The Saxon Church, Laslea

Laslea (former Laslea Mare, Saxon German: Grisz-Lasseln, Lasln, German: Großlasseln, Hungarian: Szászszentlászló, Nagyszászszentlászló, or Szentlászló) is a village in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. It was documentary attested in September 16, 1309, with the Latin name of Sanctus Ladislaus. The locality was not part of the autonomous Saxon territory, although until the 1970s it was populated by Germans.

The oldest data on the local Saxon population dates from 1488, when 77 households were enumerated, a school with a teacher, a mill with a miller and 16 abandoned houses. Population can be estimated at about 330 people.



The tower of the old church

The Saxon Romanesque Lutheran church has early 14th century Gothic murals in the apse, 15th century ones in the nave and a 15 century late Gothic altar. It was a simple basilica with three naves and three mid-size arcade. The church entrance was on the south side of the ship, the floor of the tower being closed.



The Saxon Church

Around 1840 the old church, abandoned, was demolished. In 1842 began the building of a new church under the direction of master builder Samuel Teusch from Sighişoara. It is a large church, without a specific style, built from bricks, with large round windows. It was built also a new bellfry, but by the end of construction it collapsed and has not been rebuilt. The Classical altar dates also from 1845 and is the work of Friedrich Pokotz from Braşov. It has one large picture flanked with strong Corinthian pillars. The pulpit and canopy are the work of sculptor Nikolaus Popp from Braşov. The exterior wall is built of sandstone with an irregular oval shape.



The organ

In later centuries the Apafi family (Hungarian nobles in Transylvania) buried their dead in the church since they had overlordship in the village, but the sarcophagi were removed by the Communist regime.

Panoramas by Michael Pop.

Slimnic Stronghold

Slimnic (German Saxon: Stulzembrich, Stűltsembriχ; German: Stolzenburg; Hungarian: Szelindek, Nagyszelindek) is a commune in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. Around 1930, a treasure containing 18 golden coins minted between 1050 and 1350 was found in the territory of Slimnic. 12 of the coins were from mints located half way down the river Elba. It can therefore be assumed that some East-German colonists lived on these lands in the 14th century however the Saxon community here is known to be much older than that.

The stronghold of Slimnic is set on the hillock called Burgbaesch (or Burgbäsch). From this hill, that dominates the village below, the fortress was supposed to guard the way from Mediaş to the residence of the seat of Sibiu. Because of the deteriorating effects of historical events on the fortress, a set of ruins are all that remain today. The peasant citadel was built by the locals, who have used it for defense in harsh times or to maintain their supplies. The first mantle walls, built of uncut stone, were erected in the 12th century, at the time of the great Tatar invasion.


In Front of the Stronghold

This construction was replaced in the 15th century with a stronger construction made of brick. The Gothic chapel in the north of the citadel was then transformed into a defense tower. Besieged several times, the city was conquered by Ioan Zápolya in 1529, and Mózes Székely in 1602. It was besieged also by the Turks in 1658.


The Inner Court

The red brick walls formed two polygonal precincts which have both been preserved to this day. The southern one though, enclosing a well, was badly damaged by the kuruc at the beginning on the 18th century. They had attacked on behalf of Prince Ferenc II Rákóczi and were led by Lorenz Perki. The tower in the northern precinct had walls up to 3.5 m thick at the base, but had no machicolation, battlement or wall passage.


The Way to the Tower

During the 14th century was built, but unfinished, the Gothic basilica, on west-east axis of the stronghold. All that remains of the church today are its walls, except for the northern one, which has been destroyed. Because of the unusual plan and the elevated choir, under which there was a tunnel communicating with the gate tower, it is difficult to speculate on how the church was intended to look.


In the Tower

After 1717 the fortress was repaired several times. The stones taken from the demolition of a part of the church in 1855 were not used as planned for building a new school, but were instead used for a new cemetery wall. In 1870, the little tower between the inner and outer courtyard and part of the wall that guarded the southern entrance collapsed, as did the circular ones surrounding the well, only two years later. During World War I was taken the very precious bell. In the late 1950s the bell tower, the southern walls, and the north-western defensive tower were restored.

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From Fortified Churches from Transylvania and other sources.

Panoramas by Michael Pop, from www.360trip.ro.

Homorod fortified church

Homorod (German: Hammeroden) is a commune in Braşov County, Romania. During the XII century, in the time of King Geza II, came settlers from Flanders (hospites flandrenses), who speak a language slightly different from that of the Saxons, but they were all of German origin. They settled on a hill near the village Homorod today, and the place was then called Petersdorf, after St. Peter, who was patron of the church.


At the end of the XIII century, the residents began to build a Romanic Church type room, different from the plan with three aisles of most Saxon churches. The triumphal arch is intra-muros and the old choir is hidden in the ground floor of the East tower. His walls are decorated with frescoes dating from three periods (centuries XIII, XIV and XV). Choir room ceiling is squared, vaulted on ogives vaulted, a semicircular apse, a bell tower with gallery on the west. Along with the building of the fortification walls, the church was fortified too, the choir and apse being contained in a strong tower.


The strong Saxon peasant fortification, built around the Evangelical-Lutheran Church was never been conquered. The first site is rectangular and was built in the fifteenth century. It has towers on the corners, and between the towers, the walls had two stacked patrol roads, which relies on wooden consoles. On the west side is a small tower that guards the entrance gate.

Valea Viilor fortified church

Valea Viilor (German: Wurmloch; Hungarian: Nagybaromlak) is a commune located in Sibiu County, Romania. It is composed of the villages of Valea Viilor and Motiş.



Valea Viilor is first mentioned in 1305 when its owner, Count Apafi, passed away. In a document from this period the village was referred to as terra Baromlach which means "land of the cattle". The German version of the village's name sounds similar but has a different meaning. The German name appears half a century later in a document that acknowledges the church of Wurmloch as belonging to the Superior Council of Schelk (Şeica Mare). The Saxon name roughly translates to "snake hole". As to whether the place was swarming with snakes or full of cattle it is unclear. What is clear is that the land was owned by nobility. However, by 1359 the land was being mentioned as a free commune. Surprisingly, the villagers of Valea Viilor excelled at making wine, giving rise to the Romanian name meaning "Vineyard Valley". The whole area has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.


The fortified church is situated in the center of the village. The first church was most likely a Gothic basilica erected in the early 14th century. Archeological excavations have revealed the existence of another building before the present church. Observable ruins in the floor of the vestry indicate that once was a Romanesque church at Valea Viilor. It is speculated that the original church was approximately 10 meters long, less than half the length of the present church. The present-day Gothic church, built in the 14th century, is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The church is characterized by Late-Gothic elements from around 1500. The church hall has a tunnel vault with a Late-Gothic ribbed net. The small nave has a vault supported by seven pairs of pillars that are attached to the side walls. Both the nave and the choir have a complex network of ribs on their vaults. In the construction phase, more levels were added above the choir with arches between the tall buttresses and a fortified level with a hoarding. The Baroque altar from 1779 has two tiers, columns, small columns, saint’s statues, and painted panels. A Eucharist shrine and stall work from the beginning of the 16th century have survived. The existing organ is from 1808. The church had undergone several periods of construction in the beginning of the 19th century.


The church is surrounded by an oval precinct with 7-8 meter high mantle walls. Towers were placed in the east, west, north, and south with the western one being a gate tower. The church and precinct are accessed via a vaulted gangway with portcullis on the western side. On the sides there are four bastions oriented north, south, east, and west. The walls are equipped with battlements and machicolations that are supported by brackets on the outside. There is another hoarding above the hall, with loopholes and arches for machicolations. The west tower, which is also a bell tower, has buttresses at 45 degrees, arches between the buttresses, and a hoarding on wooden cantilevers. The fortress of Valea Viilor is impressive because of the sculptural character of the fortified aspects.

Viscri fortified church

The village of Viscri (German: Deutschweißkirch or simply Weißkirch; Hungarian: Szászfehéregyháza), is part of Buneşti commune in Braşov county and is best known for its highly fortified church, originally built around 1100 AD. It is part of the villages with fortified churches in Transylvania, designated in 1993 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.


The church was built in the 12th century by Szekely (Szeklers, Hungarian ethnics) colonists and taken over by Saxons colonists in 1185. In the 12th century, that is in the first stage of German colonization in Transylvania, the Saxons had built a Romanesque church, which, having been pulled down by the Tartar invasion in 1241-1242, was replaced by an edifice which has been preserved to the day.


Though small in size, the Gothic Church at Viscri impresses by the grandeur of its walls made of roughly shaped stones. The plan of the former Saxon Romanesque church had been simple, with a single nave, a flat ceiling and a semicircular apse on its eastern side. In the 13th century a keep was built onto the west of the church, the choir was extended eastward and shortly afterward the church was enlarged as far as to the tower. During a third phase of construction at the end of 15th century, the church was converted into a fortified church by adding battlements to the choir and the West Tower. In the chancel one can see what was left of a Romanesque pillar, ended in a cornice capitel (actually the only one known in Transylvania), alongside a triumphal arch left also form the former church. After 1743 a covered corridor for the storage of corn was built. A century later, two chambers in the defense corridor of the bastion were turned into school rooms. The classic 19th century altar has as centerpiece "the Blessing of the Children" by the painter J. Paukratz from Rupea. The font was made from a capital of the 13th century church. The furniture of the Church is decorated with folk Saxon motifs.




The residence tower alongside its outbuildings placed in an oval enclosure that had once (in the 13th century) been home to the village's headman were actually the core of the Peasant Fortress built in the 14th century, and restored, together with the Church, in the 16th century. The Fortress has two precinct walls. The inner one, provided with four towers and two bastions, has been preserved to the day. On the wall, one can still read that restoration works were made in the 17th century under the guidance of architect Hartmann, and having the following motto ‘In pace de bello et in bello de pace cogitatis'.


Mention should be made of the covered wall-walk of the fortification, linked to the four towers and to the Church. At times of war, it would allow people's safe moving along within the Fortress. The fortification has a stone arched entrance and four upper levels which can be reached by the wall carved steps. The walls have a depth of five meters which were built from the nearby river's stones.


The Church and the Peasant Fortress display three different building materials, namely stone mixed with partially plastered brick for the precinct walls, towers, as well as for the Church's walls and spire; wood used to encircle the precinct walls and the towers, and placed below the cornices and along the bracket corridors; tile which covers the Church's and the towers' tall roofs. Their corresponding colors, i.e. white, brown and red make the buildings' complex look particularly picturesque. To this effect contribute also the Church's buttresses, with lateral entrances to the nave, alongside the very narrow space left between the Church and the Fortress, keeping with the rural styles during the Middle Ages.

Saschiz fortified church and fortress

Saschiz (German: Keisd, Transylvanian Saxon Kisd, Hungarian: Szászkézd) is a commune in Mureş County, Romania. It has a population of 2,048: 88% Romanians, 5% Germans, 4% Hungarians and 3% Roma. The commune has a fortified church, designated in 1993 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Saschiz has been first mentioned in writing in 1305. In 1419 it counted several guilds, of which those set up by shoemakers, carpenters and house painters. By that time, Saschiz boasted several schools, a hospital, Turkish bath-house and a court-house. On the 12th of May 1678, the town of Saschiz fell under Sighişoara's administrative jurisdiction by a decision of Transylvania's Diet. The settlement is known for its folk pottery (of a zgraphitocobalt type) since 1702, as well as for its folk costumes and fabrics.


On the premises of a Romanesque church, a great fortified church was erected in 1493. A couple of preserved documents certify subsidies given by the Province of Sibiu from 1494 to 1525 for the construction of the church. The township was even given Papal indulgence from 1503 to 1507 and was furthermore exempted from supporting the military troupes with accommodation and supplies as the official Johan Polder had established. It draws attention by the expressive beauty of its proportions, and by a rigorous adaptation of a typical fortification's elements to the requirements of a church. The fortified level is placed over the nave and choir, making the edifice look like a huge bastion. The bulwark of the wall-walk is pushed forward by the bracket over the massive arches placed on top of the stone and brick buttresses. Behind the arches one can see the slits of the loop-holes.


The Church holds one of the most beautiful chalices made by the goldsmiths in Transylvania. The chalice of the Evangelical Church at Saschiz is richly adorned, with its leg decorated with beams, an inscription and a trimming with lily flowers. On the leg of the chalice are carved the portraits of three Hungarian kings, i.e. Stephen, Emeric and Ladislas.


The Tower at Saschiz is one of the most beautiful examples of Saxon architecture in Transylvania. The spire of the Tower has the shape of a pointed pyramid, it is covered with coloured enameled tiles, and is richly decorated. Its top level below the cover of the roof is slightly protruded, being held up by a bracket, and supported on a row of narrow arches that hold the loop-holes on the cornice. Its defensive role was strengthened by the elevation of the vestry with solid masonry. The twelve skylights, three on each side of the Tower, the four turrets on its corners, and the highly pointed spire with its bulb-shaped iron-plated base, make it look like the building that actually inspired it the Clock Tower at Sighişoara.


In the old days the settlement was surrounded by a defensive wall. Its remains are the present enclosure of the premises. The fortified church was also watched over by the stronghold built on the hill next from the village.


The Fortified peasant fortress stands on a wooded hill close to the village and has an ellipsoidal plan, tall walls and towers. The Old fortress of Saschiz, as it is also called, just like the Rasnov fortress, is not a typical fortification for Transylvania. The construction of the refuge fortress evinces the transition from the Romanesque to the Gothic architectural styles in Transylvania, which was put an end to in the 14th century. This is proved by the Fortress' bent roof and loop-holes provided with a wooden beam that would rotate in order to ensure a better aiming at the enemy. This system of arrow loops and fire holes is also to be found at the fortresses of Rupea and Prejmer. The stone walls of the Fortress are 7-9 m tall, and they are fortified by square defensive towers. The towers' names, i.e. the School Tower, the Fire Powder Tower, the Priests' Tower, the Princess' Tower, the Guard's Tower indicate that the village community was well organized. The Old Fortress has kept a 65 m deep fountain to the day.

Dârjiu fortified church

Dârjiu (Hungarian: Székelyderzs) is a commune in Harghita County, Romania comprising of 2 villages: Dârjiu and Mujna. The commune has an absolute Szekler (Székely - Hungarian) majority (98.3%) and it is situated 18 km away from Sighişoara on a county road. Szeklers are a Hungarian ethnic group mostly living in the counties of Harghita, Covasna and a part of Mureş counties. Dârjiu was first mentioned in writing in 1334, but on its present territory have been discovered early human traces dating from the neolithic age.


The village of Dârjiu is home to a 13th century fortified church, which is today Unitarian, and is on UNESCO's World Heritage Sites List. Unitariansm was an official religion in Transylvania from the 1583 Mediaş (Hungarian: Medgyes) parliament. The first bishop was Ferenc Dávid, a local Hungarian-speaking Saxon.


Formerly built in the Romanesque style (14th and 15th centuries), the Church acquired a Gothic aspect in 1640, under the rule of Transylvania's prince György Rákóczi I (1630-1648). Fortified in 1400, it has a rectangular precinct with high walls, strengthened by five towers. The Gate Tower preserves its original aspect, with massive masonry pierced by loop-holes provided with wooden shutters. The fortified church was embellished by Gothic rib vaults; unfortunately, the rib embedding process damaged many of the original murals dating from 1419.


The fortified storey covers both the nave and the choir, while the parapet of the wall-walk supported on corbels is placed over the buttresses. This set-up facilitates the wide opening of the loop-holes below the cornice. Although designed for utility purposes, these loop-holes have a special decorative effect. So has the stairway to the organ, dating from 1837. Placed on the eastern side of the building, the stairway is massively carved in rigorously cut planes. The church has the overall aspect of a bastion, with a high roof and no towers. The precinct is covered by an inner roof below which can be seen the supply cells where the villagers have stored their hams to the day. The church has a big bell dating from 1612, which was donated to it by Ioan Petki, a general in the Székelys' army and a chancellor of Transylvania. In the northwestern corner of the church there is a deep fountain that used to supply water during wars.


The fortified church at Dârjiu is well-known due to its murals discovered in 1887. Their author is master painter Paul, Stephen of Ung's son, born in Slovakia. Educated in an eclectic environment, the painter would blend the Gothic and the Italian Renaissance styles. The artist depicted himself on one of the frescoes. Close to him, on a flag that waves somewhere over his head, there is an inscription in Latin written in Gothic small letters which says "This work was done and prepared by master painter Paul, son of Stephen of Ung, fourteen nineteen A.D. I was writing and thinking of a beautiful girl". This text shows the artist's surprising freedom of expression, as well as the fact that in 1419, the Transylvanian society was not at all far from the Renaissance spirit.


Unfortunately, very few of the initial murals have been preserved to the day. Most of them were effaced when the bracket rib vaults were built, by the end of the 15th century, and also, later on, in the 17th century, when a gallery was added. Murals depict Apostle Paul's Conversion, the Martyrdom of the 10,000, as well as several likenesses of sanctified bishops. The most valuable paintings are those relating to King Ladislas' Legend (In the Pursuit of the Cumanian, The Wrestle, The Cumanian's Defeat and Killing, Ladislas' Rest). The frescoes inside the church are considered the most impressive creations from medieval Transylvania.


The villagers keep their grains in the fortress even today. The same with the ham, bacon, lard and smoked pork products, which are kept in the bastions. As concerns the grains, they can take them home every morning but the pork products only once a week (Internet infos compilation).

Biertan fortified church

Biertan (German: Birthälm, Romani: Biyertan, Hungarian: Berethalom) is a commune in central Romania, in the north of the Sibiu County, 80 km north of Sibiu and 15 km east of Mediaş. It is one of the most important Saxon villages with fortified churches in Transylvania, having been on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1993. It was the seat of the Lutheran Evangelical Diocese in Transylvania between 1572 and 1867. It is one of the most visited villages in Transylvania, being the historically important place of the annual reunion of the Transylvanian Saxons, many of whom now live in Germany.


Biertan is one of the first German settlements in Transylvania placed between the two "Seats" (Mediaş and Şeica) in the Andreean Diploma from 1224. The first attestation of its name has been certified since 1283, in a document about the taxes demanded by the Catholic Capital from Alba Iulia to the Catholic priests from the Transylvanian Saxon communities. As any other Transylvanian Saxon Community, it had an urban organization, being noticed the franconic style of the rows of houses around the central square overlooked by a grandiose fortress-church.


This heavily fortified church sits on a hilltop in the center of Biertan village. The church was mentioned for the first time in 1402; most likely a Gothic basilica, it was completely demolished. The only remains of the original church are some stone vault ribs and a few bosses.


Today’s church is a hall-shaped church with a chief nave and two side-aisles. The four-bay church has a 5/8 apse and was built between 1500 and 1525, during the time of Priest “Baccalaureus Johannis”. The church has net-shaped brick-ribbed vaults over its entire ceiling.




Late-Gothic and Renaissance stone masonry is also preserved, including doorways, brackets, the pulpit, and other items. The wooden furniture, the doors, and the folding triptych date back to the beginning of the 16th century. Inside the church the late Gothic shrine, in the form of a triptych was realized in more stages between 1515-1524. The pews are made between 1514-1523 by Reychmut from Sighişoara and are ones of the most valuable pews of this kind from Transylvania. The Europa Nostra restoration from 1978 to 1991 revealed parts of the former paintings and inscriptions.



The pulpit was made in 1523 by the stone carver Ulrich, from Braşov. The painting on the wood of the pulpit is from 1754. The pulpit is impressive for the biblical scenes reproduction and for the adornment with architectural and vegetal motifs very carefully painted in the transition style from Gothic to Renaissance.


An organ existed in a church since 1523 (the organ player Bartholomaeus is mentioned); it was replaced in 1731, in 1785 (by Samuel Metz), then in 1869, when the Hessian Company in Vienna built a new organ with 1290 tubes, 2 manuals, pedals and 25 registers.



The artist Johannes Reichmuth from Sighişoara made in 1515 the special door of the vestry. The vestry has an intricate blocking system of the door which moved simultaneously 15 lockers. The room of the vestry shielded the treasure of the church and of the village when there was a siedge. In this room there can stil be seen tools of the Transylvanian crafters, paintings, jugs and bowls in Renaissance style.



On the southern part of the upper plateau, the "Catholic Tower" contains preserved fresco paintings from the mid-15th century. The two shielding walls, which partially lie on arches, are strengthened by many towers and a bastion. To reach the upper plateau of the fortress, one must pass four gate-towers. The outer wall, situated mostly at the base of the hill, is strengthened to the west and south by two fortified zwingers with gate towers.

The Fortified Church in Prejmer

The beginnings of the Holy Cross Church in Prejmer relate to the rule of the Teutonic Knights in Bârsa Country (1211-1225). Widely considered as the most powerful peasant fortification in medieval Transylvania, the fortress encompassing the church in Prejmer was built between the 15th and the 16th centuries.




In 1240, the church and its associated domain were repossessed by the Cistercian monks. Erected in the 13th century in early Gothic style, the church is a Latin cross-plan building with an octagon tower rising over the nave, ogival vaults and side chapels that flank the polygonal-shaped main apse. On the outside, reflecting Cistercian Gothic-style influences from the abbey in Cârţa, are windows with quatrefoil tracery and a console frieze beneath the cornice. Between 1512 and 1515, the church was transformed by enlarging western wing and covering it with a ribbed vault. Inside the church, a valuable polyptych altar depicting the “Passion of the Christ” dating from the mid 15th century has been preserved.



The double-fortified inner ward forms an ellipse with four horseshoe towers completed by a barbican, and was fit with one of the most advanced systems of provision chambers that can be seen in a Transylvanian fortified church. Inside the walls, the village community had all the supplies needed to withstand a prolonged siege.




The first documentary to Prejmer village is from 1240. Organized around a central square that encompasses the fortress-church, the village has almost completely retained its historical layout and structure, as well as the architecture and decoration of the houses, most which were built between the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 20th century.



In 1520, the village of Prejmer was the largest settlement in Bârsa Country, and its present-day structure was completed around 1556. The village preserves ethnological and historical values illustrating the life of a multi-ethnic community (from MarvaoGuide, photos Foton).