Sânpetru

Sânpetru
Commune
St. Nicholas Church
Country	Romania
County	Brașov County
Population (2011)	4,585
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)

Sânpetru (German: Petersberg; Hungarian: Barcaszentpéter, Szentpéterfalva) is a commune in Brașov County, Romania, located 5 km north of the county capital Brașov. It is composed of a single village, Sânpetru.

This area was home to many Transylvanian Saxons although after 1989 much of this community emigrated to Germany. The center of the village was built by this group and shows the influence of German architecture. Separate from this there is a crowded Romanian-built area featuring a small church and houses dating at least to the early 19th century. A new center was built closer to Brașov during the communist era to house migrating workers for the tractor and bus factories in the city. Since the Romanian Revolution of 1989 new, more luxurious houses have been built on the outskirts of the village, slowly linking it with Brașov.

At the 2011 census, 91.8% of inhabitants were Romanians, 2.7% Hungarians and 1.7% each Germans and Roma.

The landmark of the village is the 13th-century fortified church. The original 3-nave basilica was demolished in 1794. There are still a few traces of the original 13th-century paintings on the defensive walls that surrounded the church. The Order of Cistercians received it in 1240. The fortified church was severely destroyed during a Turkish invasion in 1432. Most of the village was also destroyed then. After the invasion, the local community built an 8-meter-high defensive wall fortified with 5 towers and a water trench.

In the 17th century, the church suffered major damage in a large fire that also destroyed the local archives. The bell tower collapsed in 1713 and was rebuilt 1778–82. This tower later collapsed, and in 1795 the structure was demolished and construction on a new church was begun.