Vărd (Vérd, Werd) – Sibiu County
What could be hiding behind this old wooden door? That was the question I asked myself as I walked around the courtyard of one of the many abandoned Saxon churches of Transylvania. The Fortified Church of Vărd, a quiet village on the border between Sibiu and Brașov counties, conceals the story of seven turbulent centuries.
The Fortified Church of Vărd, built in the 13th century
The first documented mention of Vărd, Chirpăr Commune, dates back to 1319. The document already recorded the existence of a Romanesque church dedicated to Saint Mary. Built from solid quarried stone, the church was initially Catholic and later Evangelical. It was once much more than a place of worship, providing both spiritual and strategic refuge. The bell tower was erected on the western façade in the 14th century; the three silent bells can still be found beneath the roof of the four-storey structure. In 1853, the entire southern and eastern sections were modified, giving the church its present-day appearance.
The walls that once surrounded the Fortified Church of Vărd were desmolished
Rectangular in plan and reinforced with a defensive tower on both its northeastern and southwestern sides, the fortification that once surrounded the Evangelical Church of Vărd is today nothing more than history. Part of the structure collapsed as early as 1877, while the remainder was demolished in 1924. The defensive tower on the southwestern side was subsequently removed in 1953–54. The only surviving traces of the former enclosure walls are therefore fragments on the western side of the church. One striking attraction, however, remains: a network of tunnels beginning beneath the altar, with hidden escape passages leading to 30 houses in the village.
The Fortified Church of Vărd, elegance and grandeur within
The true beauty of the Evangelical Church of Vărd is revealed to me only after I step inside. The galleries built in the 18th century, clad in wooden panels decorated with Rococo motifs, still embrace the nave, now saturated with water. Yet the vaulted ceilings of the nave and chancel fill the abandoned church with an unexpected sense of grandeur. The painted pulpit has long since fallen silent. Inscriptions and names carved into the old, woodworm-eaten timber silently preserve the memory of those who once prayed here. The organ built by Johannes Hahn in 1770 is now housed in St. Michael’s Church in Cluj-Napoca. The altar, bronze baptismal font, valuable paintings and flags were moved to Sibiu.
I sadly close the door behind me. The thick layer of dust settles once again on the empty pews of the Category B historic monument. The Fortified Church of Vărd is drawing ever closer to total collapse, which has already taken hold in the ruined sacristy.