LATE GOTHIC TREFOIL CHURCH NEAR THE VILLAGE OF TORANJ (PAKRAC)

U povodu zaštitnih radova (1990) na ruševnoj trikonhnoj crkvi kraj sela Toranj nedaleko Pakraca istraživanjima je dokazano da crkva nije bila karner - kako se smatralo u literaturi - i da nije građena u 18. st. sa spoljiima srednjovjekovne crkve, nego da je ova kasnogotička crkva građena odjednom, od temelja do svoda poduprtog s tri rebra. Istraživanje arhiva nije pružilo nikakve podatke o titularu, namjeni i dataciji, pa autorica pretpostavjla - zbog neobičnog tlocrta i oblika bez usporedbe u hrvatskoj i srednjoeuropskoj arhitekturi da je možda bila posvećena sv. Trojstvu kao zavjetna, donacijska crkva.Near the village of Toranj, in the vicinity of Pakrac, is a late Gothic trefoil church, a monument of Croatian architecture of the highest category, devastated and neglected for decades. Restoration was begun in 1990 but was discontinued in 1991 due to the war. Conservation was preceded by research the results of which are discussed in this article. In the survey of records of the church, the author mentions the decision reached by the village inhabitants in the 1920s to pull down the church and use the brick to build a new one. Also discussed is the hypothesis which claims that this late Gothic church was built in the second half of the 18th century with the material remaining from a Medieval church. Some authors argued that this was a charnel house built in the Early Gothic period and vaulted in the Late Gothic. Archeological research, however, has shown that the church was not of the charnel house type; architectural research indicates that the church was built from the foundation to the vaulted roof within a single period. The discovered remains prove that it had a three-ribbed vault. Historical research and archives yielded no information on the Medieval past of the church; neither the saint it was originally dedicated to, nor who commissioned it to be built, nor when it was built. A format stylistic analysis indicates that the church near Toranj is Late Gothic; its unique ground plan and construction - unparalleled in the Medieval sacral architecture of Croatia and Central Europe - may suggest that it was originally consecrated to the Holy Trinity, probably as a votive donation. In that case, its three-part form could be a symbolic rendering of Holy Trinity. The proposed conservation project aims at the presentation of the oldest layer through the sanation of all preserved architectural elements and reconstruction of the vault