Fortified Church in Daia near Sighişoara

Fortified Church in Daia near Sighişoara in Daia
Fortified Church in Daia near Sighişoara in Daia
Fortified Church in Daia near Sighişoara in Daia
Fortified Church in Daia near Sighişoara in Daia
Fortified Church in Daia near Sighişoara in Daia
Fortified Church in Daia near Sighişoara in Daia

Altar

The altar connected to the organ was made in 1795. A certain "Handy" is given as the author. In the center of the altar is a figure of Christ, flanked by two Corinthian columns and angel heads. The altar is then gilded.

Organ

The organ was built by Samuel Mätz in 1792. The organ was sold in 1995 and is now in the choir of the church in Mănăştur near Cluj.

Baptismal font

The pre-Reformation bronze baptismal font bears the inscription "A lohanne Christus baptisari voluit utsalvaret nos". The decoration consists of tendrils of vine leaves and borders of lilies. The nodus has simple oval indentations.

Bells

The large and middle bells are cast from steel and were donated in 1923 by people from Daia who had emigrated to America. The small bell is cast in bronze with three reliefs, one of which depicts Mary Magdalene and Mary Beneath the Cross. It may be pre-reformation.

Defenses

The church is surrounded by a ring wall, the ground plan of which is a rectangle. To the south-west stood a semi-circular tower, remains of which survive. A fortified building, the old town hall, has been preserved to the east. With its attic converted into a fortified storey, it is one of the most interesting examples of fortified housing in Transylvania. Loopholes and machicolations have been preserved. The oldest date found on these walls is 1572.

Seat chests

In the chancel of the church there are four painted chests. One of them is dated 1777.

History

1289 The Alba Iulia chapter testifies that Count Ladislaus sold the areas of Granari and "Sarustelek" to Count Petrus, son of Henneng from Daia,. This testifies that Daia had a count and wasn't free until the 15th century.
1353 The mention of a plebane "Johannes de Dalya maiori" leads to the conclusion that there was a small Daia nearby.
1447 The keystone in the apse of the chancel bears the inscription "Anno millesimo CCCC quadragesimo septimo" (1447). This year can be taken as the date when construction work on the Gothic hall church was completed.
1455 The tracery of the chancel and church windows may have been made around 1455.
1500 A school is mentioned for the first time.
1532 "Dellendorf" is a village of the Sighisoara see and counts 40 families.
1572 The oldest date found on the circular wall.
1605 Prince Stefan Bocskay's Szekler troops demand a large sum of money from the village. The residents then retreat to the fortified church. They can withstand the onslaught of the Szeklers.
1703 Daia owes 5,306 guilders to the Habsburgs because of the "liberation". The interest due will be paid in cash or in kind or by pledging of bonds.
1719 The plague claims 185 victims.
1733 The municipality is forced to mortgage forest areas.
1829-1834 On the opposite side of the street from the church, a new bell tower is built by Josef Karl Melischek, the builder of the church in Schaas. The 50 m high tower has a square ground plan.
1849 Hungarian troops enter the church.

Places in the surroundings