The site

Transylvania is famous for it’s over 160 fortified churches and their long history dating back to medieval times. There are seven fortified churches with their corresponding villages which are inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage sites since 1993, being representative exemplars of this exclusive culture, which developed in this region. These peculiar village kinds were founded by the Transylvanian Saxons and are characterised by a specific land-use system, settlement pattern and organisation of the family farmstead that have been preserved since the late Middle Ages. They are dominated by their fortified churches, which illustrate building styles from the 13th to the 16th century. Nonetheless they are now under threat due to significant loss of population and abandonment.

At the time when these fortified churches emerged, Transylvania was a hard-fought border region. The population reacted to enemy attacks by expanding their churches through fortifications. In cases of conflict the fortified churches served the villagers as an area for retreat and protection. For centuries they have been modified and reconstructed. Many of them have been maintained to these days and together they form the unique landscape of fortified churches which is characterised through the density and diversity of this cultural heritage. They are the visible landmarks of many villages and the entire region.

The fortified churches were mainly constructed, used and maintained by the German-speaking settlers – the Transylvanian Saxons. For centuries they were the centre of religious and cultural life within the communities. After more than 800 years most of the Transylvanian Saxons emigrated and left the fortifications behind. Therefore, the future of the fortified churches remains uncertain. Currently more than half of them is threatened to deteriorate to different degrees.

For this reason, the Fortified Churches Foundation was established and serves as an expert institution for the preservation and maintenance of this unique religious and cultural heritage. The president of the Republic or Romania Klaus Werner Iohannis and the President of the Federal Republic of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier have taken over the double patronage of the foundation.

The main objective of the foundation is to preserve, protect, and care for the structure in its authenticity and its historically evolved state including the historic traces and changes.

All of the maintenance and reparation works carried out follow along the strict guidelines of heritage conservation and traditional craftsmanship. A lot of respect goes to the architectural accomplishments, the high quality, and the artistic creation of the original builders.

To do so, the Fortified Churches Foundation has established a lot of tools appropriate to raise awareness about this unique European cultural heritage within the country as well as abroad, to contribute to the rescue and the conservation of endangered churches, to revitalise them and to educate local and regional activists in these fields. In this regard, since 2018 yearly “hands-on conservation workshops” are organised.

 

The project

In February 2020, the Evangelical Church of Augustan Confession in Romania as the responsible ownership structure, the Fortified Churches Foundation and European Heritage Volunteers have agreed on a longer-lasting collaboration with the joint goal to raise awareness about the unique cultural value and the endangered state of the fortified churches in Transylvania, as well as to support their conservation. Within this framework, every year one or more European Heritage Volunteers Projects and European Heritage Training Courses are foreseen.

The European Heritage Volunteers Project in 2021 was one of the first activities within this collaboration and was based both on the Fortified Churches Foundation’s “hands-on conservation workshops” format as well as European Heritage Volunteers’ traditions and experience in the field of volunteering for cultural heritage.

The project took place in a fortified church complex which is highly exemplary both for the fortified churches as well as for the surrounding village structures – concerning their substance, endangeredness and potentials. The ensemble stands amidst the picturesque valley of Hârtibaciu River in the village of Hosman. The fortified church is located in the center of the settlement, and it is one of the most photographed in all Transylvania. In clear weather the church has as background the spectacular view of the often snow-caped South Carpathian Mountains.

Today Hosman is home to a number of initiatives with focus on the preservation and cultivation of tangible and intangible heritage as a way of life. The church itself is under the responsibility of the Evangelical Church of Augustan Confession in Romania, the former parish house and other components of the ensemble are managed by the Association European Youth Center Hosman. The association is taking care of the parish house and of parts of the fortification, runs the house as an educational centre and organises educational and intercultural events in order to keep breathing life into the ensemble of the fortified church and the village as a whole.

The project focused on the reconstruction of a roof structure which is relevant to the integrity of the whole ensemble, as it is an elemental component to the characteristic outline of the ensemble. The roof covers a structure which was originally integral part of the defensive system of the church fortress, and it was later used for agricultural purposes. The work started with dismantling the original wooden roof structure, which was damaged beyond repair and had to be completely replaced. Then the participants repaired the outer wall of the edifice to accommodate a new roof structure which replaced the old structure. In parallel the participants helped to assemble the newly roof construction recreating the characteristic original shape and placed them on the wall. Finally they covered the roof with tiles recovered from other buildings in the region which correspond to the tiles with which the roof had been originally covered, but which had disappeared over the times.

The works were led by an experienced master carpenter and by a restorer specialised on stones, mortars and plasters.

The educational part of the project included visits to heritage sites of regional relevance to help contextualise the work being done at the fortified church complex in Hosman, and to allow the participants a better understanding of the region’s unique history of multiculturalism.

 

The project was jointly organised by the Fortified Churches Foundation, European Heritage Volunteers and the Association European Youth Center Hosman, in partnership with the Evangelical Church of Augustan Confession in Romania.