TRAVEL. ROMANIA.

One of Many Fortified Churches Built by My Ancestors

Biertan — A transfer back in time

It is not my first time visiting Romania and also not my first time marveling at those spectacular castles my ancestors built in Transylvania centuries ago.

And yes, every time I come for a visit I do explore the landscape and history with different eyes. Over the timespan of three decades I have changed a lot and so have these places. They changed, got renovated, or fell apart.

While I did think my last visit, I was 19 back then, was the first one I could really grasp all the things happening around me and make memories for the future, it wasn’t like that. I don’t remember much of my last visit 10 years ago.

But then again. I also traveled a lot in those last ten years. Like really a lot. And that might have impacted my take on things today and what I will remember from here on in the future.

The one thing that didn’t change is the horse carriages rolling through town. They were to be seen everywhere on my first visit to Romania when I was only a few years old, they were still in abundance on my last visit, and even today we saw a handful of them. Especially when you’re traveling through the countryside.

The poor and less developed villages.

Here, you can see chickens running around freely. Men driving to their workplace on bicycles. No e-bikes, they’ve probably never heard of them. With manpower, they bring themselves up the many hills of Transylvania.

And in between it all you hear the lovely sound of hooves rattling on the streets.

And yes, that is correct. There is a pig on the back of the horse carriage feeding on some hay. Any questions?

This is untamed Romania. Wild and free.

But what am I talking about? Wasn’t I here to tell you the tales of ancient castles, fortified buildings and myths traveling through this country of the brave?

Exactly, so let me get back to it. I apologize for getting sidetracked but with my camera in hand, my eyes go everywhere and my thoughts struggle to focus.

I simply try to take in everything and not miss anything happening in my surroundings.

We arrived at the marketplace in Biertan, a former German town inhabited by Transylvanian Saxons, my ancestors. I’m not going into details of this nation again because those reading all my articles will get bored.

But this German minority living in Romania has roots dating back to the 1st century AD and has built most of the castles and churches you’ll see today and in the next days in my articles.

Why did I mention the marketplace? Because all the towns circled around the marketplace. It was the center of all happenings and usually right in front of the church.

Churches back in the day and especially for the Transylvanian Saxons were very important. Some of them lived for the church, others played music in it, or simply met up with other residents of the town on regular church visits.

Churches were also their refuge in times of war or if a town was under attack which you can see in villages like Biertan which might have been a tiny town back in the days but had a massive church with three rows of fortified walls surrounding and protecting it.

While I do remember seeing and visiting a huge market the previous time we visited Biertan and its fortified church, today there were only a handful of souvenir stalls open at the side of the marketplace.

It’s November after all. That means low season for those working in tourism.

We entered the staircase and walked over the wooden stairs across three walls into the fortified unit. The view across the village and its surrounding hills was great. Disregarding the gray skies.

The Citadel of Biertan was first mentioned in 1486 but its inner walls were possibly built in the 14th century surrounding the first basilica on site.

Today, the citadel counts as one of the most impressive fortified churches in Transylvania and is a UNESCO world heritage site.

We walked into the church and were amazed by its decoration and fine arts all around. The church itself, its walls and features are in a good condition. The organ pipes in the back are an impressive musical instrument, I do admit.

Another piece worth mentioning is the sacristy door which is the outstanding work of a Sighisoara craftsman dating back to 1515. The door has a magnificent lock containing a special mechanism with one crank that works four locks and 15 further ferules that move into the door for extra security.

The door was considered something very special and due to its importance, this piece was displayed at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889.

I was carrying my big camera backpack with me so while I spent all this time reading about the citadel and its history, it was now time to zoom into details.

The roofs of the town’s houses are typical for the Transylvanian Saxons and their architecture. Many houses in town still have the same red tiles. Even if they aren’t all in the same color anymore.

We now left the inner walls and made our way down eventually walking around the place outside of the last wall.

Yes, I mentioned it is November and the days are crisp. Not many trees have decorative foliage left and the ground is often covered in a bed of fallen leaves.

While I often place my camera right above the ground, I decided to switch the angle and look up once more facing the impressive church.

Some houses in town are renovated or even rebuilt. Some are lived in but still look the same as decades ago. And some are abandoned and turned into ruins. But most of the buildings still stand showing off their impressive stability and quality of construction.

This was the first historical building we visited in Romania and while we did not see any signs not allowing drone flying, just after starting the drone inside the walls, a lady came telling us we weren’t allowed to fly the drone inside but can start it up at the market place.

We thanked her, apologized and decided afterward it was anyway silly to start it up inside since we use the drone to get shots from far away and higher angles. We don’t need to start it up so close.

And so we flew around the fortified church and its walls after finishing our visit inside. As soon as our drone reaches a certain altitude you can’t hear it from the ground and there weren’t any people around anyway.

So here we go. This was the fortified church of Biertan. I hope you enjoyed the photographs and stories about ancient times.

And in case you prefer watching videos over reading stories, here’s the full experience of our first week in Romania on film. It’s a 20-minute clip including traditional music. If that isn’t for you, just watch on mute.

“Nothing’s far when one wants to get there.” — Marie of Romania

More stories about our trip to Romania:

Join my email list here if you would like to read more travel essays or sign up for the Medium membership to receive unlimited access to my and other writers’ stories out here (I will receive a commission fee in return).