| 
Agrement of Romania Tourism Ministery n° 5206 / 11.12.2001  |
Saxon
Fortified Churches of Transylvania | |
| Transylvania,
a hilly region situated in the centre of Romania, represents a very special cultural
landscape. Bearing the mark of a centuries long mingled life of the Romanians,
Hungarians and Germans, it has a unique feature: nowhere else in the world are
there to be found, preserved, in such a narrow space, so many reinforced churches
and fortress-churches, witnessing such a varied material expression of the defence
technique.
| 
The
Gothic Evangelical church of Prejmer(15th- century) |
| | | The origin and development of church reinforcements
are, undoubtedly linked to the troubled history of Transylvania, starting from
the Tatar invasion, in 1241 - 1242, passing through the Turks' repeated forays
- from 1395 - to the devastating Mohacs defeat of 1526. All along those bleak
years, the churches naturally did their best to protect themselves from the neverending
wars waged around the principality of Transylvania until the beginning of the
18th century. The grographic density and, above all, the high number of these
buildings - of which, over 150 survived to this day - can be considered a phenomenon
characteristic of the historical, legal, religious and social environment of those
who built them: the Saxons of Transylvania. During one of the many attempts of
the Hungarian crown to occupy Transylvania, king Geza the 2nd (1141 - 1161) decided
to bring German colonists to the country, especially from the Cologne archdiocese,
who later on would be called Saxons. | 
Axente
Sever saxon church dating from 1322-1323 | | |
| After other immigrants came in, the colonisation of the
present Saxon localities would end with a few exceptions, before 1300. From a
religious point of view, these communities were linked to the Saxon church. From
1542 to the Reformation, the Saxon church of Transylvania - which had adopted
the Augsbourg religion - preserved (and still does) the characteristic of a popular
church. | 
The
fortified church of Biertan | | |
| From 1542 to the Reformation, the Saxon church of Transylvania
- which had adopted the Augsbourg religion - preserved (and still does) the characteristic
of a popular church. In their native land, the colonists had already learned that,
in wartime, it was better to leave one's village and save one's life and goods,
by fleeing to the closest fortress . All that influenced their choice of the kind
of colony fit for the place for such a construction. The arable land was shared
according to the Flemish system; the houses surrounded by gardens were arranged
in tight rows and made up villages along with streets, commons and squares; the
churches stood in the centre of the village. | 
The
citadel of Harman (15th- century) | | |
| Bearing the print above all of the mediaeval fortresses, the art
of stronghold building - as far as towns are concerned - was then transferred
to fortress churches: the walls were raised, with an open sentry road and reinforced
by a row of entrenched towers. The gate was reinforced on the outside with supplementary
entrenchments. Often a second or third precinct was built. The oldest fortress
churches dating from those ages can be found in Tara Birsei region. The churches
built in plains were reinforced as they used to be protected only up to the west
tower. The most important entrenched church in Transylvania is the Prejmer one.
This cross-shaped building , dating from the early Gothic, was influenced by the
Kerz Cistercian construction site; it was surrounded by 12 metre high walls. These
walls have a square round angle layout and are protected by stockades, water ditches,
four towers and two advanced reinforcements. Within this area, the constructions
supported by the precinct wall had three or four storeys; divided into 60 compartments,
they had basements and 260 store houses. The fortresses are very
different in the other colonised regions where the natural features of the hilly
landscape have been rightly used. One of the largest and most renowned fortress-churches
is the Biertan one, standing on a hill, in the centre of the village. The hall
church, with three naves, dating from the late Gothic, was raised between 1500
and 1516, the preexistent chorus of the edifice having an entrenched storey. The
precinct wall, dating from the same time, was reinforced during the 16th century
with 8 towers; it is coil shaped, like a three tower belt, around the hill.
| 
The
citadel of Codlea | | |
| The church preserved its furniture dating from the end of the Gothic
age, including a complex altar. One can still notice the frescoes dating fron
the 16th century, on the southern tower of the inner precinct wall, as well as
the tomb stones of several Saxon bishops. Since 1993 this fortress church, as
well as the access paths around it, is on the world heritage list drawn up by
UNESCO. In the times when the Biertan chorus was reinforced, the religious buildings
continued to be entrenched all over the place. A wide range of defence means and
architectural grandeur were put to good use for raising the west tower and endowing
it with three entrenched storeys. There is a second tower under the chorus or
a side entrance. The entrenched churches and fortress-churches are
the most relevant Saxon legacy and the token of their fusion with their own past.
To point out the significance of the Saxon fortress-churches of Transylvania,
a German- Romanian team revealed the project to include on the UNESCO world heritagelist
some representative examples of different kinds of communities, once German, including
the villages: Cilnic, Valea Viilor, Saschiz, Viscri and Prejmer (as at present
onlu the Biertan fortress- church is on the list).
| 
The
citadel of Viscri | | |
|
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