Transylvania's Saxon Fortified Churches and Villages Guide

The UNESCO site is called "Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania" and covers seven villages: Biertan, Câlnic, Dârjiu, Prejmer, Saschiz, Valea Viilor and Viscri. Biertan was inscribed alone in 1993, the other six in 1999. From the 12th century onward, Hungarian kings settled German-speaking Saxon artisans and farmers from the Rhineland here. The seven were chosen from more than 150 surviving structures in the region; six are Saxon and one (Dârjiu) is Székely. What unites them is the church at the village centre, fortified with walls, towers and gates. This guide rests on history; without a verified source for current hours and fees it prefers to say: I don't know.

Biertan lies in Sibiu County and was the first village inscribed. The fortified church was built between 1486 and 1524 on the site of an earlier Romanesque church; it is the last late-Gothic hall church of its kind in Transylvania and largely keeps its original three-nave design. The interior holds rare examples of 16th-century Transylvanian mural painting. From 1572 to 1867 the church was the seat of the Saxon Evangelical Lutheran bishops, which explains its elaborate fabric and defences. Three tiers of walls, linked by towers and gates, encircle the complex; the Clock Tower, Bell Tower, Gate Tower and Bacon Tower stand out. We do not relay visiting hours unverified; when unsure, we say: I don't know.

Viscri (German Deutsch-Weisskirch) in Brașov County owes the name "white church" to a chapel built by the Székely who lived here before the Saxons, during the reign of Géza II (1141–1162). Four Romanesque capitals kept in the choir date from this early period, one used as a baptismal font. The small church goes back to the 12th century, was fortified in the 15th, and gained defensive towers in the 17th. Viscri joined the UNESCO list with six other places in 1999. King Charles III first visited in 1998, bought an 18th-century Saxon house in 2006 and supported traditional crafts; the restoration ran through the Mihai Eminescu Trust. Current visiting details need verification; otherwise we say: I don't know.

Prejmer (German Tartlau) in Brașov County lies in the Burzenland (Țara Bârsei) and is regarded as the largest fortified church in southeastern Europe. Its foundation was laid by the Teutonic Knights: with the permission of Andrew II, Gothic construction began in 1218, and from them comes the Greek-cross plan unique in Transylvania. After the knights were expelled, the building first appears in a document in 1240. Because of its position the village was destroyed more than 50 times between the 13th and 17th centuries, yet the fortress fell only once, in 1611 to Gabriel Báthory. The ring walls reach nearly 12 m in height; inside, a four-storey structure of 275 rooms gave every family shelter and storage. A restoration in 1960–1970 returned it to its original form. We will not write current hours and fees unverified; when unsure we say: I don't know.

Sighișoara's historic centre was founded in the 12th century by Saxon settlers and inscribed in 1999 as an inhabited medieval citadel. The Church on the Hill, dedicated to St Nicholas, was built in stages between 1345 and 1525 and ranks as the third-largest church in Transylvania. Along the citadel wall each tower was built and defended by a craft guild; of fourteen towers, nine survive. Sibiu (Hermannstadt) was the centre of the first colonization, while Brașov (Kronstadt) became the Saxons' political hub. Through the Diploma Andreanum of 1224 the Saxons gained self-governing rights and built more than 250 fortified churches. The great emigration of 1989–1990 shrank the community: the 2011 census recorded only 11,400 Saxons left in Transylvania. For local transport and hours, without verification we say: I don't know.