Feldioara Fortress, Medieval fortress in Feldioara, Romania.
Feldioara Fortress consists of two separate walled enclosures on a hill: the eastern ruin of the Teutonic Knights' castle and, to the west, the village's fortified church. The eastern walls are built of irregular reddish-brown rubble and pale mortar, with three rectangular window openings high on one section and a row of small arched openings along another. A stepped stone mass projects from the base, and dense foliage with white flowers grows against the masonry.
King Andrew II of Hungary invited the Teutonic Knights in 1211 to defend the eastern border against the Cumans, and they built their first castle on this hill, naming it after the Virgin Mary. Expelled in 1225, they left; the Cistercians later built the present church over the ruins. An earthquake damaged the site in 1838, and the eastern ruin was restored between 2013 and 2017.
The Hungarian name Földvár means "earth castle", while the German Marienburg refers to the Virgin Mary, patroness of the Teutonic Order. The village kept a Saxon cemetery from the mid-12th century, before the knights arrived. Since the 2013–2017 restoration the site has been used for heritage events and medieval re-enactments.
The fortress stands on a hill about 20 km from Brașov, at roughly 497 m above sea level, with the Homorod river wrapping around three sides. Two separate, unconnected enclosures lie on the site: the eastern one, the old Teutonic Order castle, was largely rebuilt between 2013 and 2017, while the western church fortress is a distinct structure. The curtain wall reaches 6 to 7 m in height, and the surviving western tower can be picked out along the circuit.
The Hungarian name Földvár means "earth castle", while the German Marienburg honours the Virgin Mary, patroness of the Teutonic Order. The two fortified enclosures on the hill are separate structures: the eastern one is the order's castle, the western one the village's church fortress.
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