On 14 December 2018, Hans Klemm, Ambassador of the United States to Romania, visited the Evangelical Church A. C. in Romania and the Fortified Churches Foundation. The US diplomat presented Bishop Reinhart Guib with a symbolic cheque for 24,900 dollars for further work on the fortified church in Daia/Denndorf (Sighisoara church district).
The meeting with Hans Klemm, his wife and embassy staff in the Georg Daniel Teutsch Hall was attended by Bishop Reinhart Guib, Secretary General Friedrich Gunesch, the team from the Fortified Churches Foundation, senior staff from the Superior Consistory and representatives of the press. In his speech, the ambassador explained how important the promotion of the preservation of cultural heritage is to him and his institution. Bishop Reinhart Guib thanked the US Embassy for its ongoing support and presented the distinguished guest with the illustrated book “Der befestigte Glaube. Fortified Churches in Transylvania” by Jürgen van Buer.
Ambassador Klemm, a long-time friend and supporter of the Transylvanian fortified churches landscape, had already donated USD 59,300 from the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) in May 2017 for work on the fortified churches of Movile/Hundertbücheln (Sibiu church district), Agarbiciu/Arbegen (Mediasch church district) and Denndorf and has visited the sites repeatedly since then, most recently on the occasion of the Fortified Churches Foundation’s masonry workshop in Daia in July this year.
Text and Photos: Stefan Bichler
