Hălchiu Fortified Church

The fortified church of Hălchiu (German: Heldsdorf) stands in the village of Hălchiu, the seat of the commune of the same name, in the north of the Burzenland, Brașov County, about 15 km north-west of the city of Brașov. The Saxon village is first documented in 1377, and the church has 13th-century origins, originally built in Romanesque and early Gothic style. In the 15th century a Gothic hall church was built, surrounded by a strong fortification. Hălchiu held the only church-fortress in the area with a square bastion and four corner towers; the village's "quarters" were each responsible for defending and maintaining one side of the wall. The fortress withstood repeated sieges and was attacked in 1599 by the army of Michael the Brave. A powerful earthquake in 1802 collapsed the church's central nave, and the building was rebuilt and reconsecrated in 1807. The fortification itself was demolished in 1894–1895 — the Hălchiu church-fortress was the last fortress in Transylvania to receive approval for demolition, with the school and assembly hall built in its place. Today one tower and the western Romanesque portal survive, with arches resting on columns with decorated capitals. The church's most valuable feature is the Hălchiu altar, made in late Gothic style between 1522 and 1526, before the community adopted the Reformation in 1542. The double-winged altar is 8.1 m high and 7.7 m wide, one of the largest polyptych altars in Transylvania. Neolithic and Eneolithic archaeological sites are also recorded within the commune, attesting to early settlement of the area. The church is worth visiting for its medieval altar, its surviving Romanesque portal and the unusual history of the demolished Saxon fortification.