Fortified Church Toarcla / Tarteln

Mediaş / Mediasch Among the town cathedrals of Transylvania, Mediaș stands out due to the fact that not only the church, but also the whole castle complex are entirely preserved. Today’s appearance of the church dedicated to St. Margaret traces back to two preceding buildings, which had to undergo many alterations until 1482. The western tower on the other hand reached its full height only in the middle of the 16th century. The interior of the church has an asymmetrical cross section, being a combination of basilica and hall church. By keeping the low height of the northern aisle, a series of outstanding medieval wall paintings were preserved on the wall of the nave above. The winged altar of 1485 is a masterpiece of the pre-reformation age. Furthermore there is a collection of important altars transferred from abandoned or endangered churches on display. Inside the ring wall with its five towers the ensemble of Old Town Hall, school and parish house is cuddling around the church. In the south tower St. Mary’s chapel shows its well preserved pre-reformation frescoes. The inner ward depicts the development of the civic life in a Saxon town shaped over centuries, featuring the elements of church and defence, education and administration. Even today the buildings of church, school and parish house serve their original functions. Place and surroundings Mediaș, already appointed as city in 1359, attracts an increasing number of visitors under the theme “The secrets of the Castle of Light”. Mysterious are actually in this medieval city not only the legendary underground labyrinth and the solar and Masonic symbols, but there is plenty more to explore and discover.The outer walls of the inner town castle, which is considered the strongest Saxon fortified town church that is still preserved, surrounds Margaret’s Church, the old town hall, the former schools and many other buildings such as the birthplace of the humanist Stephan Ludwig Roth. Five towers also protect the assembly. The Trumpeter tower next to the church, with its eight floors is not only the tallest building in the city and thus the symbol of Mediaș, but also famous for its tilt. The almost 70 meter high tower has a pointed spire and the four corner towers testifying on the legal right on live and death that Mediaş had. Keys are at: the Evangelic Parish Office Mediaș Piața Castelului nr. 2, directly beside the church phone: +40/269/841 962 e-mail: kastellmediasch@yahoo.de The opening hours are valid only during summer. In winter, a visit can be offered only on request. Accomodation: Guest rooms in the parish hall of the Evangelic Church Mediaș: 27 beds in 9 rooms, appointments at the Parish Office Mediaș phone: +40/269/841962 or +40/735/169484 e-mail: kastellmediasch@yahoo.de. Guest rooms in the Church Castle: 9 beds in 3 rooms appointments at the Parish Office Mediaș phone: +40/269/841962 or +40/735/169484 e-mail: kastellmediasch@yahoo.de Hotel: The Parish House of the Ev. Church 4 double-rooms und drei 3-bed-rooms, each with bathroom Mansarde 2 larger rooms with bathroom 27 beds the large hall including the kitchen can be reserved Information and Booking: in the Parish Office phone: (0040-269) 841962 E-mail: kastellmediasch@yahoo.de Internet: www.evkm.ro In the Schullerhaus 14 persons in single rooms, double rooms and three-bed-rooms with bathroom breakfast room, terrace, TV, internet connection, parking in the courtyard Information and Booking: Luca Andra phone: (0040-269) 831347 e-mail: fdrmedias@gmail.com Ferdinand House adress: Großer Marktplatz, House No. 16 up to 24 persons 4 apartments with kitchen and 6 rooms, bathrooms, restaurant Information and Booking: online e-mail: contact@turistintransilvania.com phone: (0040-749) 680770

Șomartin / Martinsberg In the 13th century, a three-nave basilica with a west tower was built on a hill in the middle of Șomartin. In 1520, the community received a grant from the treasury of the Sibiu Province to fortify the church. In the course of fortifying the church, a defense level was built above the choir. The best-preserved part of the Romanesque church is the western front with the portal and tower. In the 18th century, the basilica cross-section was altered by the addition of side aisles and the construction of bricked galleries. Since 1795, there is a porch in the south of the tower. Once the Șomartin church was surrounded by a rectangular fortified wall; in addition, a drawing by Martin Schlichting from around 1858 shows a smaller fortified tower north of the bell tower. In 1987, consolidation work was carried out on the bell tower and belfry. Due to improper hanging of the bells and due to fatigue of masonry and wood the tower started to vibrate. The damage was repaired by inserting reinforced concrete beams and consolidating the wooden structure. The central picture of the Baroque altar is a scene of the Last Supper by the Sibiu painter Johann Martin Stock and is dated 1730. Keys are with: Mr. Johann Lazar phone: +40/766/724 896 Hotel: Parrish House No. 8 2 double rooms B&B from August 1st to September 15th garden shower, you wash with well water, outhouse in the garden camping is possible Information and Booking: Günter Czernetzky phone:  (0049-179) 1176456 or (0040-755) 580020 e-mail: g.czernetzky@gmail.com

Şeica Mare / Marktschelken Built in the 13th century as an unfortified three-aisles basilica with apse, the church was protected through a curtain wall with defence towers since the 15th century. Later the church itself was fortified by dismantling the northern aisle. A brick-made barrel vault replaced the wooden ceiling of the nave. In place of the apse a chancel with polygonal end was erected in the middle of the 16th century. In addition it was heightened with two defence levels. Some ornamental paintings have been preserved on the outside of their walls. In the year 1800 the church was extended to the west by one third, adding the bell tower to the western facade six years later. The fortification was demolished completely 100 years later. On the eastern side the school replaced the curtain wall. The barrel vault of the nave and the cross vault in the aisle have been preserved until today. Well worth seeing are the Baroque pulpit and the altar of 1776. Place and surroundings In the 16th Century Şeica Mare was a famous village in Transylvania, enjoying the privilege of hosting markets. In 1525 the king of Hungary authorized the hosting of the winter fair in this place. This was a special privilege, thus the village being under the direct protection of the king. Fairs were events of a major importance for the rural community, attracting traders, merchants, buyers and admirers from all the neighboring areas. What a colorful picture they made: decorated pottery, fabulous jewellery displayed on veils and rolls of dyed silk and delicious special dishes. Moreover, the community of the village had the right to decide over the life and death of its inhabitants. To this purpose, a pillar of disgrace was raised, a 6m high tower with four niches to which those who were guilty for breaking the laws were tied by neck with iron chains. Even though the pillar was later pulled down, it still remains in the history of the village, according to Rosel Potoradi, as an eternal symbol of the fact that Şeica Mare once had the noble status of a free village with the right to host fairs. Keys are with: Mr. Helmuth Diesing phone: +40/762/974 365

Hetiur / Marienburg Inside the small village a hall church was erected in the 15th century, its chancel being closed by a polygonal construction. A tower with defence level and spire was built on the western side of the today standing Gothic church. As suggested by the buttresses, the interior of the church was most probably covered with vaults, which were later on replaced by a flat ceiling. Only ruins are preserved from the defence wall. Inside the church the valuable works of two well known masters from Sighişoara can be admired: an altar built in 1789 by Johannes Folberth, and above it an organ with late Baroque prospectus that Samuel Binder built in 1850. Place and surroundings Located near “The Medieval Jewel of Romania”, Sighişoara, the village of Hetiur can be considered itself a historical precious stone. The walls of the fortified church hold, in a protective embrace, the valuable 1789 Baroque-style altar. The roots of the altar, as a place of worship, are much more deeply implanted in the past. Its name derives from the Latin term “alta ara”, which means elevation of the ground (initially, the altar was a pile of ground or stones). It symbolizes the meeting place between man and Divinity, in the majority of cultures being represented as the image of a table where man and his Creator sit together. In Christianity, the altar was a simple wooden table at first, later a stone table, finally being elevated over the martyrs’ graves in the shape of a sarcophagus. Over time, these simple constructions transformed themselves into real art works, the most important types being the following: the canopy altar (a Balanchine supported by columns), the winged altar (made of multiple paintings and panels) and the predella altar (the base of a painting representing scenes related to its main subject). Keys are with: Mrs. Maria Theiss phone: +40/265/711 155 Unfortunately, the church is currently not accessible.

Feldioara / Marienburg The Evangelic church and the ruins of the Teutonic Knights’ fortress, separated only by a ditch, are the pride of Feldioara. The 13th century Romanesque basilica with three aisles and a later added bell tower shows an interesting particularity, a vaulted gallery at the second level of the tower dedicated to the founder of the church. During the 18th century the tower is provided with a roof, constructed after the model of the Black Church in Braşov. The interior of the church is covered with crossed vaults, which in the chancel are supported by half-column piers. Their capitals are decorated with vegetal, anthropomorphic and biblical motifs. From the pre-reformation altar only few parts were preserved and moved later to the Black Church. From the curtain wall only some remains still exist, while the boulder walls of the nearby Teutonic fortress still stand. The latter’s defence walls were 4m thick and enforced with four towers. The remains of a chapel within the enclosure can still be seen today. Place and surroundings The fortifications of Feldioara will always remain in old scripts and paintings in its full majesty, as the Teutonic knights built it 800 years ago. At the beginning of the 13th Century, King Andrew the 2nd of Hungary offered The Land of Bârsa to the Teutonic Knights Order for them to defend the eastern border of the growing empire. The knights received in exchange immunity and the right to autonomy and self-governance. Pope Honorius the 2nd even granted them the right to start a state. In 1211 one started with the building of a new fortress. This caused concerns to the Hungarian aristocrats, who then imposed in 1225 the permanent banishment of the Order from the region. The administration of the village was taken over by the Cistercien monks, which in the same century started building the fortified church with the help of the villagers. The church has been over centuries the cultural and religious center of the Transylvanian Saxons and stands today not far away from the ruins of the knight’s castle, in the middle of the village. Keys are with: Mr. Friedrich Taus phone: +40/722/506 613 and Mr. Attila Tartler phone: +40/755/403 740

Măgheruș / Maniersch On the valley slope, halfway up the hill above the village, stands the simple hall church of Magheruș. Free of certain stylistic features, it was probably built in the 16th century. The bell tower is made of massive stone masonry and is significantly older than the church. This assumption is supported by the narrow, long firing slits, which date back to before the appearance of firearms. From the third floor the tower is made of brick masonry, the fifth floor forms the open battlement on hanging trestles. The defense wall made of flat sandstone slabs is between three and four meters high. The gate tower probably also dates from the 16th century and was renovated in 1725 and 1814. The gate of the defense wall is open today and is overgrown by vegetation. The door to the church hangs diagonally in the hinges, windows are splintered and the plaster is crumbling. The altar is a raw stone block, over the back of which a remarkable altarpiece rises. Remarkable not for its pictorial art, but for its minimalist Protestant simplicity. The organ from 1912 was sold to Târgu Secuiesc in 1988. Keys are with: Paul and Paula Chisiu at the farm behind the fortified church

Pelişor / Magarei The small towerless one-nave hall church in Pelişor was built in the 15th century and has remained almost unchanged until today. Only the nave was provided with a new stuccoed flat ceiling in the 19th century. In 1500 a polygonal curtain wall was built and endowed with four defensive towers, of which only the impressive gate tower with battlement walk survived the centuries. The assembly was strengthened on its western hillside with another wall with outer bailey built in 1600. The construction is still more than 10m high and preserves several defensive systems such as loopholes and embrasures. The neoclassical white-golden altar consecrated in 1832 dominates the interior. The late Baroque organ however was moved to the evangelical church in Bucharest after restoration. Place and surroundings Pelişor was documented for the first time mid 14th Century. The village’s development went smoother than in the neighboring settlements, a process that may be also explained by the small number of inhabitants: at the beginning of the 16th Century one counted only 50 families. Many disputes occurred throughout centuries with the neighboring village of Biertan, which was fast growing. Up to the 19th Century Biertan kept claiming right on different land plots. In 1676 the Saxon Nation University, self-administrating political organ of the Transylvanian Saxons, prohibited the villagers from leaving Pelişor by threatening to confiscate all their belongings. The purpose of this undertaking was probably the prevention of residents migrating to other villages. Even so, in only 20 years one counted 15 deserted homesteads in Pelişor. End of the 18th Century a fire destroyed part of the village as most of its houses were still built in wood. With less than 500 inhabitants, Pelişor is even today a very quiet and contemplative place. The curtain wall of the evangelic church in the center of the village represents a good example of medieval defense architecture. Activities Since there are no Protestant parishioners left in Pelișor, the maintenance of the fortified church has posed an increasing challenge in recent years. Since 2018, the association P.A.T.R.U. has been working for the preservation of the castle and the neighboring parsonage. The Fortified Churches Foundation supports his work. The following has been achieved in recent years: 2018 – The association “Asociatia P.A.T.R.U.” starts its activities on site 2017 – Fortified Churches Foundation in cooperation with the Patrimonium Saxonicum Foundation: Removal of trees and other vegetation from the castle grounds (short report) 2016 – Fortified Churches Foundation: Implementation of first safety measures Our Partners Patrimonium Saxonicum Foundation Association “Asociatia P.A.T.R.U.” Keys are with:

Mercheașa / Streitfort Of the Romanesque basilica from the 13th century, the nave and the square of the choir are preserved. In the 15th century, when the side aisles were removed and the arcades were bricked up, the basilica changed into a hall church. In addition, entrance halls were added on the north and south sides in more recent times. The church was once surrounded by a six- to seven-meter high defensive wall from the first half of the 16th century in the form of an irregular quadrilateral with towers in each corner. Parts of the west side of the wall were already demolished around 1800 to build a town hall. A century later, the remains of the western defense wall and the southwest tower were also taken down to build a school building. The northeast tower and the gate were also demolished, leaving only the southeast tower. The north-west tower, which was converted into a keep, later collapsed; between 1848 and 1858 it was replaced by a bell tower. The bell from 1570 is a donation of the mayor of Mauritius Ludwigs from Rupea. Two wooden sculptures from pre-Reformation times have been preserved in Mercheasa: a Madonna with remarkable drapery from the first half of the 15th century and a large crucifix from the transition period from Gothic to Renaissance. The organ was erected in 1788 by Johannes Prause and in 1887 W. Hörbinger expanded it to ten stops. Keys are with: Mr. Andreas Walter phone: +40/786/420 646

Dacia / Stein Already in the 13th century, a towerless three-nave Romanesque pillar basilica stood in stone. In the 15th century, this church was surrounded by a six to eight meter high defensive wall in the shape of an irregular quadrilateral. It can be assumed that another defensive wall once stood between this wall and the church. When the church was converted into a fortified church around 1500, the side aisles were removed and the arcade arches of the central nave and the upper aisles were bricked up. In addition, the choir and the nave were given a battlement and a defense floor. A few years later, a barrel vault with lunette caps was built over the nave, on which the date 1517 can be read. In 1845 the inhabitants of Dacia extended the church to the west and removed the battlement and the arches between the buttresses. Once there were towers in the four corners of the curtain wall, but in more recent times it was decided to remove the southwest tower to make room for the construction of a hall and the school. A fifth tower, the bell tower, collapsed during the 1738 earthquake, but was rebuilt in 1763. While digging for the foundations of the bell tower, an inscription stone and the remains of a Roman road were found. Keys are with: Mr. Michael Konnerth phone: +40/740/491 797