The Dârjiu fortified church (; ) is a Unitarian

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

in Dârjiu (''Székelyderzs''),

Harghita County Harghita County (, and , ) is a county () in the center of Romania, in eastern Transylvania, with the county seat at Miercurea Ciuc. Demographics 2002 census In 2002, Harghita County had a population of 326,222 and a population density of ...

, in 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 ...

region of

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 was built by the Székely Hungarian 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 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. Initially

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, it became Unitarian following the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. The church is noted for its interior frescoes, and together with the surrounding village, forms part of the

villages with fortified churches in Transylvania The Transylvania region of Romania has one of the highest concentrations 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 styles (out of an o ...

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Description

Church and fortifications

First built in Romanesque style in the 14th–15th centuries,Dan Ghinea, ''Enciclopedia geografică a României'', p.516. Editura Enciclopedică, Bucharest, 2000. the church was transformed into a Gothic one in the latter part of the 15th century. The semi-cylindrical rib-vaulted arches, which reach into 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-type ...

and the

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

, date to the first half of the 16th century. The vaults are supported by

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...

s that in the choir have carved decorations: a pelican with chicks, the sun, the moon, masks and a symmetrical

plowshare In agriculture, a plowshare (Differences between American and British spellings, US) or ploughshare (Differences between American and British spellings, UK; ) is a component of a plow (or plough). It is the cutting or leading edge, preceding t ...

. The

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 (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es date to the same period and are linked by a corbel and little arches that support the

battlement A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

.Dârjiu/Dersch
at biserici-fortificate.com The church is 28 metres long, 7 metres wide and 20 metres high; the slate roof is from 1760. The fortifications, erected in 1400, reached their final form around 1530. The 5 m high walls form a square; their

bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

s are at an oblique angle and jut out from the walls at all four corners. A similar bastion is found in the middle of the western wall. The fortifications' oldest and most visible element, the tower, is to the south of the church. The

gate tower A gate tower is a tower built over or next to a major gateway. Usually it is part of a medieval fortification. This may be a town or city wall, fortress, castle or castle chapel. The gate tower may be built as a twin tower on either side of a ...

retains its original form, with openings for firing guns that can be closed with wooden shutters. Modifications in 1788 included the creation of storage spaces for the villagers.

Frescoes and recognition

The church's interior features a partly destroyed but valuable series of mural paintings. These Gothic,

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

-influenced works were executed in 1419 by Paul of Ung; the most detailed is a ''

Conversion of Paul the Apostle The conversion of Paul the Apostle (also the Pauline conversion, Damascene conversion, Damascus Christophany and Paul's transformation on the road to Damascus) was, according to the New Testament, an event in the life of Saul/Paul the Apostle ...

'' that includes the artist's portrait. There and in ''The Pursuit of the

Cuman The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Rus' chronicles, as " ...

'', part of a

Saint Ladislaus legend An episode from the Legend of Saint Ladislaus provided the subjects for numerous murals painted in medieval churches in Hungary during the 14th to 16th century. Historical background Ladislaus I of Hungary was a chivalrous king in Hungary in the ...

group, Paul managed to integrate the subject into the composition's other elements. Other subjects he painted were the '' Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand'' and several saint-bishops. Beneath his portrait, in Gothic minuscule, he wrote a love declaration in Latin: "This work did master Paul, son of Stephen of Ung, paint and prepare, AD 1419; he wrote this inscription while keeping in mind a beautiful girl"."Atemporalul satului săsesc la Saschiz și Dârjiu"
, ''Jurnalul Național'', January 18, 2007 The damage to the frescoes occurred when the arches were built and later, in the 17th century, when a

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, accesse ...

was installed.

Vasile Drăguț Vasile Drăguț (January 9, 1928—November 1, 1987) was a Romanian art critic and academic. Born in Murgași, Dolj County, he graduated from Saint Sava National College in Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city ...

, ''Arta gotică în România'', p.228-30. Editura Meridiane, Bucharest, 1979 In 1999, Dârjiu, together with five other places, was added to the already-listed

Biertan Biertan (; Transylvanian Saxon dialect: Birthälm/Bierthalmen/Bierthalm; ) is a commune in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. The commune is composed of three villages: Biertan, Copșa Mare (; ), and Richiș (; ), each of which has a fortif ...

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, historical ...

by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs, with the fortifications being listed as a separate entry.Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2010: Judeţul Harghita
File:Szekelyderzs 01.jpg, Exterior view File:Darjiu Ansamblu (2).JPG, Another exterior view File:Darjiu Ansamblu.jpg, Tower File:Darjiu Incinta (1).JPG, Fortifications from interior File:Darjiu Incinta.JPG, Bastion File:Derzs6.jpg, Church exterior detail File:Derzsx.jpg, Church interior File:Darjiu Biserica unitariana (1).JPG, Saint Ladislaus mural

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darjiu Fortified Church Churches completed in 1530 Unitarian churches in Romania Former Roman Catholic church buildings Historic monuments in Harghita County Churches in Harghita County Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania sites Gothic architecture in Romania 15th-century churches in Romania 1410s paintings Fresco paintings in Romania Hungarian paintings