About Evangelical fortified Church Harman
The Evangelical Church from Harman was built in the 13th century in a Romanesque style. Harman is located in Tara Barsei 10 Km east from Brasov.
The oldest documentary attestation, in which the village of Harman is named Mons Mellis (Berg ausHonig), dates from the year of 1240. In 1240, king Bela IV has established the patronage of the Order of Cistercians over the churches from Marienburg (nowadays Feldioara), Petersbrug (nowadays Sanpetru), Honigberg (nowadays Harman) and Tartlau (nowadays Prejmer).
Over the centuries, the evangelical fortified church has suffered from a great number of destructions made by the Tatars and by the Turks, during their invasions. The wall inside the citadel has an oval shape and a height of 12 meters. Also, the wall is reinforced with 7 defense towers. Some of these towers have orifices that were used for pouring melted pitch on besiegers.
The fortified church, dedicated to Saint Nicholas, is a Basilicata building with a square choir. The apse of the church has a semicircular shape in the lower part and a polygonal shape in the upper part. Since the 15th century, the upper part of the apse has been remodeled in a Gothic style. The western tower of the church has 6 strong stories and it is mentioned since 1290. The present roof, with its 4 little towers, is more recent.
In 1593 the fortified church was set on fire and in 1595 was built the current vault of the main nave. The defense system of the citadel consists in an almost circular curtain of walls and 5 bastions. Later on was added another octagonal bastion. The citadel around the church was built gradually in the 15th and 16th centuries.
The altar and the organ are Baroque and they date from the 18th century.
Visiting hours are between 12 and 14, from Tuesday to Sunday.