### Churches of Gyulafehérvár, Lébény and Vértesszentkereszt
the cathedral of Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia, Rumania) - the first half of the 13th century It was a settlement on the place of the center of the Roman province, Dacia, which was called Apulum. It became the residence of the gyula-s with the church of the Transylvanian bishopric in it, which is the oldest cathedral built in the Roman style. The constructions of the new church started at the end the end of the 12th century on the place of the 11th century old church. The new one had three naves, a transcept and a square tower. The main facade was decorated with two smaller towers and an open hall between them. The three naves were separated with rows of pillars. At this time the nave - just as the side-aisles - was closed with a semi-circular apsis. The completed church was seriously destroyed during the Tartar Invasion. Renovation works were done by the stone-dressers of the Ják workshop between 1242-52 - according to the decorations of the main chancel. In 1277 the Transylvanian Saxons set the church on fire, which was later reconstructed by Tyno's (who came from Saint-Die) son, John in 1287. A significant workshop of sculptors worked at Gyulafehérvár. On the capitals we can see the dragons known from Vértesszentkereszt. The leaf-like ornaments on the corbels of the main apsis and the side apsides can be related to the ones of the church of Ják. Some reliefs of secondary importance (for example, the mysterious "Embracing couple" and St Peter and Paul) refer to the fact that the main gates were planned with figural decorations here, too. the St Jacob Benedictine church of Lébény - the beginning of the 13th century The abbacy found in the center of the estate of the Győr clan was already mentioned in 1199. The church of Lébény is the earliest example of clan churches in Transdanubia. It is a Lombard-style basilica with three naves, without a transcept. Its naves close in semi-circular apsides. Its Western facade is decorated with a pair of towers with a choir between them. The rich inner decoration of capitals, the main entrance and the southern gate show Norman and Cistercian characteristics: the capitals are decorated with wide acantus leaves accompanied with Norman sticks, while the inner capitals are decorated with the ornamentation of Austrian Cistercian monasteries. the Benedictine church of Vértesszentkereszt - the first half of the 13th century The monastery of the Holy Cross in the forest of Vértes hill was already mentioned in 1146. But the church which we can see today was built at the turn of the 12-13th centuries; it was completed in 1231. It had an unususal ground-plan, which was related to French relics. It was a basilica with three naves and pillars. On the eastern side-aisles there might have been sitting towers or a square tower. The stone-dressings also contributed to the beauty of the church. The reliefs, especially the ones with animal-shapes on the capitals of octagonal pillars, are the late examples of Lombardian animal-fantasy in Hungary.