Exterior view of Harman fortified church with the walls and towers.
A great day trip from Braşov is visiting the fortified churches in Harman and Prejmer, towns that still retain their Saxon roots. We visited these churches as we left Braşov before heading to Sighişoara. The easiest way to visit these towns is by rental car, but it’s also possible by train or bus. Hărman is not open Monday and Prejmer is not open Sunday, so if you want to do both, you’ll need to visit Tuesday—Saturday. For a map of sites visited in Romania click here.
Exterior view of Harman fortified church with the walls and towers.
Fortified churches are a unique feature of Transylvania, and there are 280 in Transylvania. Each one has its own different style, but common features include high surrounding walls (sometimes several concentric rings) usually with towers, a church in the center of the fortifications, often with its own tower, and rooms for provisions in case of attack and sometimes boarding rooms for the villagers inside the walls—these fortifications often look like a combination of a castle and church. A whole trip could be spent just visiting these wonderful sights, and maps are available that show driving tours of these churches, which are often in little villages. The two listed here are close to Braşov and close together. Their purpose during medieval times was to provide safety to the villagers in times of attack, often from the Ottomans as they sought to expand their empire westward.
Hărman
The church at Hărman dates back to 1240, the belfry tower was added in the 14thcentury, and the walls were constructed in the 15th century.
Even the church had exterior rooms for protection–ladders could be pulled up.
In addition to the church, the fortifications retain part of the interior living and storage rooms along the walls, giving a feel to what the internal fortifications looked like.
The storage and living quarters along the inside walls.
You can visit some of the rooms and dark walkway around the wall which haven’t changed much from their original state. In the church, women would sit in the center pews and the men on the side pews, in case of attack the women would be in the center protected by the men surrounding them.
The pews where the women would sit in the church.
The men would sit in these side pews to protect the women.
It would have been quite a life to constantly worry about your village being attacked by the Ottomans. The walls originally had a moat around them, and part of it is still visible.
The caretakers of this church are German, descendants of the Saxons who settled this town. The entry fee was 4 lei per person (about $3.25).
Prejmer
The village of Prejmer is more rustic than Hărman, with dirt roads in some parts of the village.
A typical street scene in Prejmer–note the horse-drawn “tractor” on the right.
The fortified church has very high walls (12-14 meters high), and given its size, it’s difficult to appreciate from the outside.
Exterior view of Prejmer fortified church.
Reinforced door at the entrance to Prejmer fortified church.
Prejmer was the most powerful peasant fortress in Transylvania. The main entrance feels like a step back in time, just like walking into a medieval village. This fortification also had a moat, which has since been filled in.
The entrance to Prejmer fortifications.
Beyond the initial entrance, there is another entrance into the interior courtyard where the church is located and surrounded by little rooms (272 of them) on four levels attached to the defensive circular walls.
The 13th century Prejmer church.
The interior shelters of Prejmer–where the villagers would live in times of pending attack.
These rooms are well-preserved, and from the courtyard the ring of rooms almost looks like a hotel, with numbers on each door. Each room was assigned to a village family. Many of the rooms are open, and they also provide access to a dark walkway running the length of the walls at the top, where guards and lookouts could be posted.
Typical living quarters inside the fortifications.
The walkway on the upper floor around the walls of Prejmer fortifications.
Some rooms were also dedicated to specific purposes–such as a school, for storage, weaving, etc. The entry fee was 8 lei per person.
A school room at Prejmer. Note the wall paintings.
As with many sites we visited in Romania, we pretty much had these places to ourselves.
References: Lonely Planet – Romania & Information at the sites.
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