# Alma Vii Fortified Church

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Transylvania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/transilvania) › [Sibiu County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/sibiu) › [Alma Vii](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/locality/alma-vii)

> A small Saxon stronghold on the hill of a village at the end of the road, with four restored towers housing small museums of village life; winner of a Europa Nostra award in 2024.

**At a glance:** Monasteries and churches in Alma Vii, Sibiu County. Information verified on 1 October 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** The Mihai Eminescu Trust does not publish up-to-date opening hours. When it reopened in May 2023, the church was open daily from 10:00 to 18:00; phone the number below beforehand to check that someone is at the church.
- **Address:** on the hill in the centre of the village, Alma Vii, Sibiu County
- **Coordinates:** 46.04798, 24.43389
- **Phone:** +40 770 510 435
- **Website:** https://www.mihaieminescutrust.ro/proiecte-exemplare/alma-vii-un-sat-de-sine-statator/
- **Wikipedia:** https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biserica_evanghelic%C4%83_fortificat%C4%83_din_Alma_Vii
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21852340
- **Categories:** [Monasteries and churches](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/manastiri-si-biserici), [Fortresses and fortifications](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/cetati-si-fortificatii)

## 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.

## Don't miss

- 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

## Details

- **Construction period:** 14th–16th centuries
- **Founder:** the Saxon community
- **State of preservation:** good
- **Denomination:** Evangelical

## Frequently asked questions about Alma Vii Fortified Church

**How do I get to Alma Vii Fortified Church?**

Alma Vii Fortified Church is located at on the hill in the centre of the village, Alma Vii, Sibiu County. 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.

## Nearby attractions

- [Moșna Fortified Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-fortificata-din-mosna) — Monasteries and churches · Moșna, SB · ½ – 1 hours · 7 km
  One of the largest Gothic hall churches in the Târnava valley, with a massive bell tower and a walled enclosure with towers; part of the wall collapsed in June 2026.
- [Richiș Fortified Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-fortificata-din-richis) — Monasteries and churches · Richiș, SB · 45 min · 9 km
  A Gothic basilica from the second half of the 14th century, with a gate tower and enclosure walls, known for the Green Man and the other faces carved in stone inside.
- [Ighișu Nou Fortified Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-fortificata-din-ighisu-nou) — Monasteries and churches · Ighișu Nou, SB · 30 min · 13 km
  A Saxon Gothic church of the 14th–15th centuries, with a defensive tower under a hipped roof, a complete enclosure wall, a round bastion from 1515 and medieval frescoes in the choir.
- [Biertan Fortified Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-fortificata-din-biertan) — Monasteries and churches · Biertan, SB · ½ – 1 hours · UNESCO World Heritage · Top 20 · 15 km
  The Saxon church on the hill in the middle of the village, guarded by three rings of walls and towers; inside, Romania's largest polyptych altarpiece and a door with a lock from 1515.
- [Valea Viilor Fortified Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-fortificata-din-valea-viilor) — Monasteries and churches · Valea Viilor, SB · 8 lei · UNESCO World Heritage · Top 100 · 17 km
  The Saxon church in a vineyard valley near Mediaș, with its choir turned into a defence tower, an almost intact oval wall and a wood-and-iron portcullis that has survived for centuries.
- [Copșa Mare Fortified Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-fortificata-din-copsa-mare) — Monasteries and churches · Copșa Mare, SB · 30 min · 17 km
  A Saxon church fortified around 1510, with a tall choir under a star vault, a bell tower with a timber gallery and a winegrowers' village around it, in the Wine Country.

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Last updated: 1 October 2026
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