Alma Vii Fortified Church
Alma Vii, Sibiu County · Transylvania
About Alma Vii Fortified Church
The village of Alma Vii, surrounded by orchards south of Mediaș, appears in records from 1298, and its Lutheran church was built in the first half of the 14th century as a small hall church on a hill overlooking the village. In the 16th century, as raids became frequent, the Saxons raised the choir by two defensive storeys, fitted with firing slits and openings for pouring pitch, and surrounded the church with a polygonal wall of river stone, with a tower facing each of the cardinal points.
After almost all the Saxons left in the 1990s, the complex fell into serious disrepair. The Mihai Eminescu Trust restored the walls and towers first (2015–2016), with craftsmen from the village and traditional techniques, and then the church itself, and in 2023 the complex reopened to visitors. The work received the European Heritage Award / Europa Nostra Award in 2024, together with the Grand Prix and the Public Choice Award. Services are no longer held in the church; today it hosts exhibitions, concerts and village celebrations.
What you can see
You can go inside the towers, level by level, and walk along the enclosure wall on a timber wall-walk. The six-storey Gate Tower holds a small local history museum, with objects donated by the villagers. The Grain Tower keeps the skeleton of a medieval Saxon, found during the 2015 archaeological excavations, and the Ice Tower shows how ice cut from the village river in winter was kept through the summer, a medieval "fridge". The Bell Tower has small corner turrets with firing slits.
Inside the church you can see the fortified choir, the timber galleries along the west and north sides and the 1840 organ in the west gallery.
Good to know
Restoration work on the church (altar, pulpit, organ and tower clock) continues until 2027, and the altar area may be closed to the public. The foundation does not publish opening hours: phone before you go.
- The skeleton of a medieval Saxon in the Grain Tower, found during the 2015 archaeological excavations.
- The Ice Tower, the "fridge" where the Saxons kept ice cut from the village river in winter through the summer.
- The small local history museum in the Gate Tower, with objects donated by the villagers.
- The timber wall-walk along the enclosure wall, restored together with the towers.
- The church choir, raised in the 16th century by two defensive storeys.
Good to know before you go
- Getting there
By car: from Mediaș take the DJ141 towards Moșna, then the DC12 local road to Alma Vii, where the road ends. The DC12 was asphalted by Moșna council in 2023. Mediaș is ~19 km away (~25 minutes), Sibiu ~60 km (~1 hour 5 minutes) and Sighișoara ~46 km (~55 minutes).
Public transport: we found no public transport to Alma Vii. The nearest railway station is in Mediaș, from where you continue by taxi.
- Where to park
Sibiu County Council's tourism website lists parking for cars and coaches at the church; charges are not published.
- Fees & discounts
The Mihai Eminescu Trust does not publish admission prices online.
- Facilities
toilets · shop with crafts and souvenirs · traditional meals ordered in advance · accommodation in two Saxon houses restored by the foundation
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