One of the places outside Brasov where I haven’t been able to get into over the last 2 years is the Prejmer Saxon Fortification. We have visited the area view times (on the outside) but it has always for some reason been closed when we turned up.
Below: Outside the Prejmer Fortification on a beautiful autumn day
Last week I was showing some friends of friends around the old Saxon villages and we managed to get into Prejmer.
For those who read the blog but have never been to Romania or Brasov the Prejmer Fortified Church is one of the jewels in crown of Romania’s past history. Seriously it is an amazing place to visit for anyone interested in history. Bran I have done and I found it extremely boring and over hyped but Prejmer is probably one of best preserved old Saxon fortifications you would find anywhere.
The many Saxons who settled in Transylvania nearly over 800 years ago were under constant attack from Turks and the Tatars. The Saxons then built fortifications around their churches in the villages dotted around Transylvania and when the invading armies came the peasants would flee into their fortification.
Below: The Prejmer Fortification with the rooms where the village people would stay during a siege
The Prejmer fortification hasn’t changed much from when it was built over all those years ago. The access into the fortification is excellent and you can basically go into any of the rooms or the surrounding tower.
When you were walking about inside you were so aware that this was more of a fortification but an actual village. They had a school inside, small factories, a bakery, a well for fresh water and of course the church in the middle. These fortifications were built to sustain the local villagers when under attack. If a siege lasted a long time then probably the only risk the villages had was in fighting from themselves or disease.
Below: Inside the Prejmer Saxon Church
The church is still in use to today and during the summer the Saxon community holds concerts in the church. The church was also well preserved and very peaceful inside. There were reminders in the church of the Saxons who had lost their lives fighting for their German mother land during the 1st and 2nd World Wars.
Prejmer at one time had over 4,000 Saxons living in the village but today I’m told there are only about 70 Saxons living their. After the 2nd World War many Germans who had lived here peacefully for hundreds and hundreds of years s who shoved on cattle trains by the new Occupants of Romania – The Soviet Union. Thousands of Saxons lost their lives and also many of them left Romania after the Revolution as the German Government offered attractive grants for them to relocate in Germany.
Below: The Old Church Tower from the Prejmer Saxon Fortification
As you travel through these old Saxon villages you are offered a glimpse of a by gone age but sadly now no longer exists.
Another interesting statistic is that out of the many tourists which visit Prejmer, I’m told you can get upto 400 during the peak season and when we were visiting off peak there were coach loads of Germans , French and Israelis visiting. Only 2% of the visitors are Romanian.
Below: The Herman Fortification from a another Saxon village a few miles away from Prejmer
Brasov Life 
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