Fortified Church Viscri - details and images

Withdrawn from the main road connecting Brasov and Sighisoara, Viscri village hosts one of the most spectacular fortified Saxon church, the other being one of the six included in the UNESCO world heritage. Peculiarities have attracted attention and goodwill settlement Mihai Eminescu Trust, a foundation sponsored by Prince Charles himself, who has renovated several houses in the village church and restoring some of their original brilliance.

Retracted position to explain the settlement and its relatively late appearance in the documents. Only in 1400, "Alba ecclesia" (aka Viscri) appears in a register of localities to pay the tax due episcopate, the County of Rupea (Kosd). Around 1500, is listed among municipalities Viscri Seat Rupea's free, with 51 households, three pastors, one teacher and two poor. Here, as in other municipalities, the church age confirms that the German colonists founded the settlement at the end of the twelfth century when it was colonized and western part of the future seat of the break.

Romanesque church hall, as it existed in only Rupea Homorod (church-hall style of crit already belonged to the transition from Romanesque to Gothic), a predecessor who had been partially included in this building. German settlers (who sat in Viscri as immigrants after the reign of King Geza II, ie after 1162, as "others Flandrenses" in the last quarter of the twelfth century) were found in north-eastern promontory present a small village chapel.

It was built of white limestone-green, have a rectangular shape, with east apse, and the only ornaments were used for rendering cubic stones forming the corners of the room and the beginning of the apse, a semicircular arch of the southern entrance. Hall had a flat ceiling, an apse semicalota (chapel length was 13.5 m, 9.80 m hall, hall in west width of 7.8 m and 8 m in the east). After the pieces found in tombs inside and outside the chapel, coins and earrings from the early twelfth century temple, it dates between 1100-1120, as belonging to a group that guarded at this point Székely Hungarian state border, before the arrival of German settlers .

The existence of the abandoned chapel on the settlers dispersed effort lifting a Roman basilica with three naves, as were most of the settlements built during the thirteenth century the Saxon "royal land". Adapting the chapel was made in stages, in accordance with the evolution of social and historical conditions that colonists. As results from the analysis and interpretation of archaeological research, the chapel was used in the first stage of the evolution of Saxon settlement, without stretching planimetric, building is just west gallery, supported on four semicircular arches, carried by three cylindrical columns. This hypothesis is supported by the three capitals Romance dated unanimous first half of the thirteenth century, preserved in the church choir. The largest of them (having an area of 48 × 48 cm) is placed on a column segment, slightly hollowed on the upper surface, serving as a font.

Each side of the rounded bottom, leaving the edges to appear as semicircular moldings, is decorated on top, with a central shield and two halves little stressed side shields, with two capitals smaller area of 42 × 44 cm , as being adorned on one side and having four small shields equal. After the form of decoration, the capitals were visible on all sides, so the liberal state, their use as an intermediary between the spindles of the three columns and four arches of the tribune is very plausible, they can not find a more suitable location.

Dating in the first half of the thirteenth century would correspond to time and as such stands were built - indeed, in another form - in the basilicas of the Sebes, but here we are concerned with function and not form the western tribune, on Wednesday and Gârbova , also served a family of Saxon Greava. Residential Tower, built at 4 m from the west of the chapel, reminiscent of the dungeon Greava Câlnic, stooped, as oval enclosure that surrounded the city including the old cemetery chapel.

Because the property was never noble Viscri only Greava family, village community leader, built the tower house, in the second half of the thirteenth century for personal use. Since the foundation of the tower cut a grave, we have proof that it was built after the chapel, the place no longer served as a cemetery. In addition, the tower is built of material other than the chapel, namely gray basalt. The ground floor has openings in a vault door swing east-west axis, as the sin of the second related to the lower and higher than the stone stairs cut into the wall thickness. Semicircular entrance to the tower is located on the eastern side, accessible through a mobile jump. From the second floor up, the levels were 1.60 m high ramparts, the flaring recesses inwards for archers.

At the end of the thirteenth century, probably extinguishing Greava family, we find three documents that wants to buy a magister Akus village, which has not happened. City passes in the XIV century in the hands of the community, which modifies the east side of the chapel first, demolishing and constructing convexity apse, in the extension of its side walls, a choir became trapezoidal closed east, supported by seven buttresses apse.

On the north side of the hall, chapel choir was built before the change, because if they would be built by raising new chorus and it was not ADOS room. Moreover, old chapel, divided by a transverse wall, was used partly as a charnel house. We assume that already in this phase received a vault of the choir, the north and south walls showing a tilt can mean the birth of a vault.

The third period of construction, located in the first half of the sixteenth century, coinciding with the strengthening of the church. By extending the side walls of the chapel to the church hall connected to the dungeon. In ground or created an entry on the eastern side, now the western wall of the church entrance through a broken arch stone frame, with embrasures whose profile - between two semi-cylindrical rod cavete - is almost identical to the entrance aperture in the wall church-hall in the northern Homorod, with the difference that there is a semicircular closed.

The wall thickness of stairs to reach upper levels in the fourth level, the eastern rampart of the entrance to the bridge was turned into the church, having been covered, all the ramparts of the tower, in the narrow niche, with flags in the flaring, with beams covered with a low eaves above the highest tower's wall, which was a meter below the roof shooting holes in the pyramid open short. To use the drag and the small windows in their right to build a platform. In the west, as extended, to create a second portal of the hall. The choir was vaulted hall in the swing with terracotta penetration and ribs, the system used in Saxon churches in 1500.

To strengthen the eastern side of the church choir and was surrounded by a polygonal ascended the second row of buttresses to join up with semicircular arches to support as a bulwark of defense, behind arch opening up earlier so masiculiuri. Other buttresses were ADOS north and south sides of the hall, who were inclined arch pressure, thus creating a counter. This protective measure has proven ineffective, sometimes the sky fisurându and becoming dangerous.

In 1743, the vaults were replaced by a suspended ceiling in the room and one with stucco in the choir. Grant ceiling is painted with wood railings and furniture of the church, it sits above the south side of the Gothic windows. Simultaneously, it was demolished and the top defensive sin choir, sat directly across the roof arches defense. The semicircular triumphal arch proved to be Roman, he was exalted over the old apse of the chapel, the arch itself is of brick and dating from the eighteenth century. Also when the new vestry was built on the northern side of the choir between two buttresses. For these transformations reminiscent of the triumphal arch with an inscription indicating the year 1743.

Existing windows of the choir was changed, but the walls were research found traces of a Romanesque windows in the eastern apse, and the one in the spring broke on the south side, both dating from the time when the Gothic choir. Large fragments of frescoes were discovered, but the painting has been partially destroyed in the ascension of the choir. The north wall of the room that has no windows were also decorated with paintings, which overlapped and some inscriptions.

Nice in the south wall of the choir has remained from the old apse of the chapel, it was a vaulted archway of stone (38 cm wide), it is crossed the center underside of a stone beading. Closely with Gothic and Renaissance paintings vegetal, dated 1694, are placed along the west wall, wooden stands, with their painted railings, dates from 1717 and the pews on the south side in 1783. This rustic painted furniture gives a special note, intimate interior, also presenting an ethnographic value.

From inside the oval of the thirteenth century preserved areas south, east and north-east wall of field stone and river, reaching between 5.5 to 7 meters high. The gate was probably always located in the southeast, the road going up to her gentle slope of the headland. During the strengthening, in the early sixteenth century, the south-eastern sector was equipped with two towers and two bastions.

South Tower, with three levels of defense and beat corridor wooden consoles, and the bastion of south are united under one roof one four waters with long manes and ADOS outdoor enclosure, as the bastion of the East. Initially it wearing the same corridor protection in the three levels of court intrându the city. In the nineteenth century bastion of East lost defensive level, lower quotients were converted into houses with heating and higher sin served until 1960, for storing bacon.

Lower levels of the bastion of the South have been amalgamated into one large room, with entrance on the east side, only sin has kept the upper ramparts of the flat with oak frames and hubs could cast them off. Corridor south bastion defense and the roof are joined with those of the south tower. The gate tower was placed behind the entrance, inside. Weight is supported by four storeys powerful side walls and vaulted arches over ground floor flat in the swing, the four corners are supported by massive buttresses.

The entrance to higher quotients, located on western side, were originally available only through mobile stairs, but now the south tower is connected to corridor of the bastion defense tower and south through a platform in front of the tower located at the third level, for the second climb wooden ladders. From the tower at the south gate and opens a pedestrian entrance, wooden door reinforced with iron bands 10 cm wide, leading to broad stone stairs in the courtyard, land is much higher than outside.

Western slope, less exposed to attack, in the seventeenth century was reinforced by a rectangular wall, which includes the north-west of the enclosure, two towers, located in the north and west (the north, three levels being built in 1630 by architect Johann Hartman, west tower with four storeys, built in 1648-49). Towers build on the slope of the plateau are much higher outside than inside, where the second floor was located at ground level. As we enter the third level of defense corridor surrounding the inner side chamber, where there were holes in the casting and ramparts located 1.30 m below the crown wall. Both towers of the eighteenth century corridors paiantă Protective parapet, clad in later boards. The upper level of the west tower, with small windows to the north and south, and north-east corner with a hole for smoke from the hearth, served as a priest in case of emergency housing. Inputs located on the courtyard have oak frames, the levels are separated by wooden platforms provided with ramparts above.

In the eighteenth century to build a second cordon around the city wall, now preserved at a height of only one meter, with gaps on the sides of the north-east and south-east. Inside, a corridor of defense has been replaced by a shed, covered in a single slope, the curtains down on the crown by a shorter wall, built to 3-4 m distance from Curtin, and having 19 large rectangular entrance. , shed not separated by walls and serving to cross grain barns housing. In 1970-1971 the castle was thoroughly restored, and rebuilding the defense corridor of the bastion in the east, after the 1990 UNESCO World Heritage.

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