Biertan (; Transylvanian Saxon dialect: Birthälm/Bierthalmen/Bierthalm; ) is a commune in Sibiu County,

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. The commune is composed of three villages: Biertan, Copșa Mare (; ), and Richiș (; ), each of which has a fortified church. Biertan is one of the most important Saxon villages with fortified churches in Transylvania, having been on the list of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Sites since 1993. The Biertan fortified church was the seat of the Evangelical

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Bishop in

between 1572 and 1867. The route of the Via Transilvanica long-distance trail passes through all three villages in the commune.

Geography

The commune is situated on the Transylvanian Plateau, at an altitude of , on the banks of the rivers Biertan and Vale. It is located in the north of Sibiu County, east of Mediaș and northeast of the county seat, Sibiu.

History

The first documentary testimony about the village dates from 1283 in a document about the taxes paid by the inhabitants of 7 villages and so it is believed to have been founded sometime between 1224 and 1283 by Transylvanian Saxons. The village settlement quickly developed into an important market town and by 1510 Biertan supported a population of about 5,000 people. Between 1468 and the 16th century a small fortified church () was constructed and developed. After the medieval period, the settlement declined in importance with the rise of neighbouring Sighișoara (), Sibiu (), and Mediaș (). In the Romanian census of 1930, Biertan had 2,331 inhabitants, of whom 1,228 were Transylvanian Saxons. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

many men were conscripted into the Romanian army and later on forcefully drafted in the

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

. After the war, many Transylvanian Saxons were deported from the region to labour camps in the former

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(USSR). During communism, many left for

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. Following the collapse of

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

in 1990, many more left for

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Today the whole commune has a population of about 2,500 and the village of Biertan alone has about 1,600 people. It is one of the most visited villages in

, being the historically important place of the annual reunion of the Transylvanian Saxons, many of whom now live in Germany.

Festivals

Th
"Luna Plină" ("Full Moon") Horror and Fantasy Film Festival
takes place in Biertan. It is the only film festival in Romania focused exclusively on fantasy movies.

Natives

* Johann Peter Migendt (1703–1767), organ builder * Artur Phleps (1881–1944), a Biertan-born military career officer. He, uniquely, served in the Habsburg army of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, the royal army of Romania and finally the

. * (1903–1960), bishop

Demographics

According to the 2011 census,

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

made up 73.8% of the population, Roma made up 17.9%,

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

(more specifically Transylvanian Saxons) made up 4.6%, and

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

made up 3.6%.

Gallery

File:The former home of Sara Römischer.jpg, The former home of Sara Römischer, in the old Kirchgasse (i.e. church alley) of Biertan/Birthälm File:Biertan 002.jpg, Close-up view of the Biertan/Birthälm fortified church File:Biertan2010Video.ogv, Footage of Biertan from 2010 File:Romania 2008-08-19 (3095671023).jpg, The Evangelical Lutheran medieval fortified church of Biertan/Birthälm during autumn File:Stamps of Romania, 2011-76.jpg, Biertan on a 2011 Romanian stamp File:Biserica fortificată din Richiș, vedere estică, 2016.jpg, left, Medieval fortified Evangelical Lutheran church in Richiș/Reichesdorf File:Blick auf Reichesdorf.JPG, Aerial view of Richiș/Reichesdorf File:Award-Winning Lock - Biertan - Romania.jpg, Lock on a wooden door in the church at Biertan. The lock contains 19 locks in one. It won first prize at the Paris World Expo in 1900. File:SALZER(1881) p007 Birthälm.jpg, Biertan in 1881, digitized copy from the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

File:Ansamblul bisericii evanghelice fortificate 1.jpg, Ensemble of the Evangelical fortified church File:Biertan - Incintă fortificată interioară, cu trei turnuri, bastion, turn de poartă.jpg, Indoor fortified enclosure with three towers, bastion and gate tower File:DonariumBiertan.JPG, Biertan Donarium File:The Fortified Church In Biertan Romania (254853333).jpeg, left, The Evangelical Lutheran medieval fortified church of Biertan/Birthälm during autumn File:Biertan (1964).jpg, The Evangelical Lutheran fortified church of Biertan/Birthälm in 1964 File:Biserica fortificata din Biertan.jpg, 3D model rendition of the fortified church File:Planul fortificatiei din Biertan.jpg, The plan of the fortified church File:Biertan IMG 4690.jpg, The fortified church in winter File:Biertan IMG 4669.jpg, The fortified church in winter

Geography

History

Festivals

Natives

Demographics

Gallery

See also

References

External links