The interior of the church is in that unhappy condition which bespeaks
the churchwarden's period--whitewash plastered over everything,
obliterating lights and shades and rare carvings beneath a glare of
uncouth cleanliness. In their desire to remove every object that could
harbour dust or obstruct the besom of reform, they have bodily removed
from the church many rich monuments and interesting effigies, and these
are to be seen huddled away in an obscure corner of the churchyard. The
church has a large collection of richly-embroidered vestments belonging
to the pre-Reformation days.
Herrmannstadt is decidedly rich in collections. The Bruckenthal Library
contains an illuminated missal of great beauty; the execution is
singularly fine, and the designs very artistic. The curious thing is
that the history of this rare volume is unknown; by some it is believed
to have come from Bohemia during the time of the troubles in that
country, however nothing is positively known. The book is of the finest
vellum, containing 630 pages in small quarto. The pictures of
architecture and scenery are extremely interesting; the first represent
buildings familiar to us in old German towns, and the rural scenes
depict a variety of agricultural instruments, together with many details
of home life in the olden time. The colours of the birds and flowers are
as bright as if only finished yesterday. The ingenuity of the design is
very striking; no two objects are alike.
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