A fortified church is a church that is built to serve a defensive role in times of war. Such churches were specially designed to incorporate military features, such as thick walls, , and . Others, such as the Ávila Cathedral were incorporated into the town wall. Monastic communities, such as Solovki Monastery, are often surrounded by a wall, and some churches, such as St. Arbogast in Muttenz, Switzerland, have an outer wall as well. Churches with additional external defences such as curtain walls and Fortified tower are often referred to more specifically as or Kirchenburgen (literally "church castles").
Most fortified churches date back to time periods in Europe that were plagued by frequent conflict, for example ones in the Dordogne region of France, fought over by France and England in medieval times, and in Transylvania, during the Ottoman Empire invasions. Fortified churches were also built in places controlled by , such as one in the Philippines at the scene of the siege of Baler.
Belarus
Although many fortified churches in various styles existed in the lands of
Belarus, only a handful survived until the present. The most famous include Christian Orthodox churches in Muravanka, and Synkavichy, as well as Catholic fortified churches in Kamai and Ishkold'. In addition to Christian churches Belarus also has the ruins of several fortified synagogues, of which the Chief Synagogue in
Bykhaw is most notable.
[ List of fortified churches in Belarus]
France
About 65
fortified churches are found in the Thiérache region of northern France, near the Belgian border. They were built here because it was a major land passage on the border between Champagne and
Picardy.
As a result, the area was frequently under attack.
Germany
Several fortified churches have been preserved, especially in the German states of Baden-Württemberg,
Bayern and
Hessen. Examples are the churches of Kleinbreitenbach in
Plaue, Kößlarn,
Grafengehaig, Großrückerswalde, Mittelsaida,
Erlangen,
Erlangen, Morsbach/Künzelsau,
Arnstadt, Finkenbach-Gersweiler,
St. Wolfgang in Rothenburg, and the fortified church of
Wenkbach.
Ireland
Several fortified churches survive from the medieval period, including
Hospital Church (Knights Hospitaller),
Taghmon Church, Old St. Mary's Church, Clonmel and St Finian's Church, Newcastle.
Poland
A rare surviving example of a fortress church used for defensive purposes is the Church of St. Andrew in Kraków, one of the oldest and best preserved Romanesque buildings in
Poland. Located at ul. Grodzka street, it was built by a medieval
Polish people statesman
Voivode Sieciech in 1079–1098. St. Andrew was the only Romanesque church in Kraków to withstand the Mongol attack of 1241.
Portugal
Some medieval fortified churches, monasteries, and cathedrals survive in Portugal. These buildings were built either in Romanesque or Gothic styles. Romanesque examples are the
Lisbon Cathedral and the Old Cathedral of Coimbra. Gothic examples are the Church of Leça do Balio and the
Guarda Cathedral.
Romania
The southeastern
Transylvania region in
Romania has among the highest numbers of existing fortified churches from the 13th to 16th centuries.
[ Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania. UNESCO World Heritage Centre 1992-2010] More than 150 villages in the area count various types of fortified churches, seven of them being included in the UNESCO World Heritage under the name of
Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania.
The northern Western Moldavia region also preserves numerous fortified religious buildings as a testimony of the Moldavian style developed in the Principality of Moldavia. Of these, eight Romanian Orthodox Churches from the 15th to 16th centuries are inscribed by UNESCO on the World Heritage List.
Russia
Medieval limestone churches of Russia sometimes resembled towers and could be used for defensive purposes.
At least three churches in the Moscow and Tver regions have been described as purpose-built defensive structures: namely, Kamenskoye Church, Gorodishche Church, and
Gorodnya Church.
[Заграевский С.В. Зодчество Северо-Восточной Руси конца XIII–первой трети XIV века. М., 2003. С. 51.]
Slovenia
During the Ottoman-Habsburg Wars from the late 15th to the late 17th century, the
Slovene Lands were subjected to constant
Ottoman Empire raids, which reached their peak in the late 15th and early 16th century. During that period, around 300 village churches were fortified in the territory of present-day
Slovenia, with another 50 in the neighboring area of southern
Carinthia.
[Drago Bajt & Marko Vidic, eds., Slovenski zgodovinski atlas (Ljubljana, 2011), p. 95]
They were known as tabors (which in modern Slovene language means "camp"). A dozen of such churches remain today, the most famous of which are the Holy Trinity Church in Hrastovlje, Mount Saint Mary near Ljubljana, and Podbrezje in Upper Carniola.
In some cases, entire villages were fortified. Remaining examples are Šmartno in the Gorizia Hills, and Štanjel.
Ukraine
In Ukraine fortified churches were mostly constructed in a time period between the late 14th and the late 17th century in the
Western Ukraine and
Central Ukraine parts of modern Ukraine, most notably Galicia
and
Dnieper Ukraine.
Some of these churches were constructed atop of existing fortifications and were extensively modified in later years, sometimes losing their sturdy appearance.
United Kingdom
There are several medieval fortified churches near the Anglo-Scottish border, where defence was an important consideration until the 17th century, when England and Scotland were united in
personal union under King James VI and I. All Saints' Church, Boltongate in
Cumbria is a fortified church with a fireproof stone-vaulted roof. Also in Cumbria, St Michael's Church, Burgh by Sands has a defensive tower, and originally had two. The west tower retains its
yett, a door made of interlocking iron bars to repel attackers. An even more formidable yett can be seen at St Cuthbert's Church,
Great Salkeld, where the ground floor of the tower is tunnel-vaulted, and supports a fireplace above, enabling the tower to be habitable as a place of refuge. The tower of St John the Baptist's Church in
Newton Arlosh is also tunnel-vaulted with very small windows, and has no outer doorway to the churchyard. Entry was inside at first-floor level.
Defensive towers can also be found on the England–Wales border, for instance St Michael's Church, in Garway, Herefordshire.[ Resources, www.users.globalnet.co.uk]
Gallery
File:St. Arbogast 2.jpg|Fortified church in Muttenz, Switzerland
File:Hrastovlie-Cerkev.jpg|Holy Trinity Church in Hrastovlje, Slovenia
File:Fort eglise rudelle.jpg|Castle-church of Rudelle, France
File:Krakow kosciol 20071229 1246.jpg|St. Andrew's Church, Kraków, Poland
File:Boltongate Church - geograph.org.uk - 65430.jpg|All Saints Church, Boltongate, England, with defensive parapet
File:St angel eglise.jpg|Fortified church in Saint-Angel, Corrèze, France.
File:Prejmer Fortified Church I.jpg|Prejmer fortified church, Romania
File:Biertan church with protecting walls.jpg|Biertan fortified church, Romania
File:Mosna Fortified Church - side view.jpg|Moşna fortified church, Romania
File:Dealu Frumos Fortified Church I.jpg|Merghindeal fortified church, Romania
File:Østerlars Church, Bornholm.jpg|Østerlars Church in Bornholm, Denmark
File:Solna kyrka 2012.jpg|Solna Church close to Stockholm, Sweden
File:Munso kyrka 02.JPG|Munsö Church, Sweden
File:Grafengehaig Kirche 3.JPG|Fortified Church of Grafengehaig, Bavaria
File:Eglise_fortifiee_Prejmer_cour.jpg|Courtyard of the fortified church of Prejmer, Romania
File:Murovanka_Church_1.jpg|Fortified church in Muravanka, Belarus
File:Сынковичи_Церковь_Святого_Михаила_02.jpg|Fortified church in Synkovichi, Belarus
File:Mosteiro Leca Balio (Matosinhos).jpg|Fortified church of Leça do Balio, Portugal
File:Se de Lisboa Frente.JPG|Fortified Lisbon Cathedral, Portugal
File:Coimbra Old Cathedral - Sé Velha de Coimbra.jpg|Fortified Old Cathedral of Coimbra, Portugal
File:Morsbach Wehrkirche St. Alban und St. Wendelin 01.jpg|The fortified church of St. Alban and St. Wendelin, Germany
File:Kirche Kleinbreitenbach.JPG|Fortified church in Kleinbreitenbach, Germany
File:Flor da Rosa.jpg|Flor da Rosa fortified church, Portugal
File:Baler, Aurora - Saint Louis Church.jpg|Fortified church of St. Louis in Baler, Philippines.
File:St. Munnas Church Taghmon County Westmeath.JPG|Taghmon Church, Ireland
File:Saint Thaddeus Monastery, Iran, northwestern view.jpg|Monastery of Saint Thaddeus, Iran
File:Tranebjerg kirkeC3Turm.jpg|Tranebjerg church, fortified church tower, Denmark
See also
Notes and references
