Cisnădie Fortified Church

The fortified church of Cisnădie stands in the centre of the town of Cisnădie (Heltau in German), about 10 km south of Sibiu, in the valley of the Argintului brook. Originally a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Walpurga, it is now an Evangelical (Lutheran) church. The building was raised in the early 13th century as a three-aisled Romanesque basilica, and the first documentary record of it dates from 1349. In the second half of the 15th century and the first half of the 16th century the church was remodelled in Gothic style. After the Ottoman attack of 1493 it was fortified: the central tower was raised and given loopholes, the apse was heightened and two bastions were built above the side portals. The complex was surrounded by walls with defensive walkways, towers, bastions and moats that could be filled with water, which have since been filled in. The pyramidal tower roof with corner turrets dates from 1591 and the tower took its present shape in 1751. In 1795 the first lightning rod in Transylvania, made of copper, was installed on the tower. The church still shows the basic features of the three-aisled Romanesque basilica, and the western Romanesque portal is decorated with interlace. Inside are a bell from 1664, a Gothic bronze baptismal font, the Baroque gates of the old altar and a 16th-century polyptych altar painted by Vincentius Cibiniensis. Altars brought from other village churches for safekeeping are also displayed. Several towers of the enclosures survive, including the Watchman's Tower, the Town Hall Tower, the Bacon Tower, the Sickle Smiths' Tower and the School Tower. The church's bell ringer gives guided tours of the fortification and the parish museum. The „Cisnădie Treasure”, once kept in the former south apse converted into a treasury, has been held by the Brukenthal Museum in Sibiu since 1915. The fortified complex is a listed historic monument, LMI code SB-II-a-A-12355, comprising the church (SB-II-m-A-12355.01), the inner fortified enclosure (SB-II-m-A-12355.02) and the outer enclosure with towers, bastions, chapel, zwinger and parish house (SB-II-m-A-12355.03). Between 2014 and 2020 the church was restored through an EU-funded project. The Fortified Churches Foundation lists the Evangelical Parish of Cisnădie as the contact for visits.