Current at

Somogy's „great survivor” has been saved”

Published

2025. 11. 24. 10:32

Magyar Építők

The sixth protected monument of the Market ROM Vándor programme, the church tower of the former village of Hetye, which belongs to the municipality of Adánd, has been handed over.

Only the 11-metre-high square tower remains of the former brick church in the village of Hetye or Ketye, which was depopulated during the Turkish era and dates back to the Árpád dynasty. The single-nave, Romanesque-style church with a straight sanctuary closure was presumably built in the 13th century. Despite its turbulent history, the village's last remaining building has stood the test of time, but its preservation came at the eleventh hour.

The Árpád-era building remains were in extremely poor structural condition. During the complex conservation work financed and coordinated by Market Építő Zrt., therefore

Using modern technology, they stabilised the subsoil of the monument, reinforced the wall structure, restored the masonry elements, installed lightning protection, and saved the statue-like tower, often referred to as the „great survivor”, from destruction. The site will be open to the public from 20 November.

Speeches were given at the handover ceremony by Krisztina Deák, Deputy State Secretary for Monument Protection and Cultural Heritage at Építési és Közlekedési Minisztérium, Sándor Scheer, founding CEO of Market Építő Zrt., Szilvia Csaba, mayor of Ádánd, and Péter Belecz, programme director of ROM Vándor.

Brick by brick

As part of the restoration, the soil was stabilised using modern technology, lightning protection was installed, the entire eroded wall mass was reinforced, and the wall fabric and carved stone elements were preserved using restoration methods that preserved the original wall structure. Furthermore, in the lower part of the ruins, the contemporary nature of the current design of the floor, pillars and bench was indicated by the addition of „dark bricks” that were clearly distinguishable from the old ones.

The interior of the church ruins also hides a special object, a hand bell mounted on the wall, which visitors can ring at their leisure. With this gesture, the former bell tower is symbolically revived.

During the restoration, Market Csoport utilises its complex construction expertise and range of services: from preliminary scientific and technical research, through heritage protection licensing, to implementation, all tasks are carried out „in-house” or in close cooperation with partners. The aim of the heritage preservation programme is to enrich the cultural power of our country's regions with the saved and restored monuments, adding colour to the experience map of our hiking and pilgrimage routes.

„Everything is included”

Sándor Scheer – photo: Mihály Erdei / magyarepitok.hu

„Value creation and public service are part of the fundamental philosophy of Market. With the ROM Vándor programme, we have not only preserved built heritage, but also pieces of our national identity. The Hetyei church ruins are true „survivors,” and preserving them required complex preparatory and implementation work. I am proud that the expert work of Market Csoport and its partners has succeeded in saving this special, nearly 800-year-old monument for future generations. We believe that our renewed values will serve our common present and future,” said Sándor Scheer, founder and CEO of Market Építő Zrt..

Krisztina Deák – photo: Mihály Erdei / magyarepitok.hu

„In addition to the renovation of spectacular castles, fortresses and ecclesiastical monuments, the preservation of ruins and fragments that evoke the historical past is also of great importance. Our monuments bear witness to the life, building skills and culture of communities that once existed. The work carried out to preserve the churches of the Árpád era, in addition to being a worthy continuation of the activities of the founders of Hungarian monument protection, creates the opportunity for preservation and further research in the future. The ROM Vándor programme provides an opportunity to support the current hypotheses regarding the church ruins in Ádánd,” emphasised Krisztina Deák, Deputy State Secretary for Monument Protection and Cultural Heritage, in her speech.

Péter Belecz – photo: Mihály Erdei / magyarepitok.hu

„This few square metres of desert tower contains everything that the ROM Vándor programme represents. It is an authentic, almost unknown, centuries-old sacred ruin. It is a place with a special atmosphere that has stood the test of time, yet still cries out to be saved. Through complex technical investigations, our programme team mapped the remains of the building brick by brick. The essence of the design concept was the technical renovation of the church ruins, the preservation of the architectural and historical values inherent in the monument, and the natural, harmonious relationship between the poetic ruins and the landscape. We highlighted the elemental aesthetics of the rescued and stabilised ruins with restrained contemporary means, said Péter Belecz, programme director of ROM Vándor.

In recent years, the ROM Vándor programme has received numerous prestigious professional awards. In 2024, it won the Hungarian National Committee's ICOMOS award for „Exemplary Monument Preservation” and the Media Architecture Award for „Built Environment”. In 2025, it won the main prize in the „Value Preservation and Transfer Activities” category of DoingGood CSR Award, while the preservation of the Varjaskéri church ruins won the „ICOMOS Award” of the Hungarian National Committee of ICOMOS and the BIG SEE Architecture Award.