Chirpăr (german: Kirchberg; hu, Kürpöd) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

located in

Sibiu County Sibiu County () is a county ( ro, județ) of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Its county seat ( ro, reședință de județ) is the namesake town of Sibiu (german: Hermannstadt). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Szeben ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. It is composed of four villages: Chirpăr, Săsăuș (''Sachsenhausen''; ''Szászház''), Vărd (''Werd''; ''Vérd'') and Veseud (''Zied''; ''Vessződ''). Chirpăr and Veseud villages have fortified churches. The commune is situated in the eastern part of the county, east of the county seat,

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...

, south of

Agnita Agnita (; german: Agnetheln; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Ongenîtlen''; hu, Szentágota) is a town on the Hârtibaciu river in Sibiu County, Transylvania, central Romania. It is considered the locality in the center of the country. The town administer ...

, and west of

Făgăraș Făgăraș (; german: Fogarasch, Fugreschmarkt, hu, Fogaras) is a municipiu, city in central Romania, located in Brașov County. It lies on the Olt (river), Olt River and has a population of 28,330 as of 2011. It is situated in the historical regi ...

Architecture

The village church was erected by the local

Transylvanian Saxon The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ...

community in the 12th century. It was initially built as a Romanesque basilica, made of stone.

History

The

Mongol invasion The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire ( 1206- 1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...

of 1241–1242 caused great damage to the area. The first attestation of the locality (under the name of Kirchberg) dates from 1332. In 1910 the Agnita to Sibiu railway line was completed with at station at Vărd; however the line was closed in 2001. An active restoration group has since been formed aiming to restore the entire line to working condition.

Natives

Irina Petraș Irina Petraș (born 27 November 1947) is a Romanian writer, literary critic, essayist, translator and editor. Biography Irina Petraș graduated from high school in Agnita in 1965, and from the Faculty of Letters of the Babeș-Bolyai University i ...

References

*Augustin Ioan, Hanna Derer. ''The Fortified Churches of the Transylvanian Saxons''. Noi Media Print, 2004 Chirpar Biserica ortodoxa

Communes in Sibiu County Localities in Transylvania {{Sibiu-geo-stub