Fortresses and fortified Churches - Prejmer

PREJMER

 

 

Prejmer (Tartlau) is a parish located at about 15 km away from Brasov, on the east side of the Brasov Depression, and in the proximity of the Olt river.

()is a parish located at about 15 km away from Brasov, on the east side of the Brasov Depression, and in the proximity of the Olt river.

Prejmer was founded by Teutonic knights and Saxon settlers come from Thuringia in the 13th century.

was founded by Teutonic knights and Saxon settlers come from Thuringia in the 13th century.

The settlement was first mentioned in written in 1240; it became a borough in 1646.

On the road that links the city of Brasov to Pasul Buzaului, right in the centre of the parish stands the Fortified Peasant Church, one of the strongest medieval fortifications in the Barsa Country. The construction of the Fortress started in 1427. It was raised around the Church (1250), and completed in the 16th century. The Fortress was conceived as a refuge or defence shelter for villagers in times of war.

The Fortress has two precincts that surround the Evangelical Church.. The main one is circular in shape, has a diameter of about 80 m, and was built by order of the Hungarian king Sigismund of Luxembourg (1387-1437), after 1427. Its walls are considerably thick, i.e. 3-4 m. The second precinct is comparatively smaller, being attached to the vaulted covered walk that serves for an entrance, i.e. zwinger. The zwinger is 50 m long and has strong archways. Its defence function is played by a mobile reinforced gate, called "hersa". At times of siege, this grill-gate made of wood and ended in stokes would be pulled down softly and isolate the besiegers' vanguard from the bulk of their army.

On the outside, the main precinct is provided with a shield wall and a moat, being strengthened by several cylindrical bastions. On the inside, it displays 275 supply-store cells, one for each family in the village. The cells are strung together on each of the four storeys, and are linked to one another by wooden stairways. The watch way running 12 m high onto the walls ends in a gallery provided with loops from where arrows, cannon balls, or hot tar could be thrown down upon enemies. The medieval weaponry of the Fortress included also a special device called the "death organ", which used to trigger off several harquebuses at one time. The Fortress unfolds its walls in a horizontal order that makes the solid defence system on the inside hard to guess from outside the fortification. The Peasant Fortified Church at Prejmer is the strongest built by the Saxon settlers in Transylvania.

Within the bailey of the peasant fortification stands the Evangelical Church, which was built between 1241-1250, in the late Gothic style. Details of stone carved masonry bespeak of the same master artists who built the Carta Cistercian monastery, whereas the resemblance to certain German churches are obvious due to the typical cross design which is quite rare since it is made up of four equally long wings.

The Church was extended by the end of the 15th century - its eastern side was covered by a rib vault. At the time, the Church was endowed with window framing that bear the stamp of the late Gothic style.

The assets of the Evangelical Church at Prejmer are particularly valuable. Thus, the polyptic sanctuary, the oldest in Transylvania (mid 15th century) is made up of a triptych with a central panel and wings painted on both sides. The iconographic images depict Jesus' Sufferings, the Last Supper, the Scourging, the Resurrection etc., whereas the central panel, four times larger than the side wings, depicts the Crucifixion. The compositions are simple, and actually look older than they are. They have vivid colours. The red shades look especially bright against the golden background on which they have been painted. The influence of the Austrian school of painting is visible by the attempt to suggest the geometrical perspective of the interior images.

The Chalice of the Evangelical Church at Prejmer illustrates the craftsmanship of the Transylvanian silversmiths in the 15th century. The chalice has got a long prismatic base and sides engraved with slender floral motifs. The small and flat bulb is engraved with grooves disposed aslant, which make up a belt.

()is a parish located at about 15 km away from Brasov, on the east side of the Brasov Depression, and in the proximity of the Olt river. was founded by Teutonic knights and Saxon settlers come from Thuringia in the 13th century.