The Roșia fortified church ( ro, Biserica fortificată din Roșia; german: Kirchenburg von Rothberg) is a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

fortified church in Roșia (german: Rothberg), Sibiu County, in the

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 ...

region of

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 was built by the ethnic German

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 at a time when the area belonged to the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

. Initially

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, it became Lutheran following the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

Description

The church was built around 1225, and was first mentioned in a document from 1327. A Romanesque

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

dates to the 13th century; surviving elements include the choir, triumphal arch, pillars between the main and side naves, and parts of the north portal, including the windows and upper level. Fortification work took place in the 16th century, with most of the windows and the entrance room in the western part daring to the 18th. In the 19th century, the nave was given a vaulted ceiling held up by pilasters with capitals. The paintings above the triumphal arch are in the

Biedermeier The ''Biedermeier'' period was an era in Central Europe between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle class grew in number and the arts appealed to common sensibilities. It began with the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in ...

style. The 1682

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

altar, with its six Corinthian columns and baldachin, is particularly decorative, as is the baldachin-covered pulpit of 1781.Roșia/Rothberg
at biserici-fortificate.org RosiaSB (7)

The church resisted numerous armed attacks, including in 1600, when the army of

Michael the Brave Michael the Brave ( ro, Mihai Viteazul or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593 – 1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Transylvania (1599 – 1600). ...

burned the village to the ground. However, the fortifications now lie in ruins. In 1631, when the village was devastated by a fire, the church tower was destroyed. In the mid-1700s the town was repopulated with immigrants from

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. The writer is the parish priest. The church is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs, with the wall fragments and the bell tower being listed as separate entries.Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2010: Județul Sibiu
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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosia fortified church Lutheran churches in Romania Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism Historic monuments in Sibiu County Fortified church buildings in Romania Romanesque architecture in Romania 13th-century churches in Romania