The fortified church of the Csicsóholdvilág (Romanian: Biserica fortificată din Țapu, German: Abtsdorfer Kirchenburg) is in Transylvania, Romania, It stands on a hill in the center of the formerly Saxon inhabited Csicsóholdvilág in Szeben (Sibiu) County. It was built in the Kingdom of Hungary around 1400 in Gothic style and has been rebuilt and renovated several times over the centuries. By the beginning of the 21st century, only a few Saxons remained in the village, and the neglected church had fallen into a state of irredeemable disrepair, with its furnishings destroyed. Location: https://tinyurl.com/yb5matcf
Csicsóholdvilág (German: Abtsdorf bei Marktschelken, meaning “the abbot’s village near Nagyselyk”) was first mentioned in 1309 as the property of the Cistercian monastery of Egres. It changed hands several times over the centuries, and some of the Saxons who had been forced into serfdom fled to Nagyszeben and Brassó in the early 19th century.
Some researchers date parts of the enclosing wall of the originally Catholic fortress church to the 13th century, two centuries before most Saxon church forts were constructed. The village had a parish church as early as 1309, and its priest, János, was mentioned in 1333. The Gothic architectural elements of the fortress church, which still stands today, suggest that it dates from around 1400.
Its gate originally opened on the west side. In 1625, the south and north gates were opened, the narrow lancet windows were replaced, except for a few, and the tower was probably demolished (if it existed at all). In 1838, the nave was renovated again, with a flat stucco ceiling, the original west gate was walled in, and a vestibule was built in front of the north gate.
The steeple-less hall church is situated on a hill overlooking the village, with excellent visibility from all directions. Its nave is 21 m long and 7.7 m wide; attached to it on the east side is a square cross-vaulted hall used as a sanctuary, with thick walls suggesting that a steeple was planned (or built and then demolished). The sanctuary is closed by a semi-octagonal apse with three pointed-arched windows with four-leaf decoration.
The late Gothic-style sacristy, decorated with crucifixes, opens from the west side of the sanctuary. Only the side walls of the transept are still standing, and the entrance has been walled in. The altar dates from 1712 and is decorated with naïve paintings of the Crucifixion, the Last Supper, the Four Evangelists, and the Ten Commandments. The pews and railings bore several dates of construction and renovation: 1410, 1412, 1642, 1838, 1884.
The river-stone oval enclosure wall is 6.2 meters high and 0.8 meters wide; it was once topped by a two-story wooden defensive corridor. The massive gate tower, with a protective turret and a container roof, opening on the west side, was renovated in 2016, and its bell dates from 1623. There is also a small entrance on the north side of the castle wall, also protected by a watchtower. Its cemetery is located outside the wall, south of the church.
Although the Saxons converted to Lutheranism at the time of the Reformation, the chapel in the churchyard continued to be used by the remaining Catholics in the village. It was demolished in 1852 and its stones were used to build the local school. The inner side of the wall, like many other fortified churches, contained living chambers, which were demolished in 1941. The 1940 earthquake damaged the gate tower, which was repaired in 1955-56.
Csicsóholdvilág was once home to 400 Transylvanian Saxons, but they emigrated in the second half of the 20th century; in 1997 there were 57 Saxons living in the village, in 2017 only three. The church is no longer used for services, it is in a dilapidated state, and the furnishings have been taken away or burnt by the locals.
Dear Readers, I can only make this content available through small donations or by selling my books or T-shirts:
Please, support me with a coffee here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/duhoxoxa
You can check out my books on Amazon or Draft2Digital, they are available in hardcover, paperback, or ebook:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/198020490X or at https://books2read.com/b/boYd81
My work can also be followed and supported on Patreon: Become a Patron!http://Become a Patron!
Become a Patron! and donations can be sent by PayPal, too: https://tinyurl.com/yknsvbk7
https://hungarianottomanwars.myspreadshop.com/all
Subscribe to my newsletter here: https://tinyurl.com/4jdjbfkn
You can find here more pictures of Csicsóholdvilág:
