Metiş Fortified Church

At the beginning of the 14th Century a small hall church was initially erected. In order to defeat the many attacks the chancel is heightened and provided with machicoulis at the beginning of the 16th century. At the end of the same century, a wall boasting four defensive towers oriented towards the four cardinal points surround the church. The first floor of the bell tower was habitable, equipped with a smoke funnel. The second floor has small bays on every corner, each having three embrasures, a construction detail that can be found in Thuringia, Germany. Very interesting to visit is the gate tower, a massive structure on 5 levels, three of them equipped with defensive systems and a parapet walk on the highest level.

The church in Moardăş was built in the 15th century as a Gothic hall church. the sculptures in the chancel are most valuable. The vault ribbing rests on richly and very fine decorated consoles. Moreover, the beautiful traceries of the three Gothic windows add more value to the chancel. They have been repaired in stages since the year 2010. These works are part of a project for preserving the fortified church, which started in 2008 on the initiative of the Fortified Churches Foundation (former Coordination Office) involving various partners. The repairs have been carried out especially on roof, walls and facades. The aim of this project is to prepare the church for further usage, and to organize different activities inside.

From the first church built in the 14th century the western portal is preserved, as well as stones used to build the eastern pairs of pillars in the hall church from 15th century. The construction of the new church, whose size and architecture are testimony of the importance of the settlement, was accompanied by extensive measures to fortify the assembly: a defence level was added to the chancel, the northern and southern entrances were strengthened by towers provided with loop holes. A parapet walk on arches was built on the curtain wall, as well as several defence towers and an outer bailey, which is divided in two parts and protected by a small watchtower.
The interior of the church impresses due to its dimensions and excellent sculptures, as well as the Gothic lierne vault on pairs of stone pillars.