Slimnic Stronghold

Slimnic (German Saxon: Stulzembrich, Stűltsembriχ; German: Stolzenburg; Hungarian: Szelindek, Nagyszelindek) is a commune in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. Around 1930, a treasure containing 18 golden coins minted between 1050 and 1350 was found in the territory of Slimnic. 12 of the coins were from mints located half way down the river Elba. It can therefore be assumed that some East-German colonists lived on these lands in the 14th century however the Saxon community here is known to be much older than that.

The stronghold of Slimnic is set on the hillock called Burgbaesch (or Burgbäsch). From this hill, that dominates the village below, the fortress was supposed to guard the way from Mediaş to the residence of the seat of Sibiu. Because of the deteriorating effects of historical events on the fortress, a set of ruins are all that remain today. The peasant citadel was built by the locals, who have used it for defense in harsh times or to maintain their supplies. The first mantle walls, built of uncut stone, were erected in the 12th century, at the time of the great Tatar invasion.


In Front of the Stronghold

This construction was replaced in the 15th century with a stronger construction made of brick. The Gothic chapel in the north of the citadel was then transformed into a defense tower. Besieged several times, the city was conquered by Ioan Zápolya in 1529, and Mózes Székely in 1602. It was besieged also by the Turks in 1658.


The Inner Court

The red brick walls formed two polygonal precincts which have both been preserved to this day. The southern one though, enclosing a well, was badly damaged by the kuruc at the beginning on the 18th century. They had attacked on behalf of Prince Ferenc II Rákóczi and were led by Lorenz Perki. The tower in the northern precinct had walls up to 3.5 m thick at the base, but had no machicolation, battlement or wall passage.


The Way to the Tower

During the 14th century was built, but unfinished, the Gothic basilica, on west-east axis of the stronghold. All that remains of the church today are its walls, except for the northern one, which has been destroyed. Because of the unusual plan and the elevated choir, under which there was a tunnel communicating with the gate tower, it is difficult to speculate on how the church was intended to look.


In the Tower

After 1717 the fortress was repaired several times. The stones taken from the demolition of a part of the church in 1855 were not used as planned for building a new school, but were instead used for a new cemetery wall. In 1870, the little tower between the inner and outer courtyard and part of the wall that guarded the southern entrance collapsed, as did the circular ones surrounding the well, only two years later. During World War I was taken the very precious bell. In the late 1950s the bell tower, the southern walls, and the north-western defensive tower were restored.

Google Maps

From Fortified Churches from Transylvania and other sources.

Panoramas by Michael Pop, from www.360trip.ro.

Evangelical Church in Bistriţa

Located at the foot of the Bârgau Mountains, not far from the Borgo Pass (Pasul Tihuţa in Romanian) which connects Transylvania region to the Bucovina one, the town of Bistriţa is one of the oldest around. Archeological findings indicate that the area has been inhabited since the Neolithic age, long before Bram Stoker chose it as the setting of his fictional Dracula’s castle.


Saxon colonists, who settled here in 1206, helped develop the town into a flourishing medieval trading post. First mentioned in 1264 as Villa Bistiche, the name was later changed to Civitas Bysterce. Soon enough, Bistritz, as it was known to its German inhabitants, became one of Transylvania’s most important Saxon citadels.


The greatest attraction of Bistriţa's Main Square is the Evangelical Church built by Transylvanian Saxons centuries ago. Under the present church were found the foundations of an older worship house raised by the Saxon settlers. The first mentioned parish in official documents was Johannis plebanus de Bystricia, noted in the papal tax registers of 1332-1333. Construction of the Gothic church with Renaissance elements (i.e. the pews) began in 1470 and was completed almost 100 years later by Petrus Italus de Lugano, who added renaissance elements to the structure. A 76.5 m high steeple (Saxons' Tower) overlooking the city was added later, making it the highest stone church tower in Romania.


The building of the new church, in the second half of XIV century, led to the lifting of a Roman basilica with three naves, having a polygonal choir and two towers flanking the main entrance of the northern wall of the choir, which will be expanded in mid 16th century. In a second step, the church was rebuilt as a Gothic basilica, with naves separated by octagonal pillars, which were taken when the church was restored in the 16th century, and ceiling was made semi cylindrical. Inside the church and the cemetery perimeter were raised several altars and chapels mentioned in documents of the time. An example is a shrine for the holy apostles Peter and Paul which was built in the church in 1499.


A third phase of construction started in 1475 and ended in 1520, when it became a Gothic-style hall church. In start 1487 started the building of a defense tower, included later in the church body after the demolition of the northern tower and the lifting of a turret with spiral staircase that ensure independent access to the new tower. Between them were kept two windows of the old facade (10th century). The tower was built in several stages: in 1487 it reached the middle of the second floor, according to the inscription carved on the northern outer wall, then the year 1509 is carved on the upper edge of the northern wall of the third floor, 1513 on the fourth and the 1519 on the fifth floor, although the works were completed in 1544 (according the accounts of the City Hall). Simultaneously it was mounted a watch which was under repair in 1521, and in 1570 was covered with gold better visibility. In 1857 the top of the tower burned, then was then rebuilt and in 1861 was installed the clock in use today. The Saxon Evangelical Church was restored several times, in 1897, 1901 and 1927.


Completed in 1563, as recorded in the inscription on the western portal, the works of the Swiss master have incorporated also elements of the new Renaissance visual language. On this occasion, the western façade changes fundamentally by building a impressive masonry pillar with correspondence in Polish space - hence the name of Polish attic.


Unfortunately, in 2008 a fire ruined the steeple and the damages have been assessed at more than 1 million Euro. The restoration works would take at least until 2010.


Inside the church one can admire a collection of 23 flags which belonged to the town’s former craft guilds, valuable renaissance-style pews designed by Johannes Begler in 1516, and a 500-year old organ. The statues decorating the belfry (St. Nicholas, the Holy Virgin with Child and Knight Roland) are representative of 15th century Transylvanian art and are similar to those found in the Black Church in Braşov and the Church on the Hill in Sighişoara.

Folk costumes of Transylvanian Germans

Siebenburgen(7 Cities, The Land of The Seven Burgs, Septem Castra) is the German name for Transylvania or Ardeal. The first Saxon settlers (Germans from Saxonia) arrived in Transylvania between 1141-1161. Although the colonists came mostly from the western Holy Roman Empire and generally spoke Franconian dialects, they were collectively known as Saxons

Theoretically, in Romania there are 12 groups of German settlers:
Transylvanian Saxons (saş), colonized between 1141-1161
Banat Swabians (şvabi), colonized in Banat region (SW) after 1700
Satu Mare Swabians, colonized after 1700 in NW Transylvania
Germans from Bessarabia and Bukovina (NE) colonized during both belonged to the Austrian Empire (18th century)
Germans in Dobruja (moved here by the communist regime in the '50) (SE)
Landlers from Austria, colonized between 1734-1777 in Sibiu (center)
Germans from Durlach (now part of the city of Karlsruhe, Germany)
Germans from Bohemia (colonized in the South Banat)
Germans from Styria (Austria), colonized in the Trascăului Mountains (or the Torockó) today Magyarized
Germans in Timişoara (Banat, SW)
Swabians (ţipţări), in Banat (SW)

Here are some folk costumes of Germans from Transylvania and Banat:


Hermannstadter - Sibiu (Hermannstadt)


Unterwald - Sebeş (Mühlbach)


Kokelgebiet - Mediaş & Sighişoara (Mediasch & Schassburg)


Burzenland - Braşov (Kronstadt)


Repser - Rupea (Reps)


Nosnerland - Bistriţa-Năsăud (Bistritz)


Landler - Turnişor, Cristian, Apoldu de Sus (Neppendorf, Grossau, Grosspold)


Schwabische - Banat

Today, in Romania live only 60,000 Germans.
Images from Romanian Museum

Mediaş

Mediaş (Saxon: Medwesch, Medeš, Medveš, German: Mediasch, Medwisch, Hungarian: Medgyes, Sekely: Megyeš) is the second largest city in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania.


An old settlement, Medias opens its gates generously to those who want to see the way time bears fruit between the Transylvanian hills. Mediaş is located in the middle basin of Târnava Mare River, at 39 km from Sighişoara and 41 km from Blaj. The setting up and the historic development of the town reflect the common destiny of the Romanians, the Hungarians, the Saxons and the other nations in a continuous process which belongs to their history.


The first signs of human communities in the area go as far as the middle Neolithic. In the XIII century, the kings of Hungary invited Germany settlers known as Transylvanian Saxons to the area, who settled in the valley of the Târnava Mare River. According to the tradition, the town was founded in 1146, being so one of the oldest cities in Transylvania. In 1200, here would have lived around 100 inhabitants and the first document that mentions the city is dated June 3, 1267. In 1318, the Hungarian king Charles Robert of Anjou offers the complete rights for the Sibiu region to the people living in Mediaş; in 1359, Mediaş is called for the first time a city ("civitas"). The first seal of Mediaş was used in 1448.


The St. Margaret Church was the first church built in Mediaş in 1414, and the first document that notes the presence of a hospital in the city is dated 1487. The city is fortified between 1490-1534 by the people living in Mediaş and Şeica, after a document signed in 1477 by the king Matthias Corvinus's office. In 1562 34 guilds are registered. The first mentioning of a school in Mediaş ("Schola civitatis") was in 1596.


Mediaş has one of the best preserved historical centers in Romania and also some well preserved medieval fortifications. One of the most impressive symbols of the town is the Tower of the Buglers, which is about 70 meters tall. Its construction started in the 13th century. In the 15th century it was raised to 5 tiers. The St. Margaret Church was finished at about the same time. Later, 3 more tiers were added in only 2 months. The roof consists of colored vitrified tiles, and 4 turrets were built. The tower had a guard, who would sound his bugle whenever an enemy approached. Therefore the tower has this name. The tower has in its South-Western corner (between the clocks) a small wooden man who rings a bell, thus announcing in advance when the clock will ring on the hour. The heavy pressure of the tower on the sandy soil is the reason why the tower is slightly tilted to the North. Between 1927 and 1930, and later in 1972, the tower was consolidated. The tilt of the tip compared with the base is 2.32 m.


The city lies in the middle of the area which was inhabited by Transylvanian Saxons and in an area of 20 km around it there are dozens of fortified churches, two of them UNESCO World heritage sites.

Homorod fortified church

Homorod (German: Hammeroden) is a commune in Braşov County, Romania. During the XII century, in the time of King Geza II, came settlers from Flanders (hospites flandrenses), who speak a language slightly different from that of the Saxons, but they were all of German origin. They settled on a hill near the village Homorod today, and the place was then called Petersdorf, after St. Peter, who was patron of the church.


At the end of the XIII century, the residents began to build a Romanic Church type room, different from the plan with three aisles of most Saxon churches. The triumphal arch is intra-muros and the old choir is hidden in the ground floor of the East tower. His walls are decorated with frescoes dating from three periods (centuries XIII, XIV and XV). Choir room ceiling is squared, vaulted on ogives vaulted, a semicircular apse, a bell tower with gallery on the west. Along with the building of the fortification walls, the church was fortified too, the choir and apse being contained in a strong tower.


The strong Saxon peasant fortification, built around the Evangelical-Lutheran Church was never been conquered. The first site is rectangular and was built in the fifteenth century. It has towers on the corners, and between the towers, the walls had two stacked patrol roads, which relies on wooden consoles. On the west side is a small tower that guards the entrance gate.