Saschiz Fortified Church

The fortified Lutheran church stands in the centre of Saschiz, the seat of the commune of the same name in the south-east of Mureș County, beside the E60 road between Sighișoara and Brașov. It is a late Gothic hall church built of quarried stone and supported by 22 tall buttresses, with a chancel closed on three sides. A brick defensive storey runs above the nave and chancel, with two such levels above the sacristy, reached through two small towers on the west side. The church was built on the site of a Romanesque basilica from 1493 onwards and was dedicated to King Stephen I of Hungary. Several payments made by the authorities in Sibiu for the building, dated 1494-1525, survive, and between 1503 and 1507 the village received a papal indulgence. Originally Roman Catholic, the church became Lutheran after the Reformation. Of the enclosure wall only the northern tower remains, about 10 metres from the church; in 1677 it was given a tall spire modelled on the Clock Tower in Sighișoara. The nave vault was rebuilt in 1878, and the earthquakes of 1977, 1986 and 1990 damaged both church and tower. The interior furnishings are mostly Baroque; a richly carved Gothic pew survives in the chancel. The organ was built in 1786 by Johannes Prause. The bell tower has a coloured tile roof with four corner turrets. On a nearby hill stands the village's peasant fortress, which can be visited separately. The fortified church complex is a historic monument with LMI code MS-II-a-A-15782 (the church, MS-II-m-A-15782.01, and the enclosure with the bell tower, MS-II-m-A-15782.02).