The Romanesque basilica with buttresses, western tower and chancel with apse was finished in the mid-13th century, thus replacing the former 12th century church. In the fortification phase of 1494 defence levels were built on the tower, nave and chancel. The chancel’s walls were strengthened and heightened up to the nave’s eaves and the side aisles were demolished. In the same period an 8m high defence wall with 5 bastions was erected and it is still preserved today. The Romanesque western portal is decorated with some of the most valuable stone carvings in Transylvania. From the Romanesque construction time the twin blind-arcades, today functioning as windows, are still preserved as well as the walled up round clerestory windows. Ample restoration works have been carried out for several years now and have revealed frescoes on large areas. The valuable 1638 furniture was initially stored away because of the restoration works, but was later moved to a different church for safety reasons.
Place and surroundings
Centuries ago, inside the stone walls of the fortified church that bear the grey marks of passing time, one of the most important legends of Transylvania was born. This legend tells how the first Transylvanian Saxon settlers vowed eternal loyalty to the king, thrusting their swords into the sacred land and thus forming the sign of the cross. Back then they foretold that, as long as the two swords exists on Earth, their people would defend these territories. Yet, their people’s disappearance from Transylvania was predicted to happen along with the disappearance of the weapons. The swords were then sent to the most distant places of the kingdom, one of them reaching Orăştie, the other one going to Drăuşeni. Kept in the Evangelic church and honored throughout times as a symbol of courage and loyalty of the German people, but also as a testimony of their craftsmanship in creating weapons, the sword in Drăuşeni got finally lost in 1944 in the uproar of the war. Despite their disappearance in the darkness of battles, the two swords remained to this day on the coat of arms of the city of Sibiu: the precious symbol of an inestimable past.
https://kirchenburgen.org/

Drăuşeni fortified church

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A pier basilica, easily recognizable by its main features, constitutes the core of the fortified church in Caţa. Inside, the pillars with arcades are a typical Romanesque construction to connect the side aisles to the nave. On the northern clerestory two uncovered false windows can be seen. The Romanesque chancel as well as the apse were rebuilt during the 15th century in Gothic style. The cross vault collapsed 1894 together with the western tower and it was replaced later on by a flat ceiling. The tower was never rebuilt. The massive fortified curtain wall dating back to the 15th century still preserves four of initial six defence towers. The pentagonal “priest’s tower” offers views over the garden of the parish house. The assembly was provided with a second defence wall with outer bailey as early as the 17th century. Its northern side was demolished in 1884 and in 1937 for using the resulting material to build the school and the community hall.
Place and surroundings
The precise date of the village’s establishment remains unknown. While the first documented reference dates back to the beginning of the 15th century, the foundation of the Romanesque basilica in the village’s center was laid as early as 1250 and the church was also fortified later on. The village developed at the crossing point of two main roads, thus being often affected by enemy attacks and fires throughout the centuries. During the 17th and the 18th century the village was plundered and torched six times. A strong fire heavily damaged the fortified church around 1706, while the parish house and the school were entirely burned down.
With its 2.500 residents Caţa is today a rather quiet and peaceful place. In the village’s center, in the parish house lives the Transylvanian Saxon writer and film maker Friedrich Schuller. He restored the homestead where his father used to live as priest of the village and regularly hosts nowadays cultural and literary events: for example, in 2011 it was awarded here the first “Wordsmith of Caţa” price.
https://kirchenburgen.org/

Caţa fortified church

Biserica evanghelică fortificată din Beia este un ansamblu de monumente istorice aflat pe teritoriul satului Beia, comuna Cața. În Repertoriul Arheologic Național, monumentul apare cu codul 40786.05.
Ansamblul este format din două monumente:
Biserica evanghelică fortificată (cod LMI BV-II-m-A-11605.01)
Fragmente ale incintei fortificate, cu turnul poligonal și cel sud-estic (cod LMI BV-II-m-A-11605.02)
Localitatea
Beia (în dialectul săsesc Mebrich, Męburχ, Mebriχ, în germană Meeburg, Mehburg, Mähdorf, în maghiară Homoródbene, Szászbene, Szászbénye) este un sat în comuna Cața din județul Brașov, Transilvania, România. Prima mențiune documentară este din 1442.
Biserica
Vechea biserică parohială medievală, dedicată Sfintei Ursula, a fost construită probabil în secolul al XIV-lea, devenită biserică luterană până la finele veacului al XVI-lea. Componentele gotice conservate până în prezent (frumoasa boltă pe ogive din cor, cu chei de boltă și console decorate, o cristelniță de piatră, ferestre cu muluri având forme diferite, contraforturi, portaluri în arc frânt la intrarea în navă și în sacristie, împreună cu un coridor exterior, sprijinit pe arce coborâte la contraforturi, unde s-au amenajat guri verticale de tragere) arată că edificiul a cunoscut o reconstrucție de gotic târziu, la sfârșitul veacului al XV-lea sau primele decenii ale secolului următor.
Cutremurul din 1702 a dus la prăbușirea arcului de triumf, nava fiind refăcută cu o boltă semicilindrică cu penetrații; a urmat reconstrucția turnului-clopotniță (1824-1825) cu patru nivele, aflat la vest de ea, având trăsături neogotice.
Biserica a deținut un valoros altar poliptic, cu legenda Sf. Ursula și celor 11.000 de fecioare martire atribuit lui Johannes Stoss (1513, an macat la baza scrinului central). A primit un coronament neogotic. În scrinul central s-a montat un Isus Salvator Mundi, statuie din secolul XVIII. A fost integrat într-un ansamblu tipic luteran de altar, retablu și tribună de orgă (sfârșitul secolului XVIII). Cu acea ocazie probabil s-a înlăturat coronamentul. Altarul, restaurat, s-a aflat din anul 2005 în biserica evanghelică „din deal” din Sighișoara, ulterior fiind mutat la Casa Teutsch, muzeul Bisericii Evanghelice și al sașilor.
Orga bisericii
Orga a fost realizată în 1912 de Karl Einschenk din Brașov. Era amplasată deasupra altarului. Orga este nefuncțională, biserica a fost în trecut spartă de mai multe ori, iar orga devastată.
Fortificațiile
Biserica este înconjurată în mare parte de o curtină cu planimetrie hexagonală neregulată, dezvoltată pe axa bisericii, de la vest către est. Se bănuiește că inițial, fortificația a dispus de mai multe turnuri, situate aproximativ la extremele planului, dar acum sunt certe doar două, diametral opuse, la nord-vest și la sud-est. Primul a fost ridicat pe o planimetrie hexagonală, cu guri de tragere în forma unor găuri de cheie întoarsă, cioplite în blocuri de piatră. Cel de-al doilea, cu planimetrie pătrată, se remarcă mai ales datorită unei cornișe ieșite în rezalit, de tipul celei întâlnite cu precădere în secolul al XVII-lea. Dispariția unor părți din fortificație (turnul de sud-vest și parte din curtină) se datorează unei intervenții de la 1900, materialul rezultat din demolare fiind utilizat la ridicarea unei noi școli. La scurt timp, în 1909, s-a prăbușit și o parte a curtinei de est.

Beia fortified church

The Dârjiu fortified church is a Unitarian fortified church in Dârjiu (Székelyderzs), Harghita County, in the Transylvania region of Romania. It was built by the Székely Hungarian community at a time when the area belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary. Initially Roman Catholic, it became Unitarian following the Reformation. The church is noted for its interior frescoes, and together with the surrounding village, forms part of the villages with fortified churches in Transylvania UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Church and fortifications
First built in Romanesque style in the 14th–15th centuries, the church was transformed into a Gothic one in the latter part of the 15th century. The semi-cylindrical rib-vaulted arches, which reach into the nave and the choir, date to the first half of the 16th century. The vaults are supported by corbels that in the choir have carved decorations: a pelican with chicks, the sun, the moon, masks and a symmetrical plowshare. The buttresses date to the same period and are linked by a corbel and little arches that support the battlement. The church is 28 metres long, 7 metres wide and 20 metres high; the slate roof is from 1760.
The fortifications, erected in 1400, reached their final form around 1530. The 5 m high walls form a square; their bastions are at an oblique angle and jut out from the walls at all four corners. A similar bastion is found in the middle of the western wall. The fortifications' oldest and most visible element, the tower, is to the south of the church. The gate tower retains its original form, with openings for firing guns that can be closed with wooden shutters. Modifications in 1788 included the creation of storage spaces for the villagers.
Frescoes and recognition
The church's interior features a partly destroyed but valuable series of mural paintings. These Gothic, Italian Renaissance-influenced works were executed in 1419 by Paul of Ung; the most detailed is a Conversion of Paul the Apostle that includes the artist's portrait. There and in The Pursuit of the Cuman, part of a Saint Ladislaus legend group, Paul managed to integrate the subject into the composition's other elements. Other subjects he painted were the Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand and several saint-bishops. Beneath his portrait, in Gothic minuscule, he wrote a love declaration in Latin: "This work did master Paul, son of Stephen of Ung, paint and prepare, AD 1419; he wrote this inscription while keeping in mind a beautiful girl". The damage to the frescoes occurred when the arches were built and later, in the 17th century, when a pulpit was installed.
In 1999, Dârjiu, together with five other places, was added to the already-listed Biertan to form the villages with fortified churches in Transylvania UNESCO World Heritage Site. Additionally, the church is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs, with the fortifications being listed as a separate entry.

Dârjiu fortified church

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/

The Evangelical Fortified Church in Homorod

Rupea Fortress is a medieval fortress built by Transylvanian Saxons and first mentioned by a 1324 document. It is situated on a 120 m high basalt cliff, to the west of the Transylvanian town of Rupea in Romania. The fortress is located on DN13, 70 km from Brașov, on the road to Sighișoara. It was restored in 2010–2013 and as of 2014, it was visited each month by more than 10,000 tourists.
Etymology
The name Rupea comes from Latin rupes meaning "cliff", or "cleft stone".
The name under which the fortress was first mentioned in a 1324 document is castrum Kuholm, Kuholm referring to the rock on which it was built: basalt.
History
Background
Rupea Fortress stands on one of the oldest archaeological sites in Romania, the first signs of human settlements dating from the Paleolithic and Early Neolithic (5500 BC–3500 BC). Archaeological investigations have revealed objects from this era, testimony of settlements in the region: stone tools, pottery, funeral urns, etc.
In Dacian times, on these places was raised the dava known as Rumidava or Ramidava (after various historical sources); conquered by the Romans, Rumidava became the Roman castra Rupes (in Latin, rupes means "rock" or "stone"). The Roman castra Rupes was part of the Roman fortification belt defending the commercial area and routes linking the Târnava Valley with the Olt Valley, Râșnov and Hoghiz.
According to Romanian archaeologists, the current fortress might have been built on the ruins of a former Dacian defense fort, based on Dacian pottery sherds found at the site.
Legend
A popular legend in the area tells that Dacian king Decebalus committed suicide inside the fortress.
Fortress
The first written mention of the fortress dates from 1324, under the name castrum Kuholm, when the Saxons revolting against King Charles I of Hungary took refuge inside the fortress. In the 14th century it had a key strategic role, being the main linking point between Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia. Between 1432 and 1437 the fortress was attacked and robbed by Turks, and finally abandoned in 1643 after a devastating fire turned it into ruins.[citation needed] At the end of the same century, Saxons returned to the fortress to seek refuge. This time, the fortress was handed over to the Habsburg armies without armed resistance.
From the 13th through the 17th century, the fortress expanded as a result of population growth, which led to the final outline comprising three baileys.
During the plague of 1716, the fortress was used as refuge for those who were not affected by disease, and in 1788 as refuge against Turkish invasion. The fortress was finally abandoned in 1790 after a severe storm that destroyed its roof.
After that, the fortress was left in ruins, although in the interwar period Rupea became a major Saxon cultural center. During the Communist regime, the authorities planned the demolition of the fortress in order to exploit the basalt that forms the hill. The last attempt to restore the fortress dates back to 1954, but the idea was abandoned. In the early 1990s, the fortress was in a sorry state, and eventually only one of the fortified towers was left standing. Between 2010 and 2013, the fortress underwent a comprehensive restoration process, with all the four towers and the homes of the Saxon families of Reps (Rupea), which once used the fortress as a place of refuge, being restored.
The fortress is classified in the list of historical monuments of Brașov County under the code BV-II-a-A-11769.
Construction and architecture
Rupea Fortress is 65 km from Brașov, built on a basalt massive, in the Cohalm Hill–Basalts of Rupea geological reserve. It is a Fliehburg, a fortified place of refuge for the population of nearby settlements, with four areas reinforced with polygonal towers. The fortress was modified over time, by adding two interior courtyards and three defense towers. The fortress is built in four concentric wards: Upper fortress (Romanian: Cetatea de sus, ward I), Middle fortress (Romanian: Cetatea de mijloc, wards II and III) and Lower fortress (Romanian: Cetatea de jos, ward IV).
Each is characterized by a particular belt of brickwork, corresponding to the era of its construction, marked by the evolution of weapons, siege techniques, or level of development of the settlement and the governmental seat on which the financing of work depended. In turn, the towers have individual names, some of which refer to a certain feature (often related to the function) resulting from their historical development. The different elements of the fortress exhibit various proportions and architectural features: the oldest had battlements in rectangular zigzags (which have not been preserved), and the most recent had more decorative semicircular merlons. Their embrasures took the form of simple slots, and the openings for firearms were made to allow the greatest possible angle of fire, or, at the base of the walls, fit in prominent niches, with arrangements of stepped pyramids. Behind the walls, traces of brickwork reveal the foundations of watch walkways, sometimes on two levels.
The first ward of the fortification system is the Upper fortress which dates from the prefeudal period, 10th–13th centuries. It contains the latest additions, including the Bacon Tower (Romanian: Turnul Slăninii), specific to Saxon communities. Also here can be found the 59 meter deep well, the only source of water certainly identified in the fortress. The well was built in 1623, requiring several months of work, during the reign of Prince Gabriel Bethlen. The upper fortress has an area of over 1,500 m2. The entrance to the upper fortress was a narrow corridor, the gate under the Gunpowder Tower (Romanian: Turnul Pulberăriei). To the inside can be observed traces of rooms that served as homes for the refugee population in the fortress during sieges. The best-known rooms in the upper fortress are the Count's room (Romanian: Camera judelui) and the Priest's room, but these are very difficult to identify nowadays.
The Middle fortress was built in the 15th century and was enlarged in the 18th century. Here can be identified the Tower with Bars (Romanian: Turnul cu Gratii), the Chapel and another pentagonal tower, gateway to the middle fortress, which is unique in Europe. The chapel is a large building, its last known restoration in 1718. It had multiple roles, including that of a Lutheran chapel, soberly decorated in typical Protestant style.
The Lower fortress was built starting in the 18th century. From this period dates the house of the fortress's watchman (1850) and the magazine, built in the early 19th century.
Rupea Fortress has the form of an ascending spiral (snail shell).
Restoration
In the 1990s, Rupea Fortress was in ruins. Local authorities decided to seek EU funds for the restoration of the fortress and invested 32 million lei in restoring the historical monument. The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration, The Regional Development Agency Centru and Rupea Local Council signed a financing contract in 2009, with grant funding for the project of restoration and expansion of the tourism infrastructure of Rupea. Within this project was included the restoration of the abandoned fortress of Rupea. The work took three years, and the fortress was reopened to the public on 15 June 2013. Restored elements included the walls, the interior courtyard and the towers. In 2013, Rupea Fortress was visited by 61,000 tourists, in 2014 by 115,000 tourists, and in the first quarter of 2015 the figure exceeded 150,000 visitors.
Both the Rupea Town Hall and Brașov County Council want to introduce the objective in a circuit targeting Brașov, Sibiu and Sighișoara and to organize national cultural events that highlight the destination better. The first event took place in the summer of 2013, a festival dedicated to composer Wilhelm Georg Berger, born in 1929 in Rupea.

Rupea Fortress

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 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

Only the exterior walls of the central nave have been preserved from the former Romanesque basilica. The church was later rebuilt in the Gothic style and enlarged with a tower, followed by the defence systems in the 16th century: demolition of side aisles, addition of a defence level, addition of a battle platform on the tower. Two fortification walls with defence towers at the corners surrounded the ensemble by the end of the 15th century.
After a fire in 1748 that also destroyed the village, the church was built in its current shape.
The interior Baroque design originates from that period: the side and organ gallery, the organ itself, masterpiece of the famous organ builder Samuel Maetz, the altar and the pulpit created by master Philippi from Sighişoara.
Place and surroundings
How did Transylvanian villages defend themselves from Ottoman attacks in the Middle Ages? In the fortified church of Archita one can picture this very well: two fortification walls, which are strengthened by seven defense towers, protect the church. Parts of a wooden parapet walk are still preserved. From the massive bell tower one have a wide clear view of the surroundings. Between the high fortification walls and the church is the narrow confined space where villagers would have taken refuge from imminent danger.
At the inner wall the machicolations, openings through which the inhabitants would pour boiling tar onto their attackers still exists. In case of a siege the tar could be heated in a special room in the bell tower.
The hilly surroundings of Archita invite you to explore and you might also like to search for the ruins of the old village Wordt. The local legend says that the whole village succumbed to the plague. About one hundred years ago the knowledge of the exact location of the village sank into oblivion, too.
https://kirchenburgen.org/

Archita Fortified Church

The Viscri fortified church is a Lutheran fortified church in Viscri (Deutsch-Weisskirch), Brașov County, in the Transylvania region of Romania. It was built by the ethnic German Transylvanian Saxon community at a time when the area belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary. Initially Roman Catholic, it became Lutheran following the Reformation. Together with the surrounding village, the church forms part of the villages with fortified churches in Transylvania UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Background and church
The Weisskirch ("white church") in the village's German name refers to a chapel built by the Székely inhabitants who lived there prior to the Saxons' arrival between 1141 and 1162, during the reign of Géza II. The building was rectangular, with a semicircular altar of greenish-white limestone. Four Romanesque capitals that survive in the choir, including one used as a baptismal font, also originate in this period. Coins and earrings found in graves both inside and outside the chapel were initially thought to date from the reign of Coloman (1095–1116), but a re-evaluation found that the oldest coin came from the late reign of Géza II, suggesting the remains were of Saxons rather than Székely.
In the 13th century, the Saxons built a Romanesque hall church that integrated the chapel but also introduced changes, such as a wooden seat gallery at the western end. The apse, its altar possibly of the Romanesque period, features a scalloped capital unique to Transylvania. The design was popular in 12th-century Germany but disappeared soon after reaching Austria, suggesting the church dates to no later than the first half of the 13th century.
In the 14th century the church became a community church. The apse was replaced by a larger trapezoidal choir. The church was fortified around 1500: the hall was lengthened and linked to the keep, formerly freestanding and probably belonging to the family of a count. Another level was added to the keep, used for bells and fitted with a battlement that stayed on corbels. The roof featured a sixth level with embrasures for firing. The choir's defensive level was demolished in 1743. Due to the peaceful nature of the period, the church battlement was taken down after that time, replaced by grain storerooms for the villagers. The interior ceiling has a ceiling divided into squares, also from 1743, around which time the austere furnishings were put in place.
Fortifications and recognition
In the 12th century, fortifications began to be built around the chapel. Forming an oval and made of river and field stone, the south, east and northeast walls have survived; these are 7 m in height. The entrance is through the southeast wall, to which two towers and two bastions were added in the 14th century. The south tower, built into the wall exterior, had three floors and a battlement resting on wooden corbels. Sharing a roof with the south bastion, the tower's lower levels were joined into a hall entered from the east. The topmost level kept its parapets, with their oak border and moveable logs that could shut in defenders. The south bastion battlement and roof were joined with those of the south tower.
In 1999, Viscri, together with five other places, was added to the already-listed Biertan to form the villages with fortified churches in Transylvania UNESCO World Heritage Site. Additionally, the church is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs, with the following being listed as separate entries: the inner walls and towers, the outer walls, and a 19th-century outdoor space for festive dances.

Viscri fortified church

The 13th century late Romanesque pillar basilica was early prepared for battle by demolition of the side naves and fortification of the central nave and the tower by adding defence levels. The chancel was heightened in 1500 by adding a defence level with machicolations. The 1847 added tower marks the present image of the church. The interior impresses with its tall and narrow proportions, underlined by the two-story balcony on the northern side, erected between 1680 and 1775. The railings were painted by the Roessler family, grandfather and grandson. The fortification wall, originating in the 14th century was strengthen by four towers and had grain storage rooms on the inside.
Place and surroundings
In the hymn “Transylvania, sweet home” the verse “Transylvania, seabed of a flood long gone, a sea of grain now rests on the breast of heaven” is telling the story of the sea which once covered the region in Mesozoic times. The fortified church of Buneşti was built with marine sedimentary rocks as one can see from the fossils in the masonry. Residential houses of the same period were built with timber. When the village was under attack, the inhabitants took refuge from the looters and arsonists inside the fireproof fortifications. In times of war the massive tower was also serving as a retreat for the priest. The walls are still decorated with words of solace, bearing witness to those terrible times. Priest Johannes Nösner wrote these faithful words while hiding in the room: “Hör! Hast Vor eIne gVte SaCh, aber`s geht Von statt geMaCh, fahre getrost fort, nICht Verzag, es fäLLt keIn aLt EICh aVff eInn SChlag“ (Listen! You are on the right path, if the going is slow do not despair, no old oak is felled with one stroke). The highlighted letters in the original text are roman numbers, which add up to the year 1680.
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