Jidvei Fortified Church

In the small village of Tătârlaua, first mentioned in documents in the year 1332, stands the towerless hall church dating back to the 15th century. The nearly square-shaped central nave isFreske des Heiligen Christopherus completed by a long-stretched choir with polygonal closure, canopied by a late Gothic reticulated vault. The central nave with its flat ceiling and the circumferential gallery are rather conservative and can be observed as quite a contrast. The bells are located in a separate wooden bell tower. No traces of the former defence system have remained.
Just as in Dârlos the outer walls of the choir still boast remainders of frescoes, in this case displaying depictions of Saint Christopherus. During recent exposure works there were also pre-Reformation frescoes found in the interior that were well-preserved under the protective plaster layer. The winged altar from the year 1508 was originally made for Jidvei but then sold to Tătârlaua by the congregation in the 19th century. It shows depictions of the martyrs Demetrius and Valentine as well as scenes from the life of Mary on the high day side and pictures of various Saints on the weekday side.

Beginning of the 16th century a hall church with narrow chancel has been built in Şona. In the 19th century the church was rebuilt in Neoclassical style, but only after the bell tower has been erected southern from the church. The assembly was surrounded by a curtain wall with defence tower, of which only some remains are still preserved. The interior Neoclassical furnishing includes the organ from 1852 and the pulpit and altar from 1847.
A field called “At Martin’s Church” is located 2,5 km away from the church. There the remains of an old church were found, which might be the one mentioned in a document dated 1252. The report stated that the son of Count Martin sold part of its land between the two Târnava Rivers, where three villages and a Martin’s church were to be found, to another Count.

The irregular polygonal shaped chancel of the church in Bălcaciu was erected in the 14th century and heightened with three defense levels in the 16th century. Its upper level shows one of the rare wooden defence platforms that are still preserved. On the northern side a two level sacristy was built in the same period. The old church and the interior curtain wall were demolished and the materials were used to build the current three-aisle hall church with profiled pairs of buttresses and barrel vault. In 1856 the spire tower was built. Four defensive towers and a gate tower that are still visible today strengthen the exterior circular ring wall.
The neoclassical interior of the church is decorated in white and gold with few stucco works. The organ built in 1820 by Samuel Maetz and the richly decorated canopy of the pulpit are both painted in the same colors.