UNESCO: Valea Viilor Medieval Fortified Church

During our trip to Sibiu last December we didn’t only see the city, but managed to squeeze in a few short stops, to see the Old Town part of Medias, and other “hidden gems” of the area. Our stop in Valea Viilor was pretty spontaneous, when we decided to get off the main road when we saw the UNESCO signpost. And when we arrived, we weren’t disappointed!

The road to the small village was pretty bumpy, but okay. The whole area was like a ghost town, only a few old ladies were talking on the side of the road. As we passed the signpost indicating we arrived in the village we immediately got to see the majestic church standing above all.

At first glance I thought the church was extremely beautiful and in pretty good shape. Getting closer, I couldn’t help but notice the unsteady tower, looking like it was about to fall right on us. We wanted to go in, but arrived too late (it was almost nightfall), so we decided not to bother the priest and his family on a Sunday evening (a sign on the door said they had the key to the church).

The guidebooks and the official UNESCO site say that the church was constructed over a Romanesque-style church, which was built in the 13th century. The church was re-built and enlarged in a Gothic style, and fortified sometimes between the 15th-16th centuries, with 6-7 meters tall walls. The church was constructed by the Transylvanian Saxon community, and there are several other similar fortified churches in this ex-Saxon area of Romania (of which I will be talking about in the next post).

There was a sign on one side of the wall stating 709 years, which would mean that the church was built in 1306. This is only a guess, since different books and sources mention different years, so the exact year of the “birth” of the church is not known.

There are, however, very old inscriptions which were kept on one of the towers, mentioning I think the years of fortification (1501) and some names, which were probably those who contributed in some way to the construction of this beautiful edifice.

The Valea Viilor Fortified Saxon Church was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1999, under the category “Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania”, along with six other churches (one of them being Calnic Fortress, already mentioned on the blog).

To tell you the truth, I was a bit disappointed by the state the church was in. And I see it as a perpetual problem here in Romania: we can’t seem to take care of our heritage. Which is a pity, since I often consider these places the tourist-magnets of our country…

Note: as you are reading this, we are on our way to Amsterdam for a week, so you should know that all posts are scheduled. If you want to follow our journey, you can do so on Facebook and Instagram where we will try to post live-feed photos. 

If you’re curious about exploring the surroundings, take a look at Medias Historical Center, Sibiu, the Forgotten Saxon Fortified Churches and Carta Monastery.

Pin it for later:

Related posts:

Must-See Fortified Saxon Churches near Brasov UNESCO: Biertan Fortified Church of Transylvania UNESCO: Câlnic Fortress Must-See Fortified Saxon Churches near Sighisoara