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

Account

by category

Login

Name

by region

Title

Name in English

Like many other Fortified Churches to be found in Transylvania, due to the numerous changes in building structure during time, the start of the construction is not really known for Apold Fortified Church. But still, we have an estimation of the period when the building was completed, somewhere around the 15th-16th century. Apold village, in Mureș county, was during those times one of the most populated villages around Sighișoara city, with 89 families. After 1990, when the local community left, very few Saxon origin people remained. Still, we are able now to visit this beautiful church, with the outside wall and the connecting tower.
https://romanian-romance.com/

Apold 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

Biserica evanghelică fortificată din Iacobeni, comuna Iacobeni, județul Sibiu, a fost construită în secolul XIV. Ansamblul bisericii evanghelice fortificate este monument istoric, cod LMI SB-II-a-A-12402, cu următoarele obiective:
cod LMI SB-II-a-A-12402.01 - Biserica evanghelică fortificată, secolul al XIV-lea - primul sfert al secolului al XVI-lea;
cod LMI SB-II-a-A-12402.02 - Incintă fortificată, cu turnuri, încăpere pentru provizii, turn de poartă și zwinger cu turn-casă a paznicului, mijlocul secolului al XVI-lea.
Istoric
Se pare că biserica-sală gotică, care datează de la începutul secolului al XIV-lea, ar fi fost construită pe locul uneia mai vechi, distruse probabil de tătari în invazia lor din 1241.
Descriere
Turnul-donjon din capătul de vest al sălii a fost construit în secolul al XV-lea și este cel mai mare dintre toate cele aflate pe Valea Hârtibaciului. Zidurile lui au o grosime de circa trei metri, înălțimea lui fiind de 26 de metri. Latura nordică a donjonului depășea biserica, el fiind mult mai lat. Acest fapt a determinat modificarea sălii prin lărgirea ei spre nord. De asemenea modificările aduse a determinat devierea intrării și la dreapta ei au fost făcute scările din piatră ce duc spre nivelul doi al donjonului prin interiorul zidului din vest. La nivelul doi, mai târziu, s-a păstrat tradiționala slănină. Nivelul al treilea avea accesul prin intermediul unei scări ce escalada înălțimea prin interiorul peretelui estic. Nivelurile al patrulea și al cincilea au metereze pentru arcași și trăgători. La ultimele caturi, al șaselea și al șaptelea care sunt deasupra nivelului bisericii se regăsesc pe toate laturile metereze. Drumul de strajă este suspendat prin intermediul consolelor din lemn și adăpostește trei clopote făcute în secolul al XX-lea.
Nava și corul au fost fortificate cu un etaj de apărare ce are prevăzut un parapet înalt de 2 m cu metereze sprijinit pe arcuri de apărare, care se desfășoară între cei 18 contraforți ce înconjoară biserica. Între arcadele contraforților sunt mașiculi prin care se arunca apă clocotită sau smoală topită asupra asediatorilor. Acoperișul a fost renovat în anul 1602, dovadă în acest sens stând inscripția de pe una dintre bârnele lui. Atât nava cât și corul au fost construite inițial la aceeași înălțime. Ulterior, nava a fost acoperită cu o boltă în rețea în stil gotic, rețea dotată cu nervuri din teracotă. Între ele, trecerea se face prin intermediul unui arc triumfal gotic a carui finisare este destul de simplă. Deasupra corului este construită o boltă-n cruce cu absidă pentagonală, bolta fiind lucrată rudimentar în rețea. Toate aceste caracteristici tind să antedateze nava și corul față de restul edificiului.
În frenezia lor pentru siguranță, locuitorii Iacobeniului au ridicat turn și peste sacristie, acesta având cinci etaje, cu drum de strajă placat cu scânduri. Pereții sacristiei au fost dublați, grosimea lor ajungând la circa trei metri la bază. Intrarea în turn se făcea prin partea vestică utilizând o scară mobilă de la nivelul al doilea, interiorul său fiind construit în întregime din lemn. Pe peretele nordic au fost construite tribune cu tăblii pictate, începând din anul 1784. Aceste tribune au fost lărgite în anul 1805, ele sprijinindu-se pe console din lemn și coloane.
După 1990 biserica a suferit modificări neconforme cu statutul unui monument istoric de o asemenea importanță, modificări făcute de către controversatul preot Don Demidoff. Acesta a prevăzut biserica cu geamuri termopane cu tâmplărie PVC, care înlocuiesc ancadramentele gotice iar portalul de intrare în biserică este înlocuit cu o ușă termopan. Treptele de piatră au fost acoperite cu gresie iar interiorul edificiului este bogat decorat cu neoane albastre, fosforescente.
Fortificația
Biserica este înconjurată de ziduri cu un traseu neregulat, a căror greutate se sprijină pe contraforți, pe partea abruptă a dealului. Turnul porții are două niveluri, un drum de strajă cu parapet și o intrare care se bloca printr-o hersă. În partea nordică s-a construit o curte ce era apărată de către un bastion care ulterior a fost transformat într-o casă cu destinația de locuință a paznicului. De asemenea în partea sud - estică a incintei exista un turn, astăzi demolat. A supraviețuit timpurilor, turnul ce se găsește în porțiunea de unde pornește dealul (sud-vest), turn ce are trei uși suprapuse în partea nordică a lui, câte o fereastră la catul al doilea și al treilea, ferestre prevăzute cu o ambrazuri pictate cu elemente geometrice de culoare brună, roșie și neagră.

Iacobeni fortified church

After the collapse of the original Romanesque church in Şaeș in 1802 the ruins were entirely removed and replaced with a neo-classical hall church with narrowed chancel and western bell tower, completed in 1820. The facades of tower and church show a subtle composition of pilasters and cornices. A pyramid roof covered with color glazed tiles caps the tower. On top of the pyramid a lantern is placed covered with metal sheets and decorated with garlands made of metal.
The interior of the church appeals by its consistent original design and inventory. A remarkable detail is the entrance door, an empire jewel.
The remains of the fortifications consist of parts of the curtain wall, a defense tower and a defense building. The latter is supposed to have served as a chapel during the construction of the new church. Unfortunately the total loss of this building must be faced because of its very bad condition. The church itself shows severe structural problems as well, that should be tackled in the near future.
Place and surroundings
The Hungarian name of the village, Segesd, derives from the word “seg”, which can be translated as “the back side of the hillock”. Yet, the village never was on the backside of history. During the last 400 years it was considered one of the most prosperous Saxon colonies around Sighişoara, its proximity to the city conferring it numerous advantages along the centuries.
The School on the Hill in Sighişoara, one of the oldest schools in Transylvania, has the name of “Josef Haltrich Theoretical Highschool” nowadays. Haltrich, an educator, a philologist, a priest and a renowned Saxon ethnographer was the rector of the institution beginning with 1869. He quit this position three years later, becoming a priest in Şaeş, where he worked until the end of his life, also being buried there. The name of the ethnographer is often associated with a collection of stories, which he published in 1856 in Berlin with the help of the famous Jacob Grimm, under the title “Popular German Stories from Transylvania, the Country of the Saxons”.
https://kirchenburgen.org/

Șaeș fortified church

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

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

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

In Stejărişu a small, well-preserved fortified church can be visited. The former church and its surrounding village located just few miles away had to be abandoned because of persistent flooding, the construction of the new house of God started in the 14th century. Directly on the riverside of Hârtibaciu the foundations of a church were discovered, which point to the historical location of the village.
A few miles away and slightly uphill, in the middle of the new village a church was erected and surrounded by two ring walls. The two defensive towers were supposed to offer additional protection. A defensive level was built in the timber frame construction technique above the nave. Mid-19th century, the community dismantled the inner ring wall to use the stones for an extension of the church.
Due to many extensive repairs, the fortification preserves a good structural condition today.
Place and surroundings
It is a miracle that Stejărişu still exists, because it was not easy for the forefathers of the place. In the 13th Century German settlers came to the Hârtibaciu valley and founded a village. They have built houses, cultivated the fields and built themselves a church. After severe floods, the village was destroyed and it had to be moved a few miles uphill. During this time, threatening came not only from Ottoman attacks, but more than 100 years fought the Saxon nobles and the people of Sibiu provost for the possession of Stejărişu. The inhabitants of the village could not be discouraged by all the problems and stayed.Today, more than 600 years later, the fortified church survived as a witness for those old difficult times. It is located in the middle of a picturesque Transylvanian Saxon village.
An Austrian-Romanian Foundation supports local development and rural tourism. In the parish house close to the church guestrooms are available. Inside the fortification the visitors can buy homemade jams, honey, juice and other products made in the village.
https://kirchenburgen.org/

The fortified church from Stejărişu

10 km from Daneș, in Cris, in the middle of a beautiful dendrologycal park, we can find a castle. The history of the castle is just as boisterous as that of its owners.
Long ago the Bethlen dynasty built a fortification here in German style, which in 1400 during the restoration was redesigned for a castle. The heirs of the Bethlen dynasty, Anikó, Éva, and Ágnes are living in Târgu Mureș.
Countess Anikó, the founder of the Bethlen foundation, revendicated the 1949 nationalized castle. After finally regaining the castle, in September 2004, the cultural minister appealed against the act. The countess hopes that after regaining ownership of the castle.
In November 2007 the Bethlen family heirs founded Pro Castrum Bethlen Union, which deals with restoration of the castle, and the inclusion of the tourist circuit.
https://www.welcometoromania.eu/

Betlen Castle (Criș)

The fortified church of Malancrav is closely connected to the Hungarian family Apafi, as this family was given the whole village by the king of Hungary.
According to certain hypotheses, the originally large church with three parts within was built by Gregor, in the early 14th century, the son of Nicolaus. From the middle, or main part, there are four arcades which connects it to the side parts. On a stone it is still visible the emblem of the Apafi family and the following lines: Gentile scuttum appae appae (the shield of the Apafi family). In the 17th century below the sacristy was made a place for the sarcophagi of Apafi Mihaly II, and this is the hand-work of Illes Nicolai, being taken to Budapest in 1900, to the National Gallery.
In the church it can still be visible the most well-structured and visible gothic painting from the 14th century and on all of these pictures, all the 53 the New and Old Testament is being painted. The picture of the main altar which includes Saint Mihai angel along with Saint Clara looking upwards on the Virgin and her son, was given as a gift to the church by Clara, the wife of Mihai Apafi. The church was fortified in the 16th century.
https://www.welcometoromania.eu/