The Calvinist Church

The Louis seize style church was built in the late 18th century.  At that time, the present Felső street was the main street of the village, and according to Joseph II's decrees, Protestants were only allowed to build the church 30 metres further down the street, with its back to the main street. History has served justice to the Reformed community in such a way that the lower street, closer to the river Bodrog, became the main route for the wine merchants, and eventually the lower street, going by the river, took over the role of the main street.

With the spread of the Reformation, the people of Bodrogkeresztúr quickly converted to Calvinism, and in the 1600s the settlement was Reformed, and in the mid-17th century the Reformed College of Sárospatak operated a grammar school in the settlement. Later, during the Counter-Reformation, the Calvinists were expelled from the town, and only Joseph II's 1781 Patent of Toleration allowed the construction of a new church.

It's worth a walk to the church on a fine summer evening, as you can watch the bats hunting in the evening while gazing at the sky. For decades, the building's suspended decking has been the summer home of two protected bat species. More than 2,000 Geoffroy-bats and greater horseshoe bats find refuge here during the summer months.