Discover Heritage

FortiVacation

As a specialist institution for the preservation of the fortified churches in Transylvania, the Fortified Churches Foundation works closely with partners, associations and private initiatives that are dedicated to finding interesting concepts for the further use of these historic buildings. In addition to these cooperations, we are also interested in developing our own adaptive reuse project to set another example of the numerous possibilities that the fortified churches offer in this respect.

Since we are mainly dealing with monuments in rural areas, the “classic” models of extending their use (e.g. library, community centre, food banks, cultural venues, etc.) are usually not feasible. The main reason for this is the lack of demand from local and neighbouring communities. However, as the region of Southern Transylvania, the so-called Transylvanian Highlands, has become a popular destination for domestic and foreign tourists in recent years, we have identified them as a target group for our concept of adaptive reuse.

By offering quality accommodation in the towers and annex buildings of the fortifications and combining the mere stay with a holistic heritage experience, we hope to satisfy the demands of culturally interested tourists.

The fortified church opens its doors

Guests are invited not only to enjoy the quality and comfort of the rooms and amenities, but also to discover the entire ensemble of the fortified church, which is “theirs”, so to speak, for the duration of their stay. 

The atmosphere of the place, the history of the medieval monument and the sacredness of the religious heritage can be perceived and should be stimulated by various activities and offers on site. These are not obligatory, but can enhance the extraordinary experience of an overnight stay in a fortified church. 

Through the carefully documented and monitored implementation of the adaptive reuse programme, we aim to set a best practice example for further models of reinterpretation of religious heritage sites in Romania, as this issue has not yet been sufficiently addressed and tackled at the national level.