Tarnaszentmária is a village in Heves County, Hungary, under the Mátra mountain range, beside of the Tarna River.

After Great Turkish War the wasteland was confiscated by the treasury as acquired by arms and sold to János Enczinger in 1696.

In the 18th century, the inhabitants lived by burning charcoal, and the arable land was expanded by deforestation.

509 people were registered in the village in 1859, which was owned by the Dózlern, Fáy [fr], and Bárczay families from the beginning of the 19th century.

[1][2] In the center of the village stands the Roman Catholic church, probably the oldest built in today's Hungary and almost completely preserving its original form.

The opinions of researchers dealing with the history of medieval architecture are divided about the time of the church's construction, its specific spatial design and the prototypes of its stone carvings.

In the middle of the nave of the church, a family tomb was discovered, whose age can be dated to the 15th-16th century based on the prehistoric and medieval pottery fragments found there.

The nave of the one-nave church is closed on the east side by a horseshoe-shaped, three-lobed, vaulted sanctuary on the inside.

Parish priest Mihály Dankó extended the nave in 1872-73 by a third by removing the western pediment wall.

[4] Population by years:[5] Mayors since 1990: This Heves county location article is a stub.