Biertan fortified church
| Biertan Fortified Church Biserica fortificată din Biertan |
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Biertan, Romania |
| Geographic coordinates | 46°08′07″N 24°31′17″E / 46.135198°N 24.521323°ECoordinates: 46°08′07″N 24°31′17″E / 46.135198°N 24.521323°E |
| Affiliation | Lutheran |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural type | Fortified church |
| Architectural style | Romanesque |
| Groundbreaking | 1486 |
| Completed | 1524 |
| Official name: Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania | |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | iv |
| Designated | 1993 (17th session) 1999 (23rd session – Extension) |
| Reference no. | 596 |
| State Party | Romania |
| Region | Europe and North America |
| Type | architectural |
| Reference no. | LMI Code: SB-II-a-A-12328 |
The Biertan fortified church (Romanian: Biserica fortificată din Biertan; German: Kirchenburg von Birthälm) is a Lutheran fortified church in Biertan (Birthälm), Sibiu County, in the Transylvania region of Romania. It was built by the ethnic German Transylvanian Saxon community at a time when the area belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary. Briefly Roman Catholic, it became Lutheran following the Reformation. Together with the surrounding village, the church forms part of the villages with fortified churches in Transylvania UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Biertan was founded by Transylvanian Saxons in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. It was allowed to organize a market, placing it in competition with Mediaș and Moșna; it was also the see of the Saxon Lutheran Church from 1572 to 1867. This accounts for the elaborate church and its defenses.
A hall church with three naves that retains a design close to the original, it was the last such church built in Transylvania, and was constructed between 1486 and 1524 on the site of an earlier Romanesque church. Dedicated to the Virgin Mary and built in Late Gothic style with Renaissance touches, the structure was constrained by the hilly landscape. The choir is 18 m in length, with a rib-vaulted ceiling, while the three naves of equal height also have rib vaulting. A defensive level above the choir has parapets and a battlement. A second, wooden, level was demolished in 1803. The polyptych altarpiece has 28 panels executed between 1482 and 1513 by a painter likely trained at Vienna and Nuremberg. In the center, there is a sculpted group: a crucifix with Jesus Christ hanging, Mary standing and Mary Magdalene embracing the cross. The upper side panels show visions of Ezekiel and Augustus. The stone pulpit, which shows scenes carved in relief, dates to 1523. The richly decorated intarsia door of the sacristy has a complex lock, displayed at the 1889 Paris World's Fair. Its central system blocks the door in thirteen points, ensuring the safety of the valuables kept in the sacristy.
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