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FORTRESS - CHURCH OF HARMAN |

The Fortress - Church of Harman was built in a romance style, during the XII century. The indoor wall has an oval shape similar to the one of the Evangelic church of Prejmer. It is 12 meters height and hard-set with seven strong defense towers, some of them having orifices through which they could pour pitch or hot water on the besiegers. On the year 1552, the hospodar of Moldavia besieged Harman fortress, but unsuccessfully.
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THE FORTRESS OF FELDIOARA |

The name of the Fortress comes from the Magyar word Foldvar. The ruins of the peasant fortress can be seen even today. A document from the year 1439 says that the inhabitants of Feldioara built the fortress for the defense of their families and their households, with "many expenses and efforts". Apparently, the fortress resisted to the Turkish invasion from 1421, because that age documents show only the devastation of the town of Brasov and of the villages Harman, Sanpetru, Bod, Halchiu, Ghimbav and Vulcan. The second Turkish invasion in Tara Barsei from 1432, hallmarked the village of Feldioara. An inscription dated in 1457, shows that only on that year the recovery of the fortress was ended. In the battles from 1612, the Feldioara fortress was invaded by the mil troops of Prince Gabriel Bathory, and on September it was besieged for three days by the people from Brasov under the command of the male lead Michael Weiss. On October the 16th of 1612 in Feldioara took place the battle between the mil troops of Bathory and those from Brasov, ended with the defeat of the people of Brasov and with the death of Michael Weiss. The cereal storehouses from the fortress were used until the earthquake from 1838, and after that they were deserted. The watchman of the fortress also abandoned his home, and the walls were deserted.
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THE CHURCH OF PREJMER |

The first documentary attestation of the locality of Prejmer from 1211 was recorded in a document addressed to the teuton knights by Andrei II. After more than one hundred years, in 1360 the name of Prejmer appeared for the first time. The church was built on a Greek cross plan, during the XII century. The church was located in the middle of a peasant fortress built in order to defend the community of the Saxons from Transylvania. Being located in the east of Transylvania, the fortress should defend the defile of Buzau. It had been attacked for fifty times without being once conquered by the Turkish. The fortress walls are from the first Turkish invasion. They are 12 meters height and they protect 272 rooms arranged asymmetrical, on 4 levels. In time of peace they were used as supply rooms and in time of siege they were also habitable. Every family from that location had in the fortress a room which was inherited from father to son. The fortress was protected by an 18 meters broad and 2-4 meters height moat. In 1788 an outdoor gate was built and this gate is kept even today. The well from the fortress, the mill operated manually or by a horse, and also the bread ovens offered the peasants the chance to resist even to a long siege.
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THE CHURCH OF SINPETRU |
The Church of Sanpetru was built during the XIII century like a basilica. In 1794 was entirely demolished. The signs of the painting on the indoor wall are from the XIII century, probably from 1240, when Cistercian Order became the saint of the church of Sanpetru. The entrenched church suffered serious damages during the Turkish invasion n Tara Barsei, from 1432, which destroyed the village. During the same century, the peasants of Sanpetru built the 8 meters height walls near the church and they strengthened the indoor side with 5 defense towers and a moat encircling the fortress. The church suffered much destruction after some fires from the XVII century, and during these fires the community archive was lost. The belfry tower crashed in 1713. In 1795 had started the reconstruction of the present church on the same location, with a belfry tower on the east side.
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THE RUPEA FORTRESS |

The Rupea Fortress is located on the western side of the town, on a basalt mountain. During the history, it was a refugee place for the population of the near villages, and it faced many Turkish and Tatar sieges. In Dacian times, on the top of a basalt rock there was a fortress that is said to be named Ramidava. During the XIV century, the Saxons found the fortress destroyed and they built on its ruins, on several steps, a peasant fortress. They named it the same name the local people used: Reps (much later the Hungarians named it Cohalom, meaning "rock heap"). In a first written mention Rupea fortress appeared with the name Koholom, name which was referring to the rock on which it was built on: basalt. The fortress is in a snail shell shape. The used materials were basalt stone extracted from the rock, pariah stone, calcareous stone brought from the bounder of the village Cata and burnt brick. The tile was used starting the XVIII century. The strengthening system consists of three parts: Cetatea de Sus (The Upper part of the Fortress), built before the German colonization, Cetatea de Mijloc (The Middle Fortress) built in the XV century and Cetatea de Jos (The Lower part of the Fortress) built in the XVIII century. The fortress was built starting the year 1324 during the Saxon rebellion against Hungary king Carol Robert of Anjou. Later, the local people added to the first construction three defense towers and two indoor yards, used as a refuge. In the first yard there was a 59 meters broad and its water didn't drop out ever. In 1790, a strong storm destroyed the fortress roof, and since then the edifice was abandoned.
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HOMOROD CHURCH |

Homorod has one of the rare romance churches, from the last third of the XIII century. Initially, the entrance in the belfry was located on the south-eastern corner of the portico, ascending through the thickness of the wall to the platform of the second level. During the strengthening process, started at the ending of the XV century, to the belfry were added two constructions further of the side walls of the room. The donjon tower monument was built over the chorus, of stone blocks, on a square plan, with 3 meters broad at the base and 2 meters broad at the fourth level. Accordingly, the chorus became a part of this tower. In 1623, a fire destroyed all woody parts of the fortress. At the end of the XV century, the church was surrounded with a 7-8 meters height defense wall, of rectangular range. The defense passage surrounds the wall on the upper side, pierced by pouring mouths and small ramparts. The passage passes also over the front parts of the towers from the yard, being still kept on the western, northern and eastern sides. In the middle of the western side there is located an entrance guarded by a defense little tower. The indoor curtain is surrounded by a second defense tower, a shorter one, forming "Zwinger", kept today on the southern and western sides. In 1657, the north-western tower was replaced with a 10 meters height tower, of pentagonal plan, with four levels. The floors, separated by beams platform, have different entrances on the yard side, with a little woody balcony toward which almost vertically stairs ascend.
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THE FORTRESS CHURCH OF CRISTIAN |

On the back of a circular defense wall with nine towers (who are in a good conservation form today) the church derrick of village Cristian rises. The towers have a rectangular plan, almost all having the roof inclined to inward and ended at the cornice with a notched crest. From the old romance style church built in XII century, it is still kept the beautiful western portal, which is a circular window. The cornerstone of the present church was set in the year 1839.
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THE FORTRESS CHURCH OF ROADES |

In the village Roadesse there is an entrenched church, placed on a height with relatively steep slopes and protected by a double wall, with five defense towers. The church tower has a continuing gallery in a good conservation form. The arches are placed on the church not in the chorus area, as usually. The main tower, located on the west side, had initially, on the lower side, a vestibule whose walls have four ogival openings, dressing the tower like a wrap. The construction was finished in 1526.
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THE FORTRESS CHURCH OF CATA |
The edifice was built in the romance style, keeping as vestiges of this style the western portal and a window with a vault in a semicircle shape. At the end of the XV century, the church was reconstructed as an entrenched church with a defense wall and still well kept towers. The belfry tower was built much later.
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CHURCH OF FELMER |

The Felmer village is famous for the fortress church built in the romance style, during the XIII century. Two centuries later, the church is transformed in an entrenched church through the construction of a place of stone wall with four bastions.
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THE FORTRESS CHURCH OF UNGRA |

On a large height, near the village Ungra, is located a romance church from XIII century. Lion heads are build in the portal of this church and these lion heads are brought from the ruins of the Roman camp located on the Olt river. The church is surrounded by a circular wall and it has defense towers.
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THE CHURCH OF ROTBAV |
The fortress church of the village was built in 1250 when the inhabitants started the construction of a romance basilica. In 1300, in the village lived over 70 families. The romance style church had suffered many transformations during the centuries, therefore the initial romance style combines with the gothic and baroque style. In the XV century, it was built a defense wall which surrounded the church and the church was transformed in a fortress. The general Basta used it as a refuge in 1602. Here he was besieged by the prince of Transylvania. The fortress-church resisted to that besiege and the prince had to ally with the hospodar of the Romanian Country, Radu Serban. The fortress-church and the Rotbav village had been burned in a terrifying fire in 1732, and six years later started the reconstruction of the church and the fortress, and in 1908 was installed a new organ, ordered from Pecs. |
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