We drove to Biertan so as to visit the best known of the fortified churches - an eclesiastic and defense complex built in the fifteenth and sixteenth century high on a hill within two and a half rings of walls linked by a covered stairway.
Seat of the Lutheran bishops from 1572 to 1867 their fine upright tombstones can still be seen inside the Mausoleum Tower ...
from whose courtyard one could have an overview of the city below and the surrounding fields.
Next to the main edifice of this UNESCO listed ensemble - the church, stood a small building where couples wishing to divorce were locked for two weeks with just a single bed and a set of cutlery (knife excluded) until a final decision was taken.
According to what we were told in a period of four hundred years only one couple decided to break up after such confinement. (Maybe we should use similar approaches to couples wanting to get divorced and ending up having to pay high sums of money to do so added to the already previous amounts spent to have got married ...).
The late Gothic church hall had three naves with arches disposed in a network of stone-ribbed vaulting which naturally caught our attention.
The remarkable altar piece shrine comprising 28 painted icons, the main elements of which represent Mary, Jesus and Mary Magdalena, was quite impressive.
The stone carved pulpit decorated with biblical scenes and adorned with architectural and vegetal motifs was also worth looking at.
We were called the attention to the 1515 locking system of the vestry room door, which moves fifteen locks simultaneously. This room is said to have shielded the church treasures as well as the village in case of siege.
If any of us had any doubts in regards to the richness of the Romanian cultural heritage, this second morning must have started dissipating them and the more we listened to Adrian's explanations the more we got involved in the intricate history of this still "unknown" country.
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