Transylvania, Guest Houses and Hiking Trails in the Fortress Landscape
The Architectural History of Fortified Churches
For those who know Transylvania, the region is simply not imaginable without its fortified churches. They belong to a group of buildings of historic importance which not only have shaped the cultural landscape of Transylvania but are also a testimony to a certain strategy of survival the Transylvanian Saxons adopted in a geographical and historical setting which, for several centuries, was the scene of many a conflict between the great eastern and western nations of the Eurasian continent.
Discover UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Fortified churches were built between the 13th and 16th centuries. After the Mongol invasion of Europe in 1241, but most notably after Europe was under threat from advancing Ottoman Turks in the late 14th century, around 300 fortified churches were erected in the settlement area of the Transylvanian Saxons, 140 of which still remain in different states of preservation. Seven villages are home to architectural sites that are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List: Sighişoara/Schäßburg, Viscri/Deutsch-Weißkirch, Saschiz/ Keisd, Câlnic/ Kelling, Prejmer/Tartlau, Valea Viilor/Wurmloch, the Székely village of Dârjiu/Dersch, and the community of Biertan/Birthälm, which has been under UNESCO protection since 1993. Most of these world heritage sites are fortified churches.
Types of Construction
Churches were often the only stone buildings in the villages and, as such, the only buildings to provide protection against enemy attacks. Villages, in particular, could not afford to build fortifications around their communities. Therefore, the simplest form of fortification was to convert the church itself into a fortalice by adding a defence storey above the choir and nave arches and enclosing this fortification with a single circular defensive wall. Examples of this type include the fortified churches of Sebeş/Mühlbach, Valea Viilor/Wurmloch, and Archita/Arkeden.
Another widespread type are fortified churches whose choirs and naves were expanded by two or three defence storeys. In addition, these churches were ringed with one to three defensive walls, armed towers, and moats. Examples of this type can be found in Cisnădie/Heltau, Viscri/Deutsch-Weißkirch, Agnita/Agnetheln, and Biertan/ Birthälm.
The third type are churches which were not themselves fortified, but were surrounded with a row of two or three concentric defensive walls, with either bastions or circular or polygonal armed towers. The circular walls are about 4.50 m (15 ft) thick and up to 17 m (56 ft) high. Examples of this type are the fortified churches in Prejmer/Tartlau and Hărman/Honigberg.
The purpose of the fortification was to protect the entire community against enemy raids. Every family was assigned one of the storage rooms which, even in times of peace, were stacked with different foods because there was rarely enough time to transport store during an offensive. The idea was to ensure that the villagers would always be prepared to withstand even extended sieges. Some fortified churches also had a well, which provided enough fresh drinking water.
Along with fortified churches, there are also larger fortifications that are not centred around a church. In the event of an attack, these so-called peasant fortresses could shelter whole populations from surrounding villages. Well-known peasant fortresss can be found in Râşnov/Rosenau, Rupea/Reps, and Slimnic/Stolzenburg.
