Reußmarkt

Reußmarkt (Miercurea Sibiului) is located in Sibiu County, to the west of the county capital Hermannstadt, in the Unterwald region.

The village was favourably situated for trade because of its location, but it also lay on the path of passing armies. The name of the village comes from the Slavic population group known as "Ruthenians", who were presumably settled here. The first dated mention "Ruhemark" is from the year 1290, at which time the place was described as a "villa" (village). The village was a free settlement on the Royal Ground and its inhabitants were subject to no nobleman. In the centre of the village stood the fortified complex with its church. Between the fortress and the main road stretched the marketplace. In Reußmarkt all the roads from the surrounding villages converge — Großpold, Dobring, Urwegen, Troschen, Bußd, Kleinenyed and Kleinpold.

According to history, the community developed very slowly. Around 1330 the village counted 90 families, approximately 450 persons. The population consisted of farmers as well as craftsmen from five different guilds. In 1420 the Turkish raids began and the entire Unterwald region was devastated. The Saxon population in the villages situated along the main road had to pay a heavy toll in blood.

In 1349 the Reußmarkt Seat is mentioned for the first time, but the joy and peace of Reußmarkt's inhabitants came to an end through new Turkish raids, when the village was burned to the ground. Later the place was plundered by Serbs, and in 1848 Reußmarkt was besieged during the Hungarian Revolution. At the census of 1850 there were only 1,371 citizens, the majority of them German.

As in the other Transylvanian Saxon settlements, Reußmarkt had to defend itself against enemy attacks. In the mid-13th century the inhabitants first built the church in the Romanesque style. The side aisles of the pillared basilica were raised a hundred years later, transforming the church into a hall church. Initially the fortification consisted of a wooden palisade fence of earth, which was only later replaced by a ring wall with a gate tower. In difficult times the fortified church provided safe shelter for five hundred souls. The remains of a defensive tower and the foundations of the earlier fortifications can still be seen today in the rectory courtyard. In the roof space of the side aisles the Romanesque round clerestory windows are still visible, almost concealed by the installation of the vault in the central nave. Particularly interesting is the form of the lean-to roof over the chambers. It projects far outward to protect the granaries of the villagers. These granaries are still in the fortress today. The Reußmarkt fortified church is unique in that it houses the best-preserved storerooms in Transylvania.

At the beginning of the 19th century, after the uprooting of some chestnut trees on the marketplace, underground passages were uncovered. One led as far as the cemetery; the second was unfortunately blocked after a short distance.

Thanks to the support of the Transylvanian Saxon Foundation, the fortified church is today in good condition.

As in the other villages, most of the Transylvanian Saxons from Reußmarkt now live in Germany. Since 2004 Reußmarkt has been a town.

360° Panorama

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Author: Zîmța Andreea
Date: 04.07.2017

For photos from Reussmarkt, please click: Photos from Reussmarkt