Biertan (german: Birthälm; hu, Berethalom) is a commune in Transylvania, Romania, in the north of the Sibiu County, 80 km north of Sibiu and 29 km east of Mediaș. Biertan is one of the most important

Saxon villages with fortified churches in Transylvania The south-eastern Transylvania region in Romania currently has one of the highest numbers of existing fortified churches from the 13th to 16th centuries. It has more than 150 well preserved fortified churches of a great variety of architectural st ...

, having been on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1993. The Biertan fortified church was the seat of the Lutheran Evangelical Bishop in Transylvania between 1572 and 1867. The commune is composed of three villages: Biertan, Copșa Mare (''Gross-Kopisch''; ''Nagykapus''), and Richiș (''Reichesdorf''; ''Riomfalva''), each of which has a fortified church.

History

The first documentary testimony about the village dates from 1283 in a document about the taxes paid by the inhabitants of 7 villages and so it is believed to have been founded sometime between 1224 and 1283 by Transylvanian Saxons. The village settlement quickly developed into an important market town and by 1510 Biertan supported a population of about 5,000 people. Between 1468 and the 16th century a small fortified church (''die Kirchenburg'') was constructed and developed. After the medieval period the town declined in importance with the rise of neighbouring Sighișoara (or ''Schäßburg'' in German), Sibiu (''Hermannstadt''), and Mediaș (''Mediasch''). In the census of 1930 Biertan had 2,331 inhabitants, of whom 1228 were Transylvanian Saxons. During World War II many men were conscripted into the Romanian army and later the Waffen-SS. After the war many Transylvanian Saxons were expelled from the region. Following the collapse of Communism in 1990 many more left for Germany. Today the whole commune has a population of about 2,500 and the village of Biertan alone has about 1,600 people. 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.

Festivals

Th
"Luna Plină" ("Full Moon") Horror and Fantasy Film Festival
takes place in Biertan. It is the only film festival in Romania focused exclusively on fantasy movies.

Gallery

File:Stamps of Romania, 2011-76.jpg, Biertan on a 2011 Romanian stamp File:Biserica fortificată din Richiș, vedere estică, 2016.jpg, left, Medieval fortified Evangelical Lutheran church in Richiș File:Award-Winning Lock - Biertan - Romania.jpg, Lock on a wooden door in the church at Biertan. The lock contains 19 locks in one. It won first prize at the Paris World Expo in 1900. File:SALZER(1881) p007 Birthälm.jpg, Biertan in 1881, digitized copy from the British Library File:Ansamblul bisericii evanghelice fortificate 1.jpg, Ensemble of the Evangelical fortified church File:Biertan - Incintă fortificată interioară, cu trei turnuri, bastion, turn de poartă.jpg, Indoor fortified enclosure with three towers, bastion and gate tower File:DonariumBiertan.JPG,

Biertan Donarium The Biertan Donarium is a fourth-century Christian votive object found near the town of Biertan, in Transylvania, Romania. Made out of bronze in the shape of a Labarum, it has the Latin text EGO ZENO VOTUM POSVI, which can be approximatively tra ...

File:Biertan 001.jpg, Biertan fortified church

Natives

Johann Peter Migendt Johann Peter Migendt, also Migend, (1703 – 19 September 1767) was a German organ builder in Berlin and successor to Joachim Wagner. Life Migend was born in Birthälm, Principality of Transylvania (now Biertan, Sibiu County, Romania). From 1 ...

(1703–1767), organ builder *

Artur Phleps Artur Gustav Martin Phleps (29 November 1881 – 21 September 1944) was an Austro-Hungarian, Romanian and German army officer who held the rank of '' SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS'' (lieutenant general) in the Waffen-SS d ...

(1881–1944), a Biertan-born military career officer. He, uniquely, served in the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

army of Austria-Hungary, the royal army of Romania and finally the Waffen-SS. * (1903–1960), bishop *Sara Römischer. Although she was not famous in the traditional sense, her story is representative of that experienced by many Transylvanian Saxons in Biertan following the Second World War. Sara was deported to Siberia in January 1945. She survived and after five years returned to her hometown of Biertan to bring up her family through many further hardships. Read an English translation of her harrowing story, or for the original German text in Siebenbürgische Zeitung).

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, Romanians made up 73.8% of the population,

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

made up 17.9%, Germans made up 4.6%, and Hungarians made up 3.6%. Biertan 002

History

Festivals

Gallery

Natives

Demographics

See also

References

External links