The Unitarian Church-fortress of Aita Mare has fortified walls, surrounded by a 5m high thick wall, with two bastions in two opposite corners. The fortress is located at the highest point of the village, also called “Raven’s Nest”. According to the documents, the defence walls were built in the second half of the XVIth century or
the early XVIIth century. In the inner court is situated the church, which reveals gothic architectural imprints. The most conspicuous elements of this religious edifice are the chalice-like pulpit, consisting of four boxes carved in stone, and a stone balustrade dating from 1710. Considering the antiqueness of the pulpit, it is the sixth oldest dais in Transylvania. Noteworthy are the inner boxes painted with colorful ornaments, specific to the local ethnographic area.
https://visitcovasna.com/

Fortified Church of Aita Mare

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The castle gained its current form after construction works commissioned by Earl Bethlen Samu, signalled by ornate family crest sculpted from stone, located on the gatehouse, and bearing the following inscription: Comes Samuel Bethlen Coma (comitatus) de Küküllő ac pedis siculialis Marus Capitaneus, atrobique supremus. 1700. – as well as the heraldic bearing plaited in a bay laurel, located on the ceiling of the castle’s largest room, called the Knight’s Chamber or the Council Chamber.
This is a perfect case of how the religious conviction of the castle’s lord has a profound influence on the faith of the serfs. During the time of the Unitarian, Sükösd György, the locals from Rákos were all Unitarian, without exception, and constructed their church in the service of Sükösd; when influenced by the Budai Péter, who was Reformed, most of the family became Reformed as well, and the previously Unitarian church became a Reformed church thereon. When the castle and the belonging lands were inherited by Budai’s Catholic godson, Earl Bethlen Sámuel, the local Catholic Parish gained worshippers as well.
To this day, the villagers mention the old lord of the castle as Bethlen Sámu “the snake keeper”, based on the heraldic bearing of the castle. Its last owner – is said to have been – Earl Teleky Samu, and it is likely that Orbán Balász wrote the following bitter words about him: “... yet the owner of the beautiful castle still abandoned it, and lives in the pestering atmosphere of Vienna, which is hazardous to both lungs and soul”. According to the castle’s current guard, Earl Teleky Samu bought the castle and the belonging forests and lands, a territory of 3000 acres, from the Alsórákos Szekler Commonage for the sum of 420,000 crowns. Today only the aforementioned guard and the caretakers of the bulls housed in the stable still live in the castle, the baronial rooms of which are otherwise empty.
The castle walls enclose a quadratic courtyard, with a round tower at all four corners. Roofed-in premises are joined to this surrounding wall from three sides. From the east, the wide, two-storied baronial residence, the residential rooms of which extend to the round tower, with the main staircase leading to the balcony. The gate tower is located at the centre of the southern wall, as well as a narrower row of rooms (secondary rooms, therefore), that housed the servants of the castle. Angled stairs ensure access to the two sides of the wing. The stable and hay rack are on the ground floor, while the granary is on the upper floor of the western side. Only the northern wall, defended with arrow slits, stands on its own. A ten meter deep well, with good, potable water, is located at the north-western corner of the courtyard. This quadrangle forms the actual castle. The towers are defended by low, exterior walls, protruding in acute angles. Some distance away a second wall, as well as a wide ditch between the wall and the main building provide and additional layer of defence, the only access point being at the gate tower. Another ring of walls once surrounded the castle, of which a few corner towers and a few low sections of walls remain. A part of these walls was demolished when the market-place was extended. The tasteful interiors of the baronial wing constitute a rich historical and artistic collection. The entrance of the ground floor is now walled in, its once elegant appearance being signalled by the low columns and crumbling covered porch, as well as the continuation of this section through wooden (formerly brick) pillars, placed parallel with the building. A straight staircase with a single balustrade leads to the upper floor’s main entrance that opens into the Council Room. The richly decorated woodwork of the door is grouped around two octagonal profiles placed one above the other, surrounded by bay laurels. The edges of the door are carved in an egg-and-dart fashion. Intricate rosettes are located in the middle of the octagons. The carved portions of the door are fixed into the strong board of the door. The doorway stands in a crimson stone frame, the ornamentation of which is in strong contrast with the building’s otherwise simple, relaxed exterior (only the windows of the Council Room have simple tympani).
The building belongs to the late renaissance, and was most likely constructed when the estate belonged to Earl Bethlen Samu. On both sides of the door, pillars standing on foot-stalls support a relatively weak girderage. The aspect of the girder is filled in by the conventional entwined foliage carved into it. The decorations of the ceiling have stood the test of time rather well. Wall has leaked through the roof and caused damage to the historical monument only in recent years. Pieces are already falling off; if action is not taken soon, then the building becomes unsalvageable. The castle’s courtyard has also started falling into ruin. Porches surround the courtyard, and of the eleven Doric columns supporting the porch from the northern wall section, ten have been removed due to fear of collapsing caused by the rotting of the wood and the soaking of the brick. The promise to keep the castle in good condition and preserve it from ruination, signed on the contract between the owner and town, therefore remains just that.
https://castleintransylvania.ro/

Sükösd-Bethlen Castle

The settlement is first mentioned in documents dating from the XIV century. The construction of the Saxon Evangelical church starts in 1250 and the surrounding wall is built in the XV century. The fortified church was a safe refuge for Giorgio Basta, the emperor's general, and the numerous attacks lead by Bethlen Gábor, the Transylvanian monarch's general all failed. In the 1732 fire both the church and the village burnt down. The church was rebuilt, it is only the belfry that remained the original.
Unfortunately, on 19 February 2016 the tower collapsed to the level of the wall surrounding the church, and destroyed also the organ.
https://www.welcometoromania.eu/

Rotbav Evangelical fortified church

The fortified church is located on the right bank, 60 kilometres from Kronstadt/Braşov in the south-east of Reps. The village was first mentioned in 1211. Today you can reach Galt via the E60 and the district road DJ131F.
As early as 2017, the HOG initiated cooperation and asked the Foundation for a professional assessment: Now the community of home towns and the municipality of Galt were supported: First, a status report and a list of the necessary work and an initial cost estimate were prepared. The roofing work alone cost 12,000 to 16,000 euros – used second-hand tiles and newly traditionally produced roof tiles are to be used to replace the roof. Furthermore, carpentry work must be carried out and the vegetation must be cut back. Particularly important is the reactivation of rainwater drainage within the cemetery, i.e. the old stone gutters must be renewed and supplemented. The road sign with reference to the fortified church and the castle keeper’s shield also need to be renewed. In 2019, the concrete construction planning is to be carried out with an architect – the initial aim, however, is to consolidate the building; redevelopment and further use is to be found later. There is also a museum next to the fortified church; it could be expanded further in the future: On display here are Saxon costumes, an old loom as well as traditional furniture and ceramics.
https://kirchenburgen.org/

Fortified church in Ungra

Late Romanesque church later fortified. A tower, probably incorrectly labeled as a keep, was built over the ancient choir. As long as both chronology and owner remain unknown, one can hardly accept the tower’s function as keep without precaution. Its military role becomes more evident when compared to the ancient bell tower that is shorter and incorporated in the church’s building on the west.
Unlike the bell-tower, the one erected over the altar is much more impressive (11 meter-long sides and 3 meter-thick base). Presently, the latter extends over 8 levels and that fits a fifteen-century building. It was accessed through a spiral staircase that one could enter on the southern side. Above the church’s choir vault, the access continued with wooden annexes. The firing gallery and pyramidal roof underwent several rebuilding stages.
Two curtain walls are grouped around the church. The one closest to the church follows a pentagonal polygon shape in ground plan, consisting of a rectangle whose upper side was bent almost in the middle. Traces of the wooden firing gallery are visible on all sides, with severe degradations at the level of its stairs and floors. A 1788 written source mentions their rebuilding. Each major corner of the ideal rectangular curtain was provided with a tower. All these towers seem to have been located on the corners. The tower on the north-eastern corner has lost all its sides (1899) except the one connecting it to the curtain wall. The south-eastern and south-western towers were rectangular in ground plan and covered with shade roofs. The only tower that is more elaborated is that on the north-western corner. It is pentagonal in ground plan, with the edge corresponding to the curtain’s angle, and has a shingle roof. The only attested (re?)construction year (1657) is also connected to this tower.
The outer curtain wall, today incomplete for several reasons, including the erection of the school building over part of its eastern and northern sides, seems to have lacked flanking elements. As in the case of other monuments, one must interpret it as having functioned as protecting precinct for the community’s animal husbandry in case of siege. A well functioned there as well.
One knows that the monument underwent sieges and fires during the military events of 1623, 1658, and 1663.
https://brasovtourism.app/