Reformed Church in Nyírbátor, Reformed church in Nyírbátor, Hungary

The Reformed Church in Nyírbátor is a monumental Gothic hall church built from 1480 at the order of Stephen Báthory, voivode of Transylvania, on a hilltop in the town centre. A small square tower stands before the west façade, whose Gothic door is framed by a Renaissance wreath of twelve palmettes around the Báthory coat of arms. Inside, a tall net vault rests on slender wall columns, lit by large pointed windows on the south side; the polygonal chancel has a single window. A wooden bell tower about 35 metres high, shingled and built around 1640, rises southeast of the church.

A church in Nyírbátor was first mentioned in a document in 1326, and a chapel was recorded in 1433. The present building was begun in 1480 on the order of István Báthori, voivode of Transylvania, with a monk named János as architect. An earthquake damaged it in 1834, a neo-Gothic gallery was added in 1897, and restoration took place in 1963–1964.

The church hosts the Nyírbátori Music Days every July, when concerts are held inside the nave. The Báthori coat of arms on the west facade, ringed by twelve Renaissance palmettes, recalls the family that had the church built; the carved tabernacle in the polygonal chancel is another Renaissance work visitors seek out.

The church stands on a hilltop in the town centre, with the 35-metre wooden bell tower beside it; a path leads from here to the nearby Roman Catholic Minorite church. Concerts of the Nyírbátor Music Days are held inside the church every July, so time a visit outside those events for a quieter look at the interior.

The free-standing wooden bell tower southeast of the church is about 35 metres high, timber-framed and covered with shingles; it was built around 1640. The church itself has only a small tower set against its west front, so the tall bell tower, not the church, dominates the hilltop silhouette.