Fortified Churches of Transylvania

Naturally, when we heard TRANSYLVANIA, images of 'Count Dracula' and dark, smokey castles were reflexively conjured in our minds. But, now that we've been here, I would argue to reconsider this line of thinking for those who are contemplating a visit. In fact, forget castles all together. Fortified churches is where it's at - the creme de la creme of Transylvania. 

Now, when I say fortified churches, there are indeed frescos, naves, some oconostasis, maybe a cemetery, but that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to these ancient beauties. It's what lies below the water (or rather above the church) that is the most interesting. 

For one in particular, Valea Viilor (above), we had to ask a local to call the "key keeper" to open the door for us. After a few short minutes, the keeper arrived on his bicycle and placed the giant cartoon-like key in the creaky wooden door's rusty key slot. At first glance, it didn't look much different than other fortified churches that we'd seen. So, we proceeded into the church to pay our respects, when the key keeper appeared. I thought he was just watching us to make sure we weren't misbehaving, but then I noticed that he was trying to tell us to go down one of the pews toward a miniature, inconspicuous door. 

Dustin & Suji

We walked through the door to discover a very narrow, and might I mention crumbling, stone spiral staircase. As we saw the light at the end of the stairway, it opened up to a network of platforms and unsturdy ladders to create a multi-layered medieval game of Shoots and Ladders. This wasn't a church, this was a real deal fortress, and at that moment it was our playground.

As our adrenaline pumped, Matt, Dustin, Suji and I scurried up layer after layer of wobbly ladders and flexible floorboards to the very top of the fortification. (Well, almost. We didn't want to be too unreasonable, since the drop down deserved our appreciation.) Never in our childhood dreams, no matter how many mattresses and Care Bear bed sheets we borrowed from our neighbors, could we have created a fort as magnificently fun as this one.

Can you find Matt?

However, after our antics, and with our feet firmly planted on the cobblestone road outside the church, we later realized that we were retracing the steps of those retreating for their lives - it was not fun and games for them. It was where all the villagers would hide in the face of any rebel Tatars that tried to attack their city. They don't call it a 'Fortified Church' for nothing. Although, I would venture to call it a 'Fortified Labyrinth' instead. 

Click Here For More Pics