Prejmer
Prejmer (Torteln in the Saxon dialect, Tartlau/Tartlen in German or Prazsmar in Hungarian) is a town located 16km (10mi) north-east of Brasov. It is known especially because of the fortified church. It is unknown exactly when this town was founded. The Slavic origins of the Hungarian and Romanian names admit that this town had been preceded by a Slavic locality. It was for the first time documentary certified in 1211 in a document of the Hungarian king Andrei II addressed to the Teutonic knights. Through this document the Teutonic order had rights over the Tarlung (Tartillou) river where the locality will be founded. Later, in 1240, Prejmer appears in a document issued by the Hungarian king Bela IV who donates several towns, including Prejmer, to the Cistercian Order.

The Prejmer Fortified Church
The Teutonic Knights were the first one who built a church dedicated to the Holy Cross. It was built between 1218 and 1461, in a Burgundian Gothic style. The last part added to the church was the tower which is 36m (118ft) high. The church, which has a Latin cross plan, was originally a Catholic church but during the Reformation it was transformed into an Evangelical one, the old frescoes being removed from the church or covered with plaster. The vaulted ceiling of the nave represents the crest of Prejmer, a cross on the globe. The Prejmer church boasts one of the oldest Gothic polyptych altars in the country, made in 1450 and painted on both sides. The church was many times renovated and still in use.
The whole town was the first one to be attacked in case of an invasion because it was the closest to the Buzau pass, used many times as an entrance gate in Transylvania. That’s why the church was surrounded by walls protected by a deep and wide moat. The fortress, built in circle, had 12m (39ft) high and 4m (13ft) wide walls, towers, bastions, herses, loopholes for shooting, spouts for pouring boiling pitch or water onto attackers and lifting bridges. All these were connected by a defensive gallery, 800m (2624ft) long which was defended by its inhabitants.
A special attraction of Prejmer is given by the so called the “death organ”, a thick rotating wooden board mounted on an iron axle with five barrels on each side. The barrels on one side could be loaded with metal projectiles while the other was being fired at the enemy, so by rotating the board rapidly, continues fire could be achieved. Even today the fortress displays in the defensive gallery a copy of such a weapon.
On the interior part of the walls were built, on 4 levels, 272 small rooms like a honeycomb that sheltered the people from the fortress when they were attacked. In peaceful times they used them as storerooms for food. These rooms were inherited from father to son.
Located in the eastern part of Transylvania, near the Buzau Pass, the fortress was 50 times attacked but never defeated. Nowadays, the amazing place, part of the UNESCO world heritage list, has also an ethnographic museum. It exhibits costumes, painted furniture and pottery.

The schedule of the Prejmer fortified church:
Summer time (May 1st – October 31st):
Tuesday – Saturday: 09:00 – 17:00
Sunday, Monday: closed
Winter time (November 1st – April 30th):
Tuesday – Saturday: 09:00 – 15:00
Sunday, Monday: closed

Entrance fee: RON8

The Prejmer Orthodox Church was for the first time erected in 1601. The actual church was built in 1769. At the beginning the church was painted on the entire exterior part but today just very few paintings can be seen. Its iconostasis is carved in Baroque style and includes 59 painted icons. The church has two valuable painted icons, dating back since 1789 and a large library.