Fortified Churches
DrăușeniA Late-Romanesque pier basilica dedicated to Saint Nicholas was built in the 13th century. It has nave, aisles, choir square, semicircular apse and a west tower. There are fragments of late-14th century mural paintings on the northern wall of the nave. The basilica underwent certain reconstruction work around 1500. The aisles were for the greater part demolished; they survived only nearby the west tower. The arcades in the nave were bricked up, and the tower gallery, too. Canted pillars were placed in front of the nave walls, in order to support the barrel vault with penetrations. The choir was encased and raised to the height of the nave. It was equipped with a timber-parapeted defence storey. The irregularly polygonal enclosing wall is strengthened by a gatehouse in the west and by five towers built in front of it. The wall is approximately 8m high.
Ella Kosa +40/724/456/899
Fortified Churches
DrăușeniA Late-Romanesque pier basilica dedicated to Saint Nicholas was built in the 13th century. It has nave, aisles, choir square, semicircular apse and a west tower. There are fragments of late-14th century mural paintings on the northern wall of the nave. The basilica underwent certain reconstruction work around 1500. The aisles were for the greater part demolished; they survived only nearby the west tower. The arcades in the nave were bricked up, and the tower gallery, too. Canted pillars were placed in front of the nave walls, in order to support the barrel vault with penetrations. The choir was encased and raised to the height of the nave. It was equipped with a timber-parapeted defence storey. The irregularly polygonal enclosing wall is strengthened by a gatehouse in the west and by five towers built in front of it. The wall is approximately 8m high.
Ella Kosa +40/724/456/899
Four rectangular pairs of pillars with ledged arch imposts and stone ashlar arches separate the nave from the aisles. There are Romanesque gemel windows in the clerestory. The columns of the gemel windows have crocket capitals.
The bell tower, with a side length of 9m, displays on the west side a projection with a successively stepped west portal. There is a founder’s gallery on the floor above the tower porch; access is gained by the spiral staircase in the south aisle. There is an arcature below the defence storey in the belfry.
Diverse columns structure the portal jambs. There is capital frieze with acanthus and vine leaf decoration in the upper structure and a base profile in the lower one. The round arch archivolt of the portal consists of several tiers and bead moulding; there is a trefoil arch in the tympanum.
Fragments of wall paintings from the end of the 14th century have been preserved on the north wall of the central nave. The following scenes can be identified: 1. Judgment scene, 2. Three Kings, 3. Sleeping men, 4. Crucifixion and Descent from the Cross.
The baroque altar from 1787, baroque pulpit from 1887, parish pews with plant and animal decoration from 1638, baptismal font from 1695, organ were removed from the church during renovation. The furnishings were stored in temporary barracks. When at the beginning of the 1980s the appropriate storage was no longer guaranteed, parts of the gallery parapet and the wall paneling were taken away and re-installed in the churches in Sura Mare and Rupea.
The Drăuşeni sword was one of the two swords that the Transylvanian Saxons brought with them when they immigrated. With these swords they staked out the king's soil, Drăuşeni being the easternmost parish and Orastie the westernmost. The Drăuşeni sword was present in the village until the Second World War and then disappeared. A replication has recently been placed in the fortified church.
| 1150-1200 | Archaeological investigations have revealed a small hall church from the 12th century. This can be assigned to the first Saxon colonists. |
|---|---|
| 1200-1300 | Construction of a late Romanesque pillar basilica with nave and side aisles, choir square, semicircular apse and western tower. |
| 1224 | The first documentary mention of the village. "Terra Daraus" is mentioned in Diploma Andreanum or Goldener Freibrief der Siebenbürger Sachsen . Thus, Drăușeni became a free commune of the province of Sibiu. |
| 1490 | The place is plundered by Szeklers. The Sibiu Council lodged a complaint with the king about this. |
| 1500 | 64 families, a schoolmaster, 4 shepherds and 3 paupers live in Drăuşeni. In the village there is a mill and 5 abandoned farms. |
| 1500 | Most of the side aisles will be removed. The arches between the main and side aisles are bricked up. |
| 1600-1700 | Wooden galleries are installed in the church. The gallery parapets are decorated with motifs from Saxon furniture painting. There are also Latin inscriptions and the dates 1637 and 1679. |
| 1689 | Austrian mercenaries are in winter quarters in Drăuşeni. |
| 1719 | 420 people die from the plague. |
| 1972 | Occasionally during a renovation, the altar and galleries were moved out of the church. The furnishings were kept in makeshift barracks. When, at the beginning of the 1980s, the appropriate storage was no longer guaranteed, parts of the gallery parapet and the wall cladding were removed and reinstalled in the church in Sura Mare. |
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