Șura Mare (; ) is a commune located in

Sibiu County Sibiu County () is a county () of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Its county seat () is the namesake town of Sibiu (). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Szeben megye'', and in German as ''Kreis Hermannstadt''. Under the ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. It is composed of two villages, Hamba (''Hahnbach''; '' Kakasfalva'') and Șura Mare. Șura Mare was first mentioned in 1332, and Hamba in 1337. The commune lies on the

Transylvanian Plateau The Transylvanian Plateau (; ) is a plateau in central Romania. Description The plateau lies within and takes its name from the historical region of Transylvania, and is almost entirely surrounded by the Eastern Carpathians, Eastern, Southern ...

. It is situated in the central part of the county, just north of the county seat,

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

. The river Hamba flows through the commune. At the 2011 census, 87.53% of inhabitants were

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

and 4.75%

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

Evangelical Lutheran Transylvanian Saxon medieval fortified churches

Both villages in Șura Mare have fortified churches. The church in Șura Mare is a three-apse

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

. It was built in the 13th century (the tower is from around 1300), and fortified in 1495, apparently as a response to Ottoman attacks in 1493. The Romanesque basilica in Hamba was built in the 13th century, however, only fragments of the tower survived. The current building originates from the beginning of the 16th century.

Gallery

File:KircheGrossscheuern.JPG, Evangelical Lutheran Transylvanian Saxon fortified church of Șura Mare File:Planul bisericii fortificate de la Sura Mare.jpg, The plan of the Evangelical Lutheran Transylvanian Saxon fortified church of Șura Mare File:Hahnbach-sw.jpg, Evangelical Lutheran Transylvanian Saxon fortified church of Hamba

Notable people

Goblinus Goblinus (or Goblin) was the bishop of Transylvania in the Kingdom of Hungary from 1376 until his death in 1386. A native of Nagycsűr (), Goblinus was a Transylvanian Saxon. His father was Adalbert. In 1349, he was the parish priest of Sellenbe ...

, Transylvanian Saxon bishop of Transylvania

References

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