At the center of the rural settlements founded by Saxon colonists in the Romanian province of Transylvania in the 12 century stood a fortified church, which also served as a place of refuge in case of danger. The Fortified Churches of Transylvania, which look like small citadels, were built in particular after the Tartar invasion of1241. There are approximately 150 villages which preserve such monuments. 7 of these churches have been named UNESCO world heritage sites.

Within the peasant citadel in the village of Biertan, a fortified church in the late gothic style was constructed between 1492 and 1516. The fortified complex consists of three precincts, protected by towers and bastions. The open-plan church preserves a polyptic altar with 15 th century polychrome wood carvings, choir stalls carved in the Renaissance style by master craftsman Johannes Reymucht of Sighisoara in 1514, and a stone pulpit, decorated with carvings inspired by the Passion cycle, attributed to mason Ulrich of Brasov (1523). From 1572 the church was for almost 3 centuries the Episcopal See of the Evangelical Church.

In the village of Calnic, can be found one of the oldest citadels in Transylvania, erected around 1200. Within the oval shaped precincts there is a chapel, the three-storey Siegfried Tower and 2 watch towers.

In the village of Darjiu, attested in documents in 1334, a Romanesque - style church was constructed in the 13 th and 14 th centuries. It was subsequently transformed in the gothic style and then fortified. The interior preserves gothic-style murals executed in 1419. Remarkable are the scenes illustrating the legend of Ladislas and the Conversion of St Paul.

The Fortified Church at Prejmer, a foundation attested in 1240, was built between 1241 and 1250 in the early gothic style with Cistercian influences. It preserves a priceless polyptic altar, painted in the 15 century, and an organ dating from 1803. The Prejmer fortification, dating from the 15 th to 16 th centuries, is the strongest peasant citadel in Transylvania. The walls are 6 meters thick and 14 meters high.

The church at the center of the village of Saschiz was built between 1493 and 1496. It has a single nave, an elongated choir and polygonal apses.

The settlement of Valea Viilor, formerly named Vorumloc, preserves a beautiful fortified church, dedicated to St Peter. It was built in the 13 th century; at the end of the 15 th century, it was surrounded by 8 meter high, strong defensive walls, equipped with turrets. It preserves a gothic tabernacle and choir stalls in the early Renaissance style (1518).

In the middle of the peasant fortress at Viscri, erected in the 15 th century, there is a gothic church, constructed on the site of a Romanesque chapel from the 12 to 13 centuries.

The fortified church in Harman was built in the 13 th century as a Roman basilica featuring a quadratic choir and half-circle apses. During the 15th and 16th centuries, it has been re-built in the gothic style. Its western tower was mentioned in as early as 1290. Two years after the fire in 1593, the vaults of the main nave were erected as they can be seen today. The defense system of the church was made up of an almost circular ring-wall, with 5 bastions, to which an octagonal one was later attached during the 15th-17th centuries. The baroque-style altar and organ are originating in the 18th century.