When taking the national road from Brașov to Sighișoara, you can’t help notice two monuments that remind you of the rich medieval history of Transylvania. The first is the peasant fortress of Rupea, and the other is the clock tower of Saschiz. The latter is a replica of the clock tower in Sighișoara, present in every postcard from the city where Vlad the Impaler was born. The high tower with a square base is now included in the fortified church of Saschiz, built in the last decade of the XV century. Both buildings have heavy defense, with firing holes, passageways for sentinels and thick stone walls.
The church is dedicate to Saint Stephen, and was Catholic before the Reformation, when the local Saxons turned to Protestantism and the church became Evangelical.
This is just one of the many fortified churches of Transylvania built by the Saxons (Germans), of which the one in Prejmer (30 Km East of Brașov) is the most popular.