Saschiz Peasant Fortress

The peasant fortress, also called the refuge fortress, stands on the plateau of a hill west of the village of Saschiz, seat of Saschiz commune, and is visible from the E60 road between Brașov and Sighișoara. It has an elongated shape, often compared to a ship, and covers about 5,000 square metres. It is reached on foot, by a path of about 2 kilometres from the village centre or a shorter one of about 700 metres from the barrier. The fortress was built in the fourteenth century by seven Saxon communities. It sheltered the local people during invasions and was used to store provisions. Unlike most fortresses of this type, it lies about 2 kilometres from the village centre, so that people from neighbouring villages could also take refuge here. The fortification had several towers and a deep well. After centuries of neglect the fortress had become almost a ruin. Saschiz town hall restored it through a project for the restoration of the fourteenth-century refuge fortress, funded by the Centru Regional Programme 2021-2027, with a total value of about 10.3 million lei. Visitors can walk through the restored enclosure, with a view over Saschiz village and its fortified church. The refuge fortress is a historic monument with LMI code MS-II-m-A-15780, dated to the fourteenth to eighteenth centuries. It is managed by the local authorities of Saschiz and reopened to the public on 3 May 2025, during the Rhubarb Festival.