Fortresses and fortified Churches - Calnic
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Calnic
CALNIC
Parish of the Alba county made up of three villages, Calnic lies in the south-eastern part of Transylvania, in the Secaselor Plateau. The parish notes 3,026 inhabitants (1995).
Archaeological findings on the territory of the present parish evinced traces of a Neolithic settlement. The pottery items found there are painted in two or three colors, have geometrical patterns and belong to the Petresti Culture which dates back to the 3rd millennium B.C. Pottery relating to the Cotofeni Culture has also been discovered; it has been made at a time of transition from the Neolithic to the bronze age (2,500-1,800 B.C.).
In the village of Calnic, first attested in writing in 1269, there is one of the oldest fortresses in Transylvania. Built around the year 1200, it was mentioned in writing around 1267 as owned by the Kelling counts. The name of the village derives from the name of the Kelling noble family, whose property it was during the 13th-14th centuries. The Fortress's founder's name is Chyl de Villa Kalnuk.
The Peasant Fortress at Calnic is located on a promontory surrounded by a river at one end of the village. In the second half of the 13th century, when the residence-tower was erected, a rectangular building was raised too, over which, later on, was added a chapel.
Of large proportions, the Dungeon at Calnic, also called the Siegfried's Tower, was built with raw stone, and has a quadrilateral plan (12.25 x 8.85 m). Its walls are 1 m thick. Formerly 14 m high, it is 20 m now. The cellar ground-floor and the first floor, which served as a residence house, were vaulted in a semicircular shape, while the other two floors were provided with a ceiling. The third floor, provided with battlements was very low, whereas the fourth one made a fortified room. The restoration works in 1962-1964 evinced a window framing featuring the early Gothic style and having the arch of each section three-cusped. Over it, there is a trefoil with tracery profiles.
The precinct of the Fortress is encircled by a wall of an almost semicircular shape, about 7 m tall. The wall is broken by the Tower which is oriented towards north. The defence system of the Fortress included also a 3-4 m wide moat that surrounded its walls, being supplied with water from a near-by brook.
Entrance to the Gate Tower is made through a vaulted covered walk equipped with a kind of grill-gate ended in stakes called "hersa" which, pulled down swiftly, would isolate the besiegers vanguard from the bulk of their army.
After 1430, Johann Gereb of Vingard, the last descendant of the Kelling noble family, sold the Fortress to the Saxon villagers at Calnic. Eight years later, sultan Murad the 2nd conquered the Fortress without being opposed any resistance. Soon afterwards the villagers strengthened the Fortress by building onto the precinct's walls cells for provisions arranged on three storeys.
During the 16th century, the villagers encircled the Fortress with a second defense wall strengthened by a barbican and by the Gate Tower. They also raised Siegfried's Dungeon, which is 20 m high, in order to ensure a better defense system.
The Chapel of the precinct is made of a rectangular room and a semicircular apse towards east, separated by a triumphant arch. The portal on its western side is carved in grit stone and is typical of the late Gothic style, resembling the one of the Evangelical Church at Sebes.
After the restoration works carried out between 1961-1964, the Fortress has been included on the list of national heritage sites.