In the 12th century, Transylvania was under the rule of a Hungarian king. Needing his land to be inhabited, he offered large incentives to any Saxon who would colonize Transylvania. Because they had moved so far from their homeland, they were given a number of liberties including drastically reduced taxes in exchange for their allegiance to the king. They were merchants, farmers and artisans and with their liberties, became quite wealthy. In the end this wealth made them targets so they built fortification walls to protect themselves from raiders and invaders.
Stone churches were their original refuge but over time, walls were built around them and church bell towers were converted to watch towers. Residents lived in their homes when the area was safe, but fled to the fortified church with their valuables when needed. Because it was advantageous to be close to the church and its walls, wealthier families’ homes were built near the church entrance. Inside the walls, townfolk erected small homes and other buildings so they could stay for long periods of time.
Since they were Saxon immigrants, they built Catholic churches which were later converted to Lutheran. These buildings were quite different than the typical Orthodox churches in the area. The architecture of these buildings is noticeably different both inside and out as you will see in the pictures below. After WWII, because of their German heritage, the Saxons were forced to leave Romania. As a result many of these fortified churches were left to ruin. Of the original 300 or more fortified churches, approximately 150 remain. Local communities in a few towns have worked to restore this fascinating part of their heritage.
Come with us as we visit some of the most fascinating fortified churches in Transylvania.
Biertan
High above the wooden shingled roofs of Biertan stands a fairytale-looking fortified church. A tall wall surrounds the medieval church and only its pointy spires hint to what’s behind. This UNESCO World Heritage Site has definitely earned that title.
The surrounding market town of Biertan still looks as if it’s in the medieval times with uneven roofs and colourful walls. An interesting design feature is that the walls of the homes are incorporated into parts of the fortified wall making it difficult to find the correct entrance. A few small doors looked like they would get us inside but when we looked in, we were blocked by a wall. We entered a narrow passage and thought we were correct, but we all we found was another tall wall. We quickly learned that we would not be good marauders.
Finally we found a low door that provided entry to a covered stairway that took us over the two inner walls and into the complex. Six original towers are still standing in the yard and make for a fascinating visit. Mausoleum Tower used to house tombs of Bishops and today a few of those tombstones are on display.
Also on the grounds is an unusual building. The ‘prison for married couples’ is a small house for those couples who couldn’t get along. The couples were locked inside a small house in the fortress until they reconciled their differences.
Inside the Gothic Lutheran church are a few original pews and a 16th century altar adorned with paintings of saints. The unique part of this altar is that the panels can be changed based on the day of the week or for current festivals.
Viscri
The fortified church in Viscri is not reachable by car. We parked on a cobblestone lane in front of uniquely shaped homes. Since they were attached, together the homes formed their own walls to protect their backyards.
From there we walked along a lane to find a cute white, castle-style church. Viscri Fortress was originally built in the 12th century by the local Szekler population (Hungarian tribe). The Saxons made several modifications over the centuries including the addition of a defensive wall with towers.
Inside the wall, it feels more rustic than most of the others that we visited. Low roofed buildings wrap around the inside of the walls while towers hover over head.
From the tops of the towers you have a perfect view of both the inside as well as the surrounding hills outside of the fortress. From here we could see why it was given UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
At the centre is a simple Lutheran church with wooden pews and a balcony.
King Charles was apparently so enthralled with Viscri that he bought a house in the area.
Mediaş
This large town lies on the edge of the fortified churches’ district. Its downtown square has its own small Middle Ages’ look and it is home to one of the largest of the fortified churches.
Similar to Biertan, much of the outer walls of the fortress are made from the walls of attached houses, making it very deceiving. If we couldn’t see the spires and towers above, we may not have known there was a church behind those houses. In fact, the entrance to the fortified area is so well hidden that we walked all the way around it and couldn’t find the small entrance gate. Eventually a friendly local pointed it out to us.
At the centre of the fortification is St. Margaret Lutheran Church. The Gothic style church has a tall clock tower to go along with the four watch towers on the wall. Apparently Vlad Ţepeş (A.K.A. Vlad the Impaler and Vlad Draculea) was imprisoned in one of these towers.
Some of the fortified churches in Transylvania were locked so we couldn’t get inside. Mediaş was one of those. There is usually a phone number posted so you can call the caretaker to open it up, but we usually didn’t have time to wait. It was the fortifications that we were more interested in seeing anyway.
Sighișoara
This adorable city is often included in suggested lists of fortified churches and towns to see in Transylvania. In fact, it is such a fantastic fortified town we decided that it deserves its own post. Here’s a hint of what you’ll see in Fortified City of Sighișoara.
Other Fortified Churches
Driving though Transylvania we saw many other small fortified churches. Some no longer have their fortress walls anymore or are very small, so we just stopped for a quick visit.
As we drove around the Romanian countryside we saw many interesting trees. Coming from Canada I had never seen mistletoe before. When I first saw them I wondered what kind of strange tree would look dead and yet have round clumps of leaves. Growing up in Poland, Richard knew right away that it was mistletoe. We saw them in many places in both Romania and in Bulgaria.
To see more of these Romanian fortified cities visit our posts Explore Brașov’s Old Town, Fortified City of Sighișoara and Discover Medieval Sibiu.
How to visit the fortified churches of Transylvania
The fortified churches are spread throughout Transylvania and visiting more than one or two without a car would be very difficult. The only other way to see a number of these fascinating towns would be with a tour or private driver. If you do rent a car, visitors from almost any country outside of the EU need to show a physical copy of their international driver’s permit. A digital copy is not enough. International agencies are very strict with this rule.
Where to stay
Depending on what else you are seeing in Romania and where you are travelling from you could easily find accommodation and restaurants in Sighișoara, Mediaş or even Sibiu. They are all located within comfortable driving distances to all of the fortified churches listed above. We stayed in both Sibiu and Mediaş, but wished we had spent a night in Sighișoara’s Old Town.
Thanks to our friend Florin at Născut Pe Lista Neagră (Born on the Blacklist) for his help in planning our trip to Romania.
Thank you also to Romania Tourism for allowing us to use their map.
Click on the link to read our Travel Tips For Romania.
To read more of our adventures in Romania, click here.
Coming Next – Fortified City of Sighișoara
For pictures from other blogs go to Gallery at monkeystale.ca
To read about more of our adventures go to Destinations.
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