Fortresses and fortified Churches - Codlea
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Codlea
CODLEA
Second in size after Brasov, Codlea lies in the Barsa Country, at the foot of the Codlea Hillock (1292 high), in the western part of the Brasov Depression.
The town's altitude ranges between 545 and 620 m. It is only 14 km away from Brasov via DN1/E64, 52 km from Fagaras via DN1/E64, and at a 115 km distance from Sibiu via the same route.
Today, Codlea, also called the town of blooms due to its greenhouses that stretch over thousands of square metres, notes 24,370 inhabitants (according to the 1995' census).
In 1540, the first Saxon schools were opened there, whereas the first Romanian school was mentioned in 1800. Nowadays, Codlea boasts three high-schools, a cultural centre and a library. The history of the town started in 1211, when the Teutonic knights were brought along by the Hungarian kingdom in order to defend Transylvania's southeastern border. On the northern side of the Codlea Hillock, they built the Black Fortress (1211-1225), laid in ruins by the Tartar invasion of 1335.
Codlea was mentioned as a borough as early as in 1265.
was mentioned as a borough as early as in 1265.A second Fortress, which has been preserved to the day, was built by the craftsmen of several guilds starting from 1432. Fortified walls surround a Church built in the 13th century in the Romanesque style. Only the lower part of the western curtain wall of this edifice has withstood the lapse of time; it exhibits a beautiful Romanesque portal.
The Evangelical Church that one can see today was rebuilt in the Gothic style after 1500, being later on restored, that is after the fires of 1685 and 1701, respectively. It is interesting to note that the Church has no steeple.
Being a typical fortification of the Barsa Country, the Codlea Fortress has an oval disposition of its curtain walls, and no defence accessories attached to them. The precinct was raised on the site of a former earthen fortress as at Prejmer, Harman and Ghimbav. Its walls are 2 m thick and 8 m high, being strengthened by four prism-like towers, of which the Coopers' Tower and the Weavers' Tower, which have preserved their former aspect to the day. Their outflow is oriented towards the inside of the precinct, while their upper edges are crenellated. The inner walls of the precinct have two or three storeys of cells where the villagers would store their supplies in times of peace, or take shelter during sieges.
was mentioned as a borough as early as in 1265.