Ațel Fortified Church

The fortified church stands in the centre of the village of Ațel (German: Hetzeldorf), seat of Ațel commune, in the north of Sibiu county on the Târnave Plateau, east of Mediaș. The village is first recorded in 1283 as „villa Echelini”, and in 1466 King Matthias Corvinus granted it the right to pass death sentences and to hold a weekly market; it was one of the largest Saxon communities of the Mediaș Seat. The church is a Gothic basilica built in several phases: the carvings on the pillars of the nave date from the first phase, around 1380, the sacristy and transept were added in 1429, and a third phase ended in 1499 with the vaulting of the naves, the raising of the chancel and the upper floors of the bell tower, which carries a defence platform. The work of the late 15th century was probably led by the master mason Andreas Lapicida of Sibiu. The oval enclosure with towers and a south-eastern gate tower dates from the late 15th and 16th centuries; the south tower was demolished in the early 19th century and the north tower of the outer enclosure in 1959. Visitors can see the richly carved west portal, the pillar capitals decorated with vine tendrils, animals and masks, the late Gothic sedilia in the south wall of the chancel, the sacristy portal and the choir stalls of 1516 with carving and inlay work. The organ was built by Samuel Joseph Maetz in 1802, and the tower still holds two 15th-century bells. Martin Luther's line „Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott” is inscribed on the entrance facade. The fortified church ensemble is a listed historic monument, LMI code SB-II-a-A-12316 (church SB-II-m-A-12316.01, tower of the former inner enclosure SB-II-m-A-12316.02, fortified enclosure with two towers and gate tower SB-II-m-A-12316.03). It was restored between 2010 and 2014 in an EU-funded project. The Fortified Churches Foundation lists the Evangelical District Consistory in Mediaș as the contact for visits.