Sightseeings

Viscri (German: Deutschweißkirch or simply Weißkirch) is a small village in Transylvania (German: Siebenbürgen), in Braşov County, located in the central part of Romania. In 2002, the village had a population of 467 inhabitants. It is mostly known for its highly fortified church, which was originally built around 1100 AD. Viscri is one of the villages in Transylvania possessing fortified churches, designated in 1993 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The village lies northwest of Rupea and can be reached via Dacia village on a 7 km unpaved road. The first document mentioning Viscri is a record of church taxes dated around the year 1400, in which the village is referred to as being part of the Rupea parish.

The Fortified Church at Viscri.

The origins of the fortified church date from 1100, when the Szeklers built a small church with a single nave and semicircular apse, surrounded by a cemetery. Around 1185 the church was taken over by Saxon colonists, and the Szeklers were forced to resettle into southeast of Transylvania.

The plan of the former Saxon church had been simple, with a single nave and a semicircular apse on its eastern side. In the 13th century a keep was built onto the west of the church, the choir was extended eastward and shortly afterwards the church was enlarged as far as to the tower. During a third phase of construction at the end of 15th century, the church was converted into a fortified church by adding battlements to the choir and the West Tower.

After 1743 a covered corridor for the storage of corn was built. A century later, two chambers in the defense corridor of the bastion were turned into school rooms. The classic 19th century altar has as centerpiece „the Blessing of the Children„ by the painter J. Paukratz from Rupea. The font was made from a capital of the 13th century church.