About Biertan Fortified Church
For almost three centuries, from 1572 to 1867, Biertan was the seat of the Lutheran bishops of the Transylvanian Saxons, and its church shows that standing. A basilica, first recorded in 1402, once stood on the hill in the centre of the village; in the first quarter of the 16th century it was replaced by today's Late Gothic hall church, one of the last built in that style in Transylvania.
Around it, the community raised three rings of walls in stages, with towers and bastions, starting in the 14th century; the fortifications are first mentioned in a document of 1486. The 1978–1991 restoration, led by the architect Hermann Fabini, received a Europa Nostra award, and in 1993 the village and its fortified church were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the core of the "Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania" site.
What you can see
From the village square you climb a covered timber staircase, built in 1795, up to the churchyard. Inside, your eye goes to the polyptych altarpiece of 1483–1513, with 28 painted panels showing scenes from the lives of Christ and the Virgin Mary, and to the net vaults resting on octagonal pillars. Take a close look at the stone pulpit from around 1500, the carved wooden choir stalls and the sacristy door of 1515, whose lock with 19 bolts still works today.
Within the walls you can visit the defensive towers, among them the Catholic Tower, with old frescoes on its walls, the mausoleum tower with the bishops' tombstones, and the bastion where, according to tradition, couples who wanted to divorce were locked in together, with a single bed, one plate and one set of cutlery, until they made up.
Good to know
Visits stop every day for a lunch break between 13:00 and 14:00. On foot, the church is reached by a long, steep staircase from the main square.
- The polyptych altarpiece of 1483–1513, with 28 painted panels, the largest of its kind in Romania.
- The sacristy door of 1515, with its 19-bolt lock that still works.
- The covered timber staircase of 1795, which takes you from the village square up to the church.
- The bastion where, according to tradition, quarrelling couples were locked in with a single bed and a single plate.
- The frescoes in the chapel of the Catholic Tower, on the south side of the enclosure.
Good to know before you go
- Getting there
By car: on the DN14 between Mediaș and Sighișoara, turn right (coming from Mediaș) at Șaroș pe Târnave onto the DJ141B, then ~9 km more to Biertan. Mediaș is ~25 km away (~30 minutes), Sighișoara ~30 km (~35 minutes), Sibiu ~70 km (~1 hour 15 minutes) and Brașov ~150 km (~2 hours 30 minutes).
Public transport: there is no direct public transport. The nearest railway station is in Dumbrăveni, from where you continue by taxi. From May to October, the UNESCO Bus minibuses (yellow line, from Sibiu and Sighișoara) stop in Biertan four days a week.
- Where to park
Leave the car in the village's main square or in the car park next to it, at the foot of the covered staircase leading up to the church. The town hall does not publish parking charges.
- Fees & discounts
Entry is by ticket, bought at the entrance. The Lutheran parish does not publish its prices online.
- Facilities
restaurant and guesthouses on the village square · access on foot by a long timber staircase
Reviews
What visitors say
- RRaduP
Merita vazut si asta
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