The road of fortifications starting from Valea Verde (I)

20 September 2022

There is so much to discover in Transylvania! That’s why we think it’s always a good idea to plan a vacation to these historic places. Even in our small village, Cund, you will be able to admire hundreds of years old buildings, starting with the village church, built in the 15th century!

And on the way to Valea Verde you will meet, perhaps, the most famous fortified churches in Transylvania (or even Romania). We will talk about them in this article, about the Fortifications Road route: Ţapu – Şeica Mică – Axente Sever – Valea Viilor – Mediaş – Brateiu – Mălâncrav – Sighişoara.

The route can be travelled by bike or by car. If you want to complete the entire route, you can start from Sighisoara or from Mediaș (here you can also intersect with the Via Transilvanica Route).

We talked about Sighisoara in this article, and about the Biertan fortress, here.

In the town of Țapu in Sibiu county, you can visit the Evangelical – Lutheran Church built in the 15th century. The church was built on the main hill in the locality and is surrounded by an oval enclosure. The fortified enclosure has a tower with a gate and a secondary entrance. The town of Țapu is located 58 km from Valea Verde.

Șeica Mică is located 48 km from Sibiu, 23 km west of Mediaș, 56 km from Valea Verde and 6 km from the town of Țapu. In Sheica Mica you will find a church built in the 14th century, well preserved and protected by two belts of walls. Only the “Court of the Fountain” and a small fragment in the south-western part are preserved from the church fortification.

Axente Sever is located 46 km from Valea Verde, 15 km from Șeica Mică, 17 km from Țapu, 41 km from Sibiu, in the Târnavelor Plateau. And here you will find a fortified evangelical church, first mentioned in the 14th century. It is one of the few churches in Transylvania that has a bell tower above the choir.

At Valea Viilor, located 45 km from Valea Verde and 9.5 km from Axente Sever, has a fortified evangelical church included in the UNESCO Heritage list (since 1999). The church is surrounded by a single oval enclosure. Three bastions are preserved on the flanks, in the four cardinal points.

Brateiu is located 5 km from Mediaș, on the Târnava Mare River valley, 20 km from Valea Viilor and 25 km from Valea Verde. The locality was founded by the Saxon settlers in 1283. The evangelical church in the locality is built in Moorish Gothic style. The fortification was built in the same period as the church, neither the ramparts nor the guard road are preserved from the enclosure wall.

Mălâncrav is located 31 km from Valea Verde, 33 km from Brateiu and 40 km from Mediaș. The fortified church in the village was built in the 14th century, on the site of a much older Romanesque basilica.

We are waiting for you in the heart of Transylvania, we have many stories to tell you!

Valea Verde stories » The road of fortifications starting from Valea Verde (I)