Fortresses and fortified Churches - Cisnadie
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Cisnadie
CISNADIE
Highlights
The Fortified Church (13th-15th Centuries)
Geographical and Administrative Data
A town that lies in the southern part of the Sibiu county, Cisnadie (Heltau) is placed at the foot of the Magura Mountain, in a picturesque area, with lawns, fields and forests scattered around. Its territory is 440-520 m high.
Cisnadie is only 15 km away from Sibiu; it can be reached through a county road derived from the E81 road. The town notes 17,484 inhabitants (1995).
is only 15 km away from Sibiu; it can be reached through a county road derived from the E81 road. The town notes 17,484 inhabitants (1995).
Historical and Cultural Framework
Traces of a settlement dating from the transition period from the Neolithic to the bronze age, which belong to the Cotofeni Culture (2500-1800 B.C.) have been found on the present town's territory. A hoard made up of 502 Greek bronze coins has also been discovered.
The settlement was founded by Saxon settlers in the middle of the 12th century, under the name of Rivetel. . It was first mentioned in writing in 1204 (in a document issued by king Emeric of Hungary). In 1323, it became a civitas. As most of the places around Sibiu, Cisnadie was devastated by Tartars in 1241, and was partially destroyed by the Ottoman invasion in 1493.
The guilds' beginnings date from 1457, when those of the scythe- and sickle makers got organized. They would be known outside Transylvania's borders too. They will soon be followed by the ones of the saddle-makers, potters and belt-makers, and especially by the powerful guild of the drapers, whose activity was the main occupation of the town's inhabitants for centuries. It is at Cisnadie that the first fabrics school of Transylvania was set up (1888). Until 1914, 24 cloth mills were recorded there. Wool fabrics, plush carpets, silk cloths made at Cisnadie have been well-known to the day.
In 1494, Cisnadie got the right to hold an annual market, and from 1500 onwards two of them were organized.
In 1806, the Austrian emperor Francis granted Cisnadie the right to have a fair. In 1817, the emperor Francis himself and his wife visited the place and were impressed by the diversity and quality of the cloths it produced.
In 1948, Cisnadie became a town.
Cultural Tourist Attractions
Due to its long existence and to its early urban life, Cisnadie has certain distinctive features. The old town is especially interesting, with narrow and twisted streets, that run down to the central square. Most of the houses at Cisnadie have been built after 1800, especially between 1900-1940, in the Gothic style that is typical of the Saxon rural houses in Transylvania. The oldest ones, raised before 1900, have a narrow front to the street - the small side of the building - and are oriented towards west. The houses have two or more windows facing the street, and a gable roof, with cat-eye shaped lights. A one arch entrance to the house is placed on its wide side, through the yard.
In the centre of the town stands the Fortified Church, with strong walls, erected by the Saxons after the Tartar, and especially after the Ottoman invasions, in the 13th and 15th century respectively. The Church is one of the most telling buildings of defensive architecture in the Sibiu area, alongside the old churches of Cisnadioara, Turnisor and Gusterita.
The Evangelical Church was built between 1192-1300 in the Romanesque style, on which elements of Gothic style were grafted in the 15th century. In the 14th-15th centuries it was fortified, being surrounded by a belt of walls, and flanked by several defense towers. The Evangelical Church at Cisnadie has three wide naves. The seven storeys of a 32.5 m high, massive steeple rise above the western part of the central nave. The central nave continues to the east with a square choir that has a cross vault without ribs. The choir closes in a semicircular apse covered by a quarter of a sphere and a semicone-shaped roof that forms another four-storeyed tower. The other two flank towers of the Church rise over the central parts of the two aisles.
was built between 1192-1300 in the Romanesque style, on which elements of Gothic style were grafted in the 15th century. In the 14th-15th centuries it was fortified, being surrounded by a belt of walls, and flanked by several defense towers. at has three wide naves. The seven storeys of a 32.5 m high, massive steeple rise above the western part of the central nave. The central nave continues to the east with a square choir that has a cross vault without ribs. The choir closes in a semicircular apse covered by a quarter of a sphere and a semicone-shaped roof that forms another four-storeyed tower. The other two flank towers of the rise over the central parts of the two aisles.When the Church was fortified, the side portals have acquired a Gothic aspect. Only the main portal on the western side of the tower has kept its original appearance, featuring the Romanesque style.
The defence towers were built directly on the body of the basilica around 1500, when the stone and brick walls of the double precinct have also been raised. The two wall rings around the Church have an oval-shaped plan. They encompassed a deep moat, over which mobile bridges would be lowered at the northern and western entrances of the fortification. In the 18th - 19th centuries, the moat was filled up; cells with doors and windows on the outside were built on the northern side, by raising some partition walls between the inner wall (the taller one) and the outer wall (the lower one) of the fortress. Around the inner precinct, which is 6 m high, there is a covered defence corridor, supported on 4 m high pillars. The oldest one of the seven defence towers of the Fortified Church is the one placed in its south-western part. Of a polygonal shape, it served as a chapel, and also as a gate tower. It was called and still is the Lard Tower, as it used to store the villagers' food supplies. The seven defence towers were placed in such a way as to double the protection provided by the Church's towers. Thus, towards the south-west, there is the Preacher's Tower, used as priest's home during sieges. In the north-east, the Gate Tower, the School Tower and the Scythe-Makers' Tower made up a compact defence body. In 1910, the Gate Tower, already dilapidated, was demolished.
In the refurbished rooms of the three towers a Saxon Ethnographic Museum was set up in 1911.
In 1911, an Ossuary was discovered near the opening of the drain that penetrated the cellar. The room that keeps the Ossuary is circular, has a semicilindric vault and is half-filled with skulls and bones, preserved there after the Church yard was not used as a cemetery anymore. Underneath these bones, a wooden Procession Cross has been discovered. It is covered with thin copper tiles, has trilobated arms at its ends, and is adorned with blue stones and pendants. The Cross dates back to the 12th-13th centuries and is today the relic of the Church. Worth mentioning are also the slabs belonging to priest Johannes Hutter (carved by the locally well-known master artist Elias Nicolai) and to a clergyman's wife, Sara Schunn (17th century), a fragment of a carved group made in polychromous wood, and an old stone font that dates back to the 15th century.
The Fortified Church at Cisnadie holds also fragments of murals from the end of the 15th century. Unfortunately, only the painting of the central niche has been preserved; it represents a cross halo, made in black lines against a yellow background, a fact that proves that the exterior walls of the Church have once been decorated with frescoes. In 1909, on the northern wall of the Church choir, two large frescoes have been discovered, which, unfortunately, have been largely covered with lime. They were identified by means of former descriptions. Thus, it is known that they comprised small-scale scenes that depicted the christological cycle, in a style which resembled the one used in the murals at Harman. The lower part of the polyptical altar of this Church, made in 1525 by Vicentius Cibiniensis, and exhibiting Christ's Appearance, is to be found at Brukenthal Museum in Sibiu. It actually represents the most valuable Transylvanian painting of the 16th century.
at holds also fragments of murals from the end of the 15th century. Unfortunately, only the painting of the central niche has been preserved; it represents a cross halo, made in black lines against a yellow background, a fact that proves that the exterior walls of the have once been decorated with frescoes. In 1909, on the northern wall of the choir, two large frescoes have been discovered, which, unfortunately, have been largely covered with lime. They were identified by meansof former descriptions. Thus, it is known that they comprised small-scale scenes that depicted the christological cycle, in a style which resembled the one used in the murals at Harman. The lower part of the polyptical altar of this , made in 1525 by and exhibiting 's, is to be found at Brukenthal Museum in Sibiu. It actually represents the most valuable Transylvanian painting of the 16th century.The Parochial Library of the Church comprises rare volumes that have been printed beginning with the 16th century. An exceptionally valuable piece of work is a manuscript on parchment paper from 1350 - 1360, i.e. Codex Heltensis Saeculi XIV (Cisnadie's Codex from the 14th century).
of the comprises rare volumes that have been printed beginning with the 16th century. An exceptionally valuable piece of work is a manuscript on parchment paper from 1350 - 1360, i.e. ('s Codex from the 14th century).The Textile Museum at Cisnadie holds exhibits linked to the history of weaving, alongside a collection of old valuable books (16th-17th centuries).
at holds exhibits linked to the history of weaving, alongside a collection of old valuable books (16th-17th centuries). is only 15 km away from Sibiu; it can be reached through a county road derived from the E81 road. The town notes 17,484 inhabitants (1995). was built between 1192-1300 in the Romanesque style, on which elements of Gothic style were grafted in the 15th century. In the 14th-15th centuries it was fortified, being surrounded by a belt of walls, and flanked by several defense towers. at has three wide naves. The seven storeys of a 32.5 m high, massive steeple rise above the western part of the central nave. The central nave continues to the east with a square choir that has a cross vault without ribs. The choir closes in a semicircular apse covered by a quarter of a sphere and a semicone-shaped roof that forms another four-storeyed tower. The other two flank towers of the rise over the central parts of the two aisles. at holds also fragments of murals from the end of the 15th century. Unfortunately, only the painting of the central niche has been preserved; it represents a cross halo, made in black lines against a yellow background, a fact that proves that the exterior walls of the have once been decorated with frescoes. In 1909, on the northern wall of the choir, two large frescoes have been discovered, which, unfortunately, have been largely covered with lime. They were identified by meansof former descriptions. Thus, it is known that they comprised small-scale scenes that depicted the christological cycle, in a style which resembled the one used in the murals at Harman. The lower part of the polyptical altar of this , made in 1525 by and exhibiting 's, is to be found at Brukenthal Museum in Sibiu. It actually represents the most valuable Transylvanian painting of the 16th century. of the comprises rare volumes that have been printed beginning with the 16th century. An exceptionally valuable piece of work is a manuscript on parchment paper from 1350 - 1360, i.e. ('s Codex from the 14th century). at holds exhibits linked to the history of weaving, alongside a collection of old valuable books (16th-17th centuries).