Castles and Fortified Churches of Transilvania Architectural Scale Models Prejmer

The construction of the Burgundian Gothic-style church in Tartlau (Saxon name of the village) was started by Teutonic Knights who were given the rights to Prejmer village in the 13th century. While the church has undergone numerous modifications, its initial form was restored in the 1960s. This is the best preserved and strongest medieval fortified church in Eastern Europe. The church was built on a Greek cross-shaped central plan, which was modified in the 16th century. The building initially consisted of four equal-sized wings placed around a central octagonal tower.

Each wing had a square span and a polygonal one, and the church choir was flanked on both sides by two pairs of rectangular chapels. As Prejmer was the first settlement to be attacked by the Turks through the Buzău Pass, following the order issued by King Sigismund of Luxembourg to improve the defense systems in Țara Bârsei (South-Eastern Transylvania), the church was fortified by building a high, solid structure surrounded by a wide moat.

The round-shaped fortress had 3-4-m thick and 12-m high walls, bastions, iron gates and raising bridges. It also featured an unusual battle device: the famous “Pipe Organ of Death”, which consisted of numerous weapons stacked together, firing all at once. It inflicted heavy damage to enemies.