The skilful and strict Cardinal Gentilis of Montefiori, delegate of the Pope, imposes a heavy punishment and promises the excommunication of anyone who will marry people of other religions apart from the Catholic one. A great council gathered in Pojon (Bratislava) in 1309. It had been a busy year for the cardinal to whom the Papal seat had given the mission to solve so many important things in the Kingdom, from the excommunication of the Prince of Ardeal, Ladislau, because he wanted to marry his daughter to the son of the King of Serbia – an orthodox – to the confirmation of the bishop of Transylvania as he had been asked by Ulricus, decanus de district de sanctae Ladislao, and by nine other deans.

This is the first document mentioning Laslea, name derived from Saint Ladislau who was the patron of the church. There isn’t any document attesting the presence of a basilica here, but presumably only the belfry was preserved from the old building. The old monument that lasted up to the 19th century had a pentagonal choir, three naves, and the already mentioned tower had a south-north orientation. The present church doesn’t overlap the plan of the basilica because it has an east-west orientation. There is an inscription mentioning 1456 as the year of construction but most probably it was the year of transformations, as it is the case of other 15th century basilicas. According to the marks on the belfry it was assumed that the basilica had a barrel vault and a gabled roof, evidence which is given by the traces of gable on the wall. Fragments of the barrel vaulted aisle walls were also preserved. The belfry wasn’t placed on the axle of the church as usual, but towards the south with an open portico in front of the entrance, whose empty spaces were walled in along with the fortification of the tower, accessible now only on the second floor to which the entrance is made from the inside. The five floor tower has narrow battlements and arched openings at the top. The last floor is the protruding defense level which has a hipped roof.

From the fragments of walls which were preserved results that the church was surrounded by a simple curtain wall which wasn’t defended by towers. On the west side the ruins still reach almost five meters and the holes in which the beams of the wall-passage joined were also preserved. A storage room for grains was annexed to the north wall.

The actual church built by Samuel Teutsch from Sighișoara was raised after the old one was demolished in 1838. Without a certain style, the church was initially built without a belfry; a few years later another one was built but didn’t last for long because it collapsed and damaged the west part of the church. It was never rebuilt and up to now the only used tower has been the isolated one that lies at the north of the church.
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Council Square

Council Square

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Discover Terra Ultrasilvana, the land beyond the forests, a cultural landscape that remained essentially unchanged over the centuries. Explore the vivid picture of southern Transylvania in over 200 outstanding photographs. English / German, 128 pages, 21 X 28 cm
Best time to visit
Best tiem to visit
In April and May you can witness the beginning of spring by admiring the blossomy fields and fruit trees, the fresh green of the grass, the flowery scents and the clear blue sky. This is an ideal time for experiencing the rebirth of nature and for taking fabulous pictures.
Essential experience
Essential experience
These are some of the things you don't want to miss when you get here.
Getting under the skin
Getting under the skin
You have to "taste" the local stuff for a real Transylvanian experience.
Trademarks/Heritage
Trademarks/Heritage
The Fortified Churches are an unique and interesting fenomenon. They can be found in only a few places throughout Europe and there were more than 300 Fortified Saxon Churches in Transylvania.
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