Past Watch Site

Nestled in the hills and valleys below the jagged, menacing Carpathian Mountains of northern Romania, the red tile roofs and white walls of the fortified churches of southern Transylvania offer a contrasting but no less unique image. More than 250 churches originally stood watch over this cultural landscape and its communities. As much spiritual centers as they were protective havens, the 160 churches that survive today are testaments to the struggle for survival against constant Tartar and, later, Turkish attacks between the 12th and 14th centuries. Crenellations, arrow slits, and hoardings adorn the structures standing sentry over their villages.

With the advent of gunpowder and other technologies in the early 18th century, the protective functions of the fortifications became obsolete. The churches, however, maintained an essential role in the traditional daily life of the community as both spiritual and social centers. Emigration of Transylvanian Saxons within the last 20 years has transformed the region and contributed to the degradation of many of these churches. Insufficient funding, abandonment, and neglect have allowed the roofs, walls, and foundations to fall into disrepair. A trust has been established to advocate for the restoration of these sacred guardians of the past. Watch listing seeks to draw attention to and support the trust's efforts.

UPDATE

After Watch listing, the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation allocated a 2010 award for the restoration of the 13th-century fortified church in the village of Moardas in Southern Transylvania. August 2010