The church-fortress stands in the northeastern part of a small square, along the main street of the village. Only two keystones, incorporated in the altar and representing Agnus Dei and Saint Peter, were left of the basilica that was built at the beginning of 14th century and dedicated to Saint Peter. The medieval church was demolished in 1794 and, three years later, the new, three-aisled hall church with the west-oriented choir was finished. The flat ceiling is supported by four octagonal pairs of pillars with Ionic capitals and interconnected with each other via basket-handle arches. Galleries were built in the aisles. The choir has a west-oriented semicircular apse. The church got surrounded by a partially triple enclosing wall. The inner defence wall, 8m high, is oval in ground plan; there are two linear segments in the east in whose intersection stands a 1676-built pentagonal tower. The defence wall has loopholes and box machicolation.
Elfriede Seemann-Voicu +40/723/071/134
The church-fortress stands in the northeastern part of a small square, along the main street of the village. Only two keystones, incorporated in the altar and representing Agnus Dei and Saint Peter, were left of the basilica that was built at the beginning of 14th century and dedicated to Saint Peter. The medieval church was demolished in 1794 and, three years later, the new, three-aisled hall church with the west-oriented choir was finished. The flat ceiling is supported by four octagonal pairs of pillars with Ionic capitals and interconnected with each other via basket-handle arches. Galleries were built in the aisles. The choir has a west-oriented semicircular apse. The church got surrounded by a partially triple enclosing wall. The inner defence wall, 8m high, is oval in ground plan; there are two linear segments in the east in whose intersection stands a 1676-built pentagonal tower. The defence wall has loopholes and box machicolation.
Elfriede Seemann-Voicu +40/723/071/134
The classical altar dates from the first half of the 19th century. In the center is a sculpture of Christ flanked by Paul and Peter. The altar ends like a canopy at the top.
The two keystones set into the altar table have a depiction of Agnus Dei and a relief of St. Peter. The naturalistic depiction of Peter can be attributed to the Gothic period.
An older pulpit, dated 1796, stands on the south wall of the church hall. The brick pulpit is covered by an old canopy.
Johann Thoiss from Rosenau built an organ with a mechanical system in 1826. It has 2 manuals, pedal and 20 stops. It was repaired and partially rebuilt in 1908-1909 by the Einschenk company (Brasov).
Around 1400 a chapel was built in the northeast corner of the fortified church. The rectangular chapel room is covered by a simple cross vault. The ribs have a square cross-section and flattened edges. The walls of the chapel are decorated with frescoes - the coronation of the Blessed Mother, angels with candles and musical instruments, a representation of Christ with disciples, John the Baptist, female figures with a halo, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Archangel Michael with scales and sword; one scene depicts almsgiving; Stoning of Saint Stephen. The scenes are delimited with ribbon decoration. There are stylistic connections to Bohemia, Tyrol and northern Italy.
The church is surrounded by a partially triple ring. The inner ring wall, 8 m high, bears features of 15th century fortifications. The embrasures are served from a covered walkway, which partially rests on the tapering walls and on trestles. From it, the gullies and embrasures are served. The circular wall is reinforced by three towers with a square ground plan. In the south of the complex, a two-story porch with a basement is built. In the eastern room of the first floor there are remains of frescoes. In the 16th century a second, low wall belt with three protruding shell towers is built. In the south, west and north another ring wall is placed in front of the second one. The gate weir was located in the southeast of the fortified church and was equipped with portcullis and drawbridge.
1240 | King Béla IV gives the Cistercian order the income from four churches in the Brasov region, including Sânpetru. This is the first documented mention of the place. |
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1300-1350 | Construction of a three-aisled basilica in the transitional style from Romanesque to Gothic. |
1377 | Together with 12 other free communities in the Brasov Region, Sânpetru forms a judicial and administrative unit with Brasov. The residents of these places are said to be obliged to serve the king along with the city. |
1421 | The king waived the payment of Martin's interest in Sânpetru, since the village had suffered great damage from the Turkish invasion. |
1510 | In Sânpetru live 96 families, 3 widows, 2 paupers, a miller, a bell-ringer and 7 shepherds; 2 farms are deserted. |
1600 | Troops of Michael the Brave burn down Sânpetru and other Brasov Region villages. |
1611 | Gabriel Báthori conquers the castle of Sânpetru and burns the village down. |
1658 | Tartars and Cossacks try in vain to capture the fortified church, but they set fire to the village. |
1705 | The village suffers great damage from the kurucs. |
1713 | The bell tower collapses. |
1718-1719 | The plague kills 368 inhabitants. |
1778 | A new tower is being built on the old foundations. The tower collapses again four years later. A commission from Brasov orders the church to be demolished and completely rebuilt. The old church will be demolished and the new west-facing three-nave hall church will be built. |