INSIDE THE FORTIFIED CHURCHES OF TRANSYLVANIA

Standing on the hilltops of the Transylvanian countryside, the mighty fortified churches protected their citizens throughout centuries of Tatar and Ottoman invasion

- JONATHAN HATFULL

When we think of Transylvania, we usually think of the dark forests, the looming mountains and, perhaps inevitably, Count Dracula. For any visitor planning to pack their stakes and garlic to visit the ancestral home of Bram Stoker's creation, however, they should prioritise finding room for walking shoes and a camera, and that the very first item on their agenda should be the stunning fortified churches. However, these defensive bulwarks were in fact not designed to hold back the children of the night. "There's no place for vampires in Transylvania," affirms Uncover Romania's Diana Condrea.

What there is a place for is the highest concentration of fortified churches anywhere in the world. Standing as imposing monuments to centuries past, these stunning combinations of religious devotion and military defence are the legacy of the region's complicated and often violent history, the struggles of the men and women who lived here, and help make this part of Romania so unique.

There are seven fortified churches on the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage list, and there are upwards of 150 still standing, although it should be noted that not all of them are in the best condition. "Only a few of them are properly conserved and, unfortunately, some have recently collapsed," Condrea, a tourism consultant and travel writer, told us. "Efforts are, nonetheless, being made by local foundations, like Mihai Eminescu Trust, to rehabilitate them.”

But why are there so many? The short answer is: defence. Transylvania may now be part of Romania, but historically it has always been a contested region. In the 12th century it was the gateway to the Hungarian Empire, which had conquered Transylvania several decades previously.