The 360th fortification on my site is Mártonhegy (Șomartin, Martinsberg, Mirtesbärch), a village in Transylvania, Romania, in the eastern part of Szeben (Sibiu) County. It belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary until 1918.
The village is dominated by the Lutheran Church, which stands on a hill in the heart of the village. Nothing has survived of the surrounding wall, but the church still gives the impression of a fortified building with its huge tower and massive buttresses.
It was settled by Transylvanian Saxons in the 13th century and was predominantly German until the mid-20th century, but since the 1960s it has been characterized by massive emigration when the dictator sold the Saxons to Germany, and it has lost its German population.
Its main attraction is the Romanesque-style Saxon Evangelical Church. Even though the walls were demolished around him in the 19th century, we can notice that it is a massively built fortified church.
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It was first mentioned in a document of the Gyulafehérvár Chapter in 1307, in which the boundaries of Földvár were described.
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The next document dates back to 1486 when the border dispute between Mertersperg alias Mons Martini (Mártonhegy) and Newdorff alias Uyfalw (Oláhújfalu) was recorded.
Among those present were the mayor of Nagyszeben (Sibiu), Thomas Altemberger, the mayor of Segesvár, Michael Polner, and the royal magistrates of Szászváros and Szászsebes. This is the first written record of the German name of the village.
In 1488 there were 16 farmsteads in the village, as well as a shepherd, a miller, and a schoolmaster (who were exempt from taxes). This indicates that Mártonhegy already had a school, and at that time it was the smallest village in Nagysinkszék Region (Groß Schenker Stuhl) with its own school.
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The church, dedicated to St. Martin, was originally a three-nave Romanesque basilica with a western tower. The fortification of the church dates back to the 15th-16th centuries when several modifications were made inside the church.
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The Romanians began to settle after 1700 after the Saxons had given part of the land to Constantin Brâncoveanu. The first Romanians moved to Mártonhegy from Feleki and Móra. Romanian education was first mentioned in 1852.
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The name Mühlgasse (Mill Street) is said to refer to a 16th-century mill, and Fließgasse (Blood Street) to a hostile invasion when the Turks massacred the villagers.
Read more about the history of Mártonhegy on my page:
https://www.hungarianottomanwars.com/martonhegy/
