The Saschiz fortified church ( ro, Biserica fortificată din Saschiz; german: Kirchenburg von Keisd) 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 ...

fortified church A fortified church is a church that is built to serve a defensive role in times of war. Such churches were specially designed to incorporate military features, such as thick walls, battlements, and embrasures. Others, such as the Ávila Cathedra ...

Saschiz Saschiz (german: Keisd or Hünenburg; hu, Szászkézd, Hungarian pronunciation: ; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Keist'') is a commune in Mureș County, Transylvania, central Romania. It has a population of 2,048: 88 percent Romanians, 5 percent Germans ...

(''Keisd''),

Mureș County Mureș County (, ro, Județul Mures, hu, Maros megye) is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania, with the administrative centre in Târgu Mureș. The county was established in 1968, after the administrative ...

, 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 A ...

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 , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

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 Hungarian monarch, c ...

. 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 let ...

, it became Lutheran following the

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 ...

. Together with the surrounding village, the church forms part of the

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 s ...

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

Description

Background and church

Construction of a large fortified late

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

church began in 1493 on the site of a Romanesque basilica,Saschiz/Keisd
at biserici-fortificate.comSaschiz/Keisd
at biserici-fortificate.org and the main structure was completed in 1496. The church was dedicated to Saint Stephen of Hungary. A few payments from the authorities at

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 ...

for building the church survive; these date from 1494 to 1525. From 1503 to 1507, the village received a Papal

indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission before God of ...

upon the request of a parishioner, and was no longer obliged to quarter troops or send provisions to the army of the

. The large structure, built of quarried stone, is a

hall church A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...

strengthened by 22 high

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...

es. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

is very wide and long, while the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

is closed on three sides. A brick defensive level was built above the choir, while there are two such levels above the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually locate ...

's vaulted ceiling. These floors are accessed through two small brick towers on the western part of the church. The defensive portion is slightly wider than the hall beneath. The nave ceiling, also vaulted, was rebuilt in 1878. The interior decor is mainly

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 ...

, with only the richly decorated choir

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, acces ...

being Gothic. Inscription fragments survive on the exterior walls. Among the church's features are the two arched portals at the north and south sides, the upper windows with their delicate Gothic details, the Baroque altar and its floral decorations made of carved wood, and the 1786 organ.

Fortifications and recognition

The complex was surrounded by a powerful defensive wall, the perimeter of which is today marked by a fence. The only surviving portion is the northern tower, which was fitted with a prominent

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires a ...

in 1677, and is located 10 m away from the church. Its multicolored slate roof can be seen from afar; it has twelve dormers (three to a side) and four little towers at the corners. A nearby hill was once the site of a 14th-century citadel for protecting the peasants, but only ruins survive. It was located 2 km away from the village center so that people from nearby places could also shelter there, and was reportedly a gift from a childless woman who willed it to the residents. Legend has it that the hill is haunted by a noose-wielding protective giant who emits ghostly sounds on one night a year. This distance is one reason why the church was later fortified, so that the inhabitants would have readier access to a refuge."Atemporalul satului săsesc la Saschiz și Dârjiu"
, ''Jurnalul Național'', January 18, 2007 Earthquakes in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

and

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

damaged the church and tower, while the site's immediate proximity to

European route E60 European route E 60 is the second longest road in the International E-road network. It runs , from Brest, France (on the Atlantic coast), to Irkeshtam, Kyrgyzstan (on the border with China). Route * **: Brest () **: Brest - Quimper - ...

leaves it vulnerable. In 1999, Saschiz, together with five other places, was added to the already-listed Biertan to form the

. Additionally, the church is listed as a

historic monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs, with the wall and tower being listed as a separate entry, as well as the citadel ruins.Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2010: Judeţul Mureş
/ref> File:Saschiz IMG 4702.jpg, Winter view File:Saschiz church.jpg, View showing fence File:Turnul cu ceas din curtea bisericii Saschiz.JPG, Tower File:Interiorul bisericii Saschiz.JPG, Church interior File:Altarul bisericii din Saschiz.JPG, Altar File:Orga bisericii din Saschiz.JPG, Organ File:Biserica fortificata din Saschiz.jpg, Plan File:2007 07260671 Cetate de refugiu Saschiz MS-II-m-A-15780.jpg, Citadel ruins

Notes

{{reflist Churches completed in 1496 Lutheran churches in Romania Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism Historic monuments in Mureș County Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania sites Gothic architecture in Romania 15th-century churches in Romania 1496 establishments in Romania