In the place of the demolished medieval church, two masters of Merghindeal built a hall church covered by suspended domes in the 19th century. The bell tower with parapet walk and stairways to the upper levels built in the thickness of the walls originates from the 15th century. It was easy for a single man to block the stairways which are only 60 to 70cm wide. The remaining fragments of the ring wall bear traces of two medieval defence towers and also boast the holes of the former beams supporting the parapet walk.
Place and surroundings
“Transylvania, proud country with powers and wealth, surrounded by the Carpathians, coated with greenery, land of gold and vineyards” – these lyrics belong to the hymn of the Transylvanian Saxons. Yet, along the history of the village, music was not always the accompaniment; sometimes the sound of weapons was heard. The Tatar attacks caused the construction of the fortified tower, a 36m high building, with 3m thick walls. Time has woven many legends around this guardian. It is said that a generous giant helped at the raising of the tower, but after the building was finished, the fearful villagers thrown him in a fountain that can still be seen in the church.
The name of the village itself is connected, as the story goes, to a spring whose name comes from the Hungarian word “Baranykur”, which means “The Lamb’s Fountain”. During a severe drought, a lamb is said to have rescued the village by discovering a spring that still exists today. The crystal clear water of this spring has quenched the thirst of the villagers for centuries and it will certainly quench the thirst of the traveler nowadays.
https://kirchenburgen.org/

Bărcut fortified church

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Although almost nothing of the fortification has been preserved, the church of Seliștat impresses as an example of an almost unaltered fortified church of the early 16th century. Situated on the top of a hill on the high plateau between the valleys of the river Hărtibaciu and Olt the one-aisle church without tower is said to have been built as early as the second half of the 14th century, probably on the site of an earlier building.
Around 1500 the chancel was strengthened by adding buttresses, four more stories, and a wooden battle platform. Later the nave was fitted with a barrel vault and a defence level built of bricks and stones. Loops for pouring liquids were left between the buttresses and the wall of the church. Another defence building serving for storing grains has been preserved on the northern side of the site.
On the southern side three more buildings were erected: Old and New School and the communal hall, today used as a youth hostel and community center. The modest interior of the church was renovated in 2010.
Place and surroundings
The name of the village points out that here must be a bit of paradise: as one of the oldest Saxon villages of Transylvania, the village was named once “Felix locus,” Latin name roughly meaning “happy place”. In the 15th Century the church was rebuilt as an impressive defensive assembly, which has been preserved almost intact until today. Battlements and loopholes of the fortress still seem alarming. However, there is no reason to worry: once it was built as mediator between God and humanity, then it became indispensable as a shelter for the inhabitants and nowadays is part of a youth community center.
In Seliștat children, adolescents and adults have the opportunity to enter another world and to take a trip into nature. A wide range of recreational and leisure activities is available to guests: sleeping in the fortification, visiting traditional farmhouses and chalets, trails in the nature, horseback riding in summer and magical horse-drawn sleigh rides in winter.
https://kirchenburgen.org/

Seliştat fortified church

Built in the mid 15th century, it is possible that today’s Gothic hall church with equally high chancel and nave replaced a former Romanesque basilica. As a rarity in the Transylvanian fortified churches, the church in Șoarș bears the remains of a jube at the base of its triumphal arch. The jube used to separate the chancel from the nave, just like the iconostasis separates the altar from the naos in the orthodox churches. The gallery, accessible by stairs, was the place dedicated to lectures on religious topics.
The fortified church still preserves the in the meanwhile lowered bell tower, but lost its defence wall, which was dismantled in the 20th century, the resulting material being used for the building of the in the meantime ruinous school. A fortified house formerly used as granary is preserved on the southern side.
Place and surroundings
Already mentioned in a document from 1206, Șoarș is one of the oldest settlements in Transylvania. Located in the middle of crop areas, which colour its surroundings in thousands of shades, the name does not suit the village at all. It derives from the Hungarian “saros”, which can be translated as “muddy” or “swampy”. Even though centuries ago swamps might have been located here, they disappeared long time ago under the fields and meadows.
Weaving, as craft and art, played an important role in the past of the village. During the summer, sheep were sheared and, according to their breed, a softer or a more coarse kind of wool resulted. The wool was first washed and sorted according to its colours, then carded, placed on the spinning wheel, manually rotated and spun on the spindle, and later made into a ball of thread. Technical skills met then imagination and diligence, and these three generated warm sweaters, waistcoats for pampering the loins, comforters for sensitive necks and all kinds of gloves.
https://kirchenburgen.org/

Şoarş fortified church

Biserica evanghelică fortificată din Rodbav, inițial romano-catolică, cu hramul Sfântul Mihail, este un ansamblu de monumente istorice aflat pe teritoriul satului Rodbav, comuna Șoarș. În Repertoriul Arheologic Național, monumentul apare cu codul 41989.04.
Ansamblul este format din două monumente:
Biserica evanghelică (cod LMI BV-II-m-A-11767.01)
Incintă fortificată, anexe (cod LMI BV-II-m-A-11767.02)
Localitatea
Rodbav, mai demult Rotbav, Rorbaca (în dialectul săsesc Rirbich, Rîrbiχ, în germană Rohrbach, în maghiară Nádpatak, Nádaspatak) este un sat în comuna Șoarș din județul Brașov, Transilvania, România. Prima mențiune scrisă a localității este din 1337, când în registrul fiscal papal este menționat preotul „Lucas de Borbach”.
Biserica
A fost construită în secolul al XIII-lea, ca o basilică cu trei nave, cu absidă semicirculară pe capătul estic al navei centrale, și un turn pe cel vestic. În secolul al XV-lea biserica a fost fortificată. Stâlpii de plan pătrat care despărțeau navele au fost zidiți, la fel și portalul vestic și căile de acces exterioare către cele două scări înzidite ale turnului.
Nava centrală a primit deasupra un etaj dotat cu guri de tragere și cu guri de vărsare, sprijinit pe o galerie de contraforturi unite prin arce, construcție similară celei de la Șoarș. Turnului i-a fost adăugată o galerie de apărare din lemn.
În jurul bisericii a fost ridicată o fortificație din zid de piatră întărit cu turnuri, din care se mai păstrează ruina unui turn semicilindric și turnul colțului nord-estic, folosit ulterior de săteni pentru păstrarea slăninii. În secolul al XVIII-lea forma absidei a fost schimbată din semicirculară în poligonală.
Pe pereții navei centrale, în partea superioară, se păstrează câteva inscripții cu citate biblice și o inscripție de la renovarea din 1753. Și pee peretele opus accesului către scara emporei s-a descoperit o inscripție de secol XVIII, însă deficitar păstrată.
Altarul și strana preotului au fost construite în stil baroc. Altarul a fost repictat in anul 1900 de sighișoreanul Josef Vogel. Panoul central al altarului a fost furat fără să fie recuperat, la fel și cele două statui din lemn policrom ale apostolilor Petru și Pavel care îl flancau. Cristelnița de piatră a fost realizată în anul 1851.

Rodbav fortified church

On a hill in the center of the village of Movile, there is a strong fortified church whose foundation stone was laid in the middle of the 13th century. Only the western tower and the walls of the church’s nave have been preserved from the former Romanesque construction. The church was fortified around the year 1500 in late Gothic style. Two fortification walls strengthened by several defence towers surrounded the ensemble. During the 19th century, under the pressure of an ever-growing community, the interior space of the church had to be enlarged by adding a gallery built on three sides.
Place and surroundings
The Transylvanian Saxons founded end of the 12th Century the village of 100 hillocks (Hunderbücheln in German). Nature blessed them with unusual landscapes, just perfect for giving birth to legends full of giants. One of these mythical figures is well known in the region. His apron filled with sand had a hole, a flaw that caused a hillock to appear every time he stopped walking. This is how the 100 hills after which the village was named appeared.
The fortified church also hides a lot of secrets. During the repairs in the 19th Century, a sacred altarpiece was discovered, which is one of the most valuable representations of the legend of Saint Anthony. This painting from the 16th Century shows Saint Paul and Saint Anthony apparently absorbed in a lively debate that started centuries ago and which will hopefully continue for a long time for the benefit of Movile. Nowadays the painting is to be found in the Museum of the Evangelic Church in Sibiu.
https://kirchenburgen.org/

Movile fortified church

The early Gothic hall church built in the 14th century with western tower and polygonal chancel was prepared for defence in 1495. The tower was fortified with a wooden defence level, as well as the nave and the chancel. While the vaults of the church were removed because of the risk to collapse during the renovation work in the early 19th century, the tower has been preserved in its medieval form. The fortification wall was protected with three defence towers, of which two are still preserved and an outer bailey was built in the 16th century in the south-western part. A part of this wall was demolished in 1888, allowing a school to be built in that space. The three sides wooden gallery, decorated with Baroque paintings and the winged altar from 1693 above which the 1914 organ is installed, dominates the interior.
Place and surroundings
If one follows the picturesque main street of Meşendorf up the hill, passing by fruit trees and old farmhouses one reaches the fortified church. The best time here is in spring during the tree blossom: dogs bark, rooster crow and horse carts pass by.A simple fortification wall with interesting details surrounds the church. During religious service one can hear the sound of a beautiful Wegenstein organ. There is an hourglass made of four glass cylinders in the pulpit. This allowed the priest and the congregation to ensure the length of the sermon was observed.
The enchanted atmosphere of the village is heightened by an old legend. The Kazkes, a mountain in the direction of Criţ is supposed to be the home of an evil spirit – the canter. This gruesome character will haunt those who dare to go on the mountain at midnight.
https://kirchenburgen.org/

Meşendorf Fortified Church

The entrance of today’s church that was probably built in the 15th century from the remains of an older church, is located higher than it was initially. The floor of the nave was also raised by 2m, due to the repeated floods caused by a water stream which flows close to the fortification and which has brought over 3m of alluvial deposit over time, both inside the fortification and around it. The defence story comprises a first level built with stone, above which a second wooden level was raised and endowed with a parapet walk on buttresses and wooden consoles.
The circular palisade that defended the church for 200 years was replaced in the 16th century by a fortified wall with defence towers.
Inside the church there is a fountain from which villagers and tourists can obtain clean drinking water.
Place and surroundings
There is a remote historical mystery flowing along with the water of Hârtibaciu river passing by Brădeni: the enigma of the more than 300 Saxon chests that secretly doze in the attic of the fortified church. Although these medieval chests hide neither gold nor other treasures in their wooden wombs, they are considered to be unique historical assets in Europe. Their age and origin cannot be precisely determined. They are adorned with mysterious paintings of fantastic beings, the style being impossible to assign to a particular epoch. Students of the course of study „Architecture, Engineering and Conservation” of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hildesheim, Germany thoroughly researched and analysed the chests within the frame of a conservation project. Visitors can find out more about the work of the students as well as the history of the chests thanks to very informative boards boasted in the fortification.
This discovery is not the only peculiarity of the place. Long time ago it used to live here an earl named Kirr and his castle had a tunnel that led to the church. The end of the tunnel is still in place today. The earl is said to have buried a treasure, a clucking hen with gold-made chicken, right in the place where the shadow of the top of the church fell at noon. Nevertheless the Saxon name of the village can be translated as “The Hen’s Village” and the treasure couldn’t be found up to now.
https://kirchenburgen.org/

Brădeni fortified church

The settlement was first mentioned as Chenk in 1328. Its enormous XIII century gothic church, on a hill, dominates the area.
Its 29 meter high tower didn't serve defence purposes. There are 3 bells in it, among which, on the oldest one the date 1512 is inscriptioned, as the registration date of the bell's first casting. All three bells were recasted for in 1789, after the great fire.
In 1493, as a result of the Turkish invasion, the church was seriously damaged, it was rebuilt in the XVI century. In 1693 the tower suffered a thunder stroke, and in 1789 the fire came, which ruined the church again. The present form of the three nave church was reached after many restorations.
On the high organ-loft there are apertures, with baroque style balustrades. On one of these, the date 1796 can be traced. On the central painting of its altar Doubting Thomas can be seen; it was made in 1524 as one of the most successful pieces of art, of the famous Sibiu painter, Vincentius. Originally it was the property of Moșna, the village bought it from them in 1722. The epitaphians of Dr. Kutoris Márton 1742 and Salmen György 1746 can be seen in the main nave. There are coat stands for guildsmen next to the entrance.
https://www.welcometoromania.eu/

Fortified Church of Cincu

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

In the old documents the settlement is called Maria’s Valley (Marienthal); legend has it that Maria was a young woman who set up the village together with a group of Saxon colonists.
As soon as they got here, around the year 1260, the Saxons built a three nave basilica with a belfry and a tribune facing the central nave for the chief of town. However, to defend themselves from the constant attacks of the Turks, in 1500 they fortified the church by adding a precinct wall and some defence towers.
Under the church floor there is a well which was used to supply water to the locals withdrawn inside the church during the invasions.
At first the baroque altar had seven sculpted statues; only one of them is left today, the one representing Jesus Christ.
In the tower there are three bells, the biggest seemingly built in the 15th century and bearing an inscription with capital letters.
http://www.sibiu-turism.ro/

The fortified church from Merghindeal

The neo-classical hall church with chancel and western bell tower was built between 1810 and 1813, after the collapse of the initial construction, first mentioned in documents from 1270. But there is no information concerning the aspect of this former church. It is, though, supposed to have been represented in a drawing on one of the church’s pews, dated 1793. The interior hosts the altar with organ gallery, the pulpit and the font, which were made partially at the same time with the construction itself, but also in 1822.
Only the ring wall and four defensive towers are still preserved from the 15th century fortification system, while the fifth tower collapsed in 1925 and was never rebuilt. On the southern side, next to the former kennel, only the ruins of the old Saxon school still exist today.
Place and surroundings
The fortified church in the village of Criţ, where more than 400 years ago the first village school law in Transylvania was enacted, lies on a hill in the middle of the place. In the past this location demanded a castle guardian who was a cobbler or at least a skilled craftsman. The steep ascent to the church is arduous and paved with round cobblestones. Many women, on their way to Sunday service, broke their footwear, which were heeled with horseshoes. A cobbler was therefore needed for urgent repairs before entering the church.
The church and the mostly preserved historic village are surrounded by an idyllic hilly landscape, ideal for walks to neighboring villages and fortifications. Tourist accommodation is available in several lovely restored farmhouses.
https://kirchenburgen.org/