Feldioara

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Feldioara (German: Marienburg, Hungarian: Földvár) is a Romanian village located in Transylvania, very close to Braşov (about 10 miles or 15 kilometers).

It has a medieval fortress long believed to have been built by the Teutonic Knights. However, more recent studies show that the Fortress in Feldioara was actually constructed by the local community. The name of the village comes from the Hungarian word Földvár, which means "the clay fortress". The ruins of the fortress can still be seen today. The German name Marienburg means "fortress of the Virgin Mary".

A 1439 document states that the civilians of Feldioara built this fortress “with great financial and physical expenses” in order to protect their families and possessions. The fortress withstood the Turkish invasion of 1421, but it was severely damaged by a second invasion in 1432. It took until 1457 to restore it.

During the battles of 1612, the armies led by Prince Gabriel Báthori conquered the fortress, and in September the Braşovian armies had Feldioara under siege for three days. On September 16, 1612 a battle was fought between the Hungarians, led by Báthori, and the Braşovians, led by mayor Michael Weiss. The Braşovians lost the fight, and Michael Weiss was killed on battlefield.

After that the fortress was used as a granary until 1838, when a major earthquake damaged it. After this event even the fortress guardian left the building. Since then the fortress has lain in ruins.