Cisnădioara/Michelsberg

The legend says that before their wedding the men of Cisnădioara had to roll a big rock up to the fortified church. This was not an easy task for them because the church lies on a high hill above the village. The stones collected in this manner were further used in case of a siege and rolled down the hill to crush the enemies. Part of this tradition is still practiced today. Many young men still push huge rocks up the hill on their wedding day in order ransom their brides, who have been kidnapped during the wedding party, which is another old tradition.

Inside the fortification above the village one of the oldest churches in the country, built between 1200 and 1250, can be found. Two stair galleries lead from the church nave through the mighty exterior walls into the remains of the never completed towers.

Cisnădioara was one of the few villages in Transylvania, which had been inhabited almost exclusively by Saxons until after 1989.