Biertan Fortified Church

Biertan, called Birthalm in German, is the best known of the fortified churches that Transylvanian Saxon communities built to protect themselves. According to Wikipedia, it was inscribed by UNESCO in 1993 as part of the villages with fortified churches in Transylvania, with the site extended in 1999. Three rows of outer walls, linked by nine gate towers, circle the late Gothic hall church on its hill. For almost three centuries, from 1572 to 1867, Biertan was the seat of the Saxon Lutheran bishops. Visitors come to see the polyptych altarpiece with twenty-eight painted panels from around 1500, the intricately carved sacristy door and the so-called marriage prison, where couples seeking a divorce were locked in one room, sharing a bed, a plate and a spoon, in the hope of reconciling. Only one couple is said to have divorced in three centuries.

The village sits in a gentle wine and farming landscape, and the fortress is reached by a covered stairway from the lower square. Inside the walls you can wander the courtyard, climb the towers, look at the storerooms where families once kept their food and valuables, and enter the church. The altarpiece and the sacristy door are the highlights, and the display on the marriage prison is an amusing and humanising detail. Interiors can close for services or weddings, so check on the day if you have a fixed time.

Biertan is not in Sibiu itself, so most visitors reach it by a guided day trip that combines it with Sighisoara and sometimes Medias, or hire a driver. The paid link here is a guided day tour from Sibiu whose title includes Biertan, with visits to Sighisoara and Medias, and it is a practical way to cover three places in one day without a car.

Fortified churches in the countryside often keep reduced hours in winter and may close at short notice, so check with the tour operator about access in November. In the village, restaurants and guesthouses serve local food.

Bring warm clothing in autumn and winter, because the stone interiors are cold, and wear shoes with grip for the steps and cobbles. Allow about an hour to an hour and a half at the church. The road from Sibiu is well paved but takes a little over an hour, so a day that includes Sighisoara is long. If you have time for only one fortified church, Biertan is the grandest, though Viscri and Prejmer, the latter nearer Brasov, are also worth considering for a second trip.