Biertan

Biertan (Romani: Biyertan, German: Birthälm, Hungarian: Berethalom) is a commune in central Romania, in the north of the Sibiu County, 80 km north of Sibiu and 15 km east of Mediaş.

The first documentary testimony about the village is from 1283 in a document about the taxes paid by the inhabitants of 7 villages. It is one of the most important Saxon villages with fortified churches in Transylvania, having been on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1993. It was the see of the Lutheran Evangelical Bishop in Transylvania between 1572 and 1867.

The whole commune has a population of about 3,000 and the village of Biertan alone has about 1,600 people. It is one of the most visited villages in Transylvania, being the place of the annual reunion of the Transylvanian Saxons, many of whom now live in Germany.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census, Romanians made up 68.58% of the population, Roma made up 22.23%, Germans made up 4.77% and Hungarians made up 4.40%. The commune of Biertan is officially bilingual, with both Romanian and Romani languages being recognised officially and used in public signage, education, justice and access to public administration.

Image gallery

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  Biertan and its fortified church
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  The fortified church - it is possible to see the three protecting walls from this view
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  This small building stands next to the church of Biertan. There was a custom to confine there for two weeks the couples who wanted to divorce. Inside the house there was only one bed and a single set of cutlery. It actually worked, because in 400 years only one couple eventually decided to break up
• 
  Video views of Biertan. This video was taken in June 2007 and seeks to convey some of the beauty of this extremely special village

Famous people

• Artur Phleps (a German Obergruppenführer in the Waffen-SS and a member of the Allgemeine SS)

The former home of Sara Römischer, in the old Kirchgasse of Biertan

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• Sara Römischer (This was the former home of Sara Römischer, a long-time resident of Biertan, who sadly passed away in 2006. Although she was not famous in the traditional sense, her story is representative of that experienced by many Transylvanian Saxons in Biertan following the Second World War. Sara was forcibly deported to Siberia in 1945, on a sunny January day. She managed to survive and after five hard years returned to her hometown of Biertan to bring up her family through many further hardships. See the Siebenbürgische Zeitung for an English translation of her harrowing story, or for the original German text)

See also

• Biertan Donarium

External links

• Template:De iconInformations and pictures about Biertan
• Template:En icon Infos about Biertan
• Template:Ro icon Infos and pictures about Biertan

46°7′60″N 24°31′0″E