the Siklódi-kő, which is located at 1025 m, making it truly a village amongst the clouds. Its slogan is “hegyreszúrt falu, a világ végén”, meaning “mountainous village, at the end of the world”. And when you are walking through Siklód’s winding paths, it is easy to forget that you are still on Earth in this ethereal place.
There is no exact data on the beginning of the formation of the village, although its origins probably date back to the Tartar invasion and it is believed that the settlement was founded by two goat shepherds.
During our trip to Siklód, we got to visit the Reformed Church and its bell tower. After the mid-1500s the entire population of both the villages which preceded Siklód converted from the Catholic to the Reformed faith. In 1629, Siklód received permission to establish an independent parish and thus the church was built between 1635 and 1645. However, the builders were not aware that the soil upon which the church had been built was unstable and thus began a chain of continuous renovations; in the words of the Siklódians, “everything goes to the valley” [“minden a völgynek tart”]. In 1948, new plans for reconstruction were laid out, yet by 1951, they decided on its demolishment due to the fact that it had been so badly damaged by a 1929 landslide. The version of the church which we see today was finally rebuilt in 1991 and was completed in 1994.
The Reformed Church
It is designed in a Romanesque style, with a Gothic-style painted coffered ceiling and windows. The pulpit from the old furnishings of the church were preserved. The ceiling has some wonderful painted elements which depict 35 Biblical scenes. Quoting the Reverend Zoltán Incze, “the picture preaches, the priest explains”. The paintings were made by Károly Elekes and Péter Stefanovics.
Finally, we managed to climb the old rickety bell tower, which was a little frightening, but it was worth it in the end! The views were stunning and once we made it down again, we were rewarded with a shot of palinka in the end!
