The fortified church from Agnita

In the 13^th century there used to be a Romanesque basilica here but throughout the coming centuries, due to the Turkish invasions, they had to extend and fortify it. Thus, in 1466, the fortified church from Agnita is mentioned for the first time; it is built on the nucleus of the former Romanesque basilica, in a gothic style, with harmonious Renaissance and baroque element combinations.

The church still has the old fortification precincts and the defence towers: The Belfry, The Tailors’ Tower, The Shoemakers’ Tower, The Carpenters’ Tower and of course the Lard Tower where, as customarily in whole Saxon Transylvania, the guilders would store their lard. In fact, the salt used to preserve the lard attacked the wooden structure so that today some of the beams are putrid.

In 1466 the King Mathias Corvin grants Agnita jus gladii, i.e. the right to condemn people to be executed by sword and the permission to hold half of the battle-fit men to defend the town in case of a war, because it is situated at the borders of Transylvania. This right was very important in the Middle Ages and proved the appreciation given to the settlement in question but also the fact that the number of inhabitants was rather large.

One legend speaks of a long Ottoman siege on Agnita. The entire population found shelter in the fortress, but the supplies were running low and soon they would have had to surrender to the enemies. The bravery of Ursula, a tanner’s daughter, saved the burgh. She dressed in rags, took a cowbell and went out of the fortress screaming. Her appearance frightened the enemies who did not know what creature that was… and they all ran away and the burgh of Agnita was saved! This is the origin of the tale of the lole, but this is a whole different story...