Hiking through the hills

The four hikes presented are part of the "Church-Fortress-Trail" which is a trail located in the Transylvanian Hills, which offers a wonderful opportunity to explore rural Romania and the cultural history of the Transylvanian Saxons, as well as village life contemporary. To see more details about it click here.

Also, if you are passionate about hiking and love mountains, you can access this article to discover some amazing mountain trails.

Hiking through three Transylvanian villages

The route which passes through the three Transylvanian villages: Mălâncarv, Stejărișu and Iacobeni, starts from the Fortified Church of Mălâncrav, passes through Stejărișu and reaches the Fortified Church of Iacobeni, returning to the village of Iacobeni. It takes about 8 hours and has a distance of 28 km, being characterized by a difficult route, it can also be done by bicycle to be faster. The route begins with a visit to the Fortified Evangelical Church of Mălâncrav, which was built in the 14th century, on the site of a Romanesque basilica much older. The mural painting of the church in Mălâncrav is particularly valuable, representing the best-preserved group of linear Gothic narrative paintings from the 14th century . After visiting the Church of Mălâncrav, you can go down the stairs, then go south, following the red lane, until you reach a bridge, where you will turn right. You will then go up a hill. At the top of this hill is a path marked with a red cross, which you will cross. Further, to reach the village of Stejărișu, you will follow a road marked with a red stripe or a blue triangle. A stop is necessary to visit the The Fortified Evangelical Church of Stejărișu which was built in the 14th century on the banks of the Hârtibaciu River . The foundations of a church were discovered there, which attests to the historical location of the village. The fortification around the church was built at the beginning of the 16th century. Click here for more rural activities you can experience in this village. To get to Iacobeni, leave the village on the paved road, until you reach a forest road, marked with a blue triangle, which crosses a forest. When you come out of that forest, you will see the village of Iacobeni, where you can visit the Fortified Evangelical Church which was built in the 14th century . The ensemble of the fortified evangelical church is considered a historical monument. Click here for more rural activities you can experience in this village. To return to the starting point, follow the red lane. Crossing this route will allow you to visit all three Churches of the villages.

The route that crosses the Mounds to Selistat

The route which starts from the center of Movile village and ends at the Fortified Church of Seliștat is of easy difficulty, lasting 5 hours and a the distance of 18 km. The route starts with a visit to The Fortified Evangelical Church of Movile which was built in the 13th century as a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Michael. The church represents the place of shelter for all the inhabitants during the attacks, and the two defense towers - the Slăninilor Tower and the Prunelor Tower - also became warehouses for food.

To reach Seliștat, exit the fortified Church, go down to the main paved road. Follow this road until you leave the village, then go on the dirt road to a fork where you have to turn right following the blue triangle marking, then you will see the glimes near the village of Movile. At the next intersection turn left, then right. Follow the road until you reach a small dam that you cross, then continue the path until you reach the village of Selistat.

There you can visit the fortified Evangelical Church of Selistat which was built in the 14th century. Although almost nothing is preserved from the fortified area, the church in Selistat impresses as an almost intact preserved example of a church fortress from the beginning of the century. 16th.

Visit to Selistat and Bărcut

The route that passes through Seliștat and Bărcută can also be followed in continuation of the previous route and presents amazing views towards the village of Bărcută. This route allows two stops in the 2 Fortified Churches: the Fortified Evangelical Church in Selistat and the Fortified Evangelical Church in Bărcut, as well as a visit to the Lucas Museum in Selistat village. After visiting Selistat village, follow the main road until the village exit. Stay on the paved road until the intersection with a forest road, which will lead you to a telecommunications relay. There you have to turn left and follow the marking with a red dot. Continue along a ridge until you see the village of Bărcuț on the right. Further on you will see some metal bars, which you will follow, then go right for about 700m until you reach the cemetery next to the orchards. When you reach the main road, you have the option to make a detour to the right to the The Fortified Church of Bărcut which was built between the 14th and 15th centuries. A peculiarity of this church, along with the one in Seliștat, is the existence of a well inside the church. After visiting the village, the road returns from the starting point on the main paved street, you can see the source of Hârtibaciului valley which is marked by a massive wooden indicator.

Route that passes through: Bărcut, Grânari and Viscri

The route which visits the three villages: Bărcut, Grânari and Viscri, starts at the orthodox church in Bărcut "Saint Nicholas" " which was built in 1845. From there take a left and follow the dirt road and the signs. Shortly before you reach the village of Grânari you will pass by a stable where you have to pay a little attention to the guard dogs. Try to avoid that pen as much as possible to avoid contact with the dogs. After passing this follow the path to the village. Grânari is a Hungarian village that presents two historical monuments: the wooden Church of Grânari, the reformed Church of Grânari which are worth visiting. To get from Granari to Viscri, you have to follow a path until you reach a forest on the ridge. From there follow the sign to an intersection, where you have to turn right and follow the red and white sign. Leave the forest and enter the great pastures. On the right there will be a fence along which you must go until you enter the next section of forest. In the forest follow the narrow gravel path and after a while you reach a small clearing, through which you go left. After crossing this forest you will meet the road to the village. Viscri is a well-known village both for the beauties it presents and for the house owned by King Charles, which has its doors wide open for any visitor interested in Romanian culture. The presented route is easy to cover both on foot and by bike, with extraordinarily beautiful views. In Viscri there is still a well-preserved Saxon peasant fortress, which includes within its walls one of the few Romanesque hall churches of the 13th century.