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Saxons arrived in Transylvania during the mid 1100s from the Rhine and Moselle Rivers regions, responding to the call of King Géza II of Hungary. For decades, the main task of the German settlers was to defend the southeastern border of the Kingdom of Hungary. Highly respected for their skills and talent, the Saxons succeeded in time in gaining administrative autonomy, almost unmatched in the entire feudal Europe of absolute monarchies.
The Saxon villages of Transylvania appeared in the 13th century when the Kings of Hungary settled German colonists in the area. They had a special status among nations in the province and their civilisation managed to survive and thrive, forming a very strong community of farmers, artisans and merchants. Being situated in a region constantly under the threat of the Ottoman and Tartar invasions, they built fortifications of different sizes. The most important towns were fully fortified, and the smaller communities created fortifications centered around the church, where they added defensive towers and storehouses to keep their most valuable goods and to help them withstand long sieges.
After other immigrants came in, the colonisation of the present Saxon localities would end with a few exceptions, before 1300. From a religious point of view, these communities were linked to the Saxon church. From 1542 to the Reformation, the Saxon church of Transylvania - which had adopted the Augsbourg religion - preserved (and still does) the characteristic of a popular church.
The villages have preserved until recently their nature of multiethnic settlements, with ethnic districts which still exist. However, after living in these villages for over 700 years, and faced with worsening living conditions under the communist regime, Saxons begun leaving for Western Germany in the mid ’80s. Fall of the communism has only accelerated their leave, so that the Saxon community numbers only a very few members in each village. Following Saxons leave, Transylvanian gypsies moved in the abandoned homes and villages.

The topography in Southern Transylvania is that of a plateau, cut by wide valleys of various small rivers that flow into larger ones, namely the Olt River, Mureş River, Târnava Mare River and Târnava Mică River. The villages follow the topography closely and try to make the best of it; thus villages situated in a valley developed around a central street and possibly some secondary ones, while those situated on a flatter spot follow a looser, radial pattern.

From 1542 to the Reformation, the Saxon church of Transylvania - which had adopted the Augsbourg religion - preserved (and still does) the characteristic of a popular church. In their native land, the colonists had already learned that, in wartime, it was better to leave one's village and save one's life and goods, by fleeing to the closest fortress. All that influenced their choice of the kind of colony fit for the place for such a construction. The arable land was shared according to the Flemish system; the houses surrounded by gardens were arranged in tight rows and made up villages along with streets, commons and squares; the churches stood in the centre of the village.

The main element is the church, always situated in the middle of the town. Different types of fortifications can be found: a small enceinte around the church, a row of fortifications around the church or a real fortress with multiple fortification walls centered on the church. The churhes have been adapted to include defensive functions; all of them are either Romanesque basilicas or single-nave churches of the late Gothic period. The churches often include many additions, ranging in age from the original period in which the churches were built Late Middle Ages to the 16th century. Many churches also include baroque elements from that period, as the baroque style was very popular in the region.
In almost all cases, the church is situated in an easily defendable position, generally on a hilltop. Elements of fortifications found in the main cities in the area have been adapted here, and they are a testimony of the building techniques used along the years by the Saxon community. Some fortifications had observations towers, some of them being church towers adapted to the needs of a fortress. The materials are the traditional ones, stone and red bricks, with a red clay tiled roof, a typical feature of the area.
Close to the church there is the main square of the village or Tanzplaz (Dance Square) around which the social life gravitated. The only buildings situated next to the fortifications are those of communal use: the school or the village hall. The parish house, along with the houses of the most wealthy villagers, were situated around this square. Also in most sites, barns for grain storage are situated close to the centre of
Over these two last centuries, the villages have preserved almost unaltered the original topographical structure of the site (street network, plot system); on this basis developed types of constructions specific of these sites, and that reflect the political, social, and religious history of their creators, the Saxons of Transylvania. Often they are integrated in a landscape structured by the traditional human activities in the places where they are found.

The protected zone - the historic core of the village - has preserved the narrow long pieces of land attested by documents and researches, as well as the way in which that piece of land is organised: usually the house walls bearing pinions face the street, while the annexes are lined in a row.

The design of these sites - regular street network, with compact fronts alternating the façades and the high surrounding walls, located close to the church placed in the middle - contributes to the definition of the cultural pattern of this zone of multiethnic and multicultural Europe - Central Europe.

The origin and development of church reinforcements are, undoubtedly linked to the troubled history of Transylvania, starting from the Tatar invasion, in 1241 - 1242, passing through the Turks' repeated forays - from 1395 - to the devastating Mohacs defeat of 1526. All along those bleak years, the churches naturally did their best to protect themselves from the neverending wars waged around the principality of Transylvania until the beginning of the 18th century. The grographic density and, above all, the high number of these buildings - of which, over 150 survived to this day - can be considered a phenomenon characteristic of the historical, legal, religious and social environment of those who built them: the Saxons of Transylvania. During one of the many attempts of the Hungarian crown to occupy Transylvania, king Geza the 2nd (1141 - 1161) decided to bring German colonists to the country, especially from the Cologne archdiocese, who later on would be called Saxons.
Bearing the print above all of the mediaeval fortresses, the art of stronghold building - as far as towns are concerned - was then transferred to fortress churches: the walls were raised, with an open sentry road and reinforced by a row of entrenched towers. The gate was reinforced on the outside with supplementary entrenchments. Often a second or third precinct was built. The oldest fortress churches dating from those ages can be found in Tara Birsei region. The churches built in plains were reinforced as they used to be protected only up to the west tower.
The fortified churches, representing all the important types of this phenomenon of European architecture, constitute not only the ending point or a variation of it, but also architectural masterpieces, due to the way they have intermingled and adapted, over more than two centuries in use, the most complex and elaborate forms of the time. These accomplishments are not isolated; on the contrary, they are representative for a general phenomenon on a well defined geographical and historical area - the Saxon colonisations on the ancient "royal lands" of Transylvania.

The fortified churches are outstanding as a group. Nowhere in the world can one find within such a narrow space so many fortified churches. That proves that this cultural phenomenon had spread all over this geographical and ethnic area. They constitute an exceptional work of architecture, due to the wide range of defensive architecture patterns from the late European Middle Ages. While in Western and Southern Europe certain defensive patterns applied to churches are characteristic of certain territories or country (for instance, the fortified churches in France and in the northern countries, the churches with fortified precinct in Germany, and in Austria), one finds in Transylvania the presence, in the narrow space already mentioned, three main types of church fortification:
- the fortified precinct church (for instance, Prejmer, Harman)
- the fortified church (for instance, Saschiz)
- the fortress - church (Valea Viilor, as example of complexity).

It is worth mentioning that these fortifications are adapted reconstructions of earlier monuments. In most cases the fortification of the entire range of structures has resulted in transformations. Short Romanesque basilicas without a tower or with a west tower, and late Gothic churches with a single nave have undergone alterations. Sometimes these fortifications have created monuments with a double function - sacred and defensive, perfectly balanced from the point of view of form and function (for instance, Saschiz, Cloasterf, etc.).
These achievements of the defensive architecture are added to the intrinsic worth of the churches revealing the spread of certain architectural styles, from Roman art to the late Gothic. The churches have preserved precious inner elements: altars at Prejmer (about 1450), mural painting fragments (Dârjiu), furniture from the 16th century (Prejmer, Saschiz, Valea Viilor).

The result of almost nine centuries of existence of the Saxon (German) community in Southern Transylvania is a cultural and architectural heritage unique in Europe; Transylvania is, even nowadays, a medieval, fairy tale land, home to hundreds of well-preserved towns and fortified churches built between the 13th and 15th centuries by Saxons.

Curently, a group of seven former Saxon villages is listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites:
- Prejmer - Braşov County
- Viscri - Braşov County
- Biertan - Sibiu County
- Valea Viilor - Sibiu County
- Câlnic - Alba County
- Dârjiu - Harghita County
- Saschiz - Mureş County

First and foremost is a lack of money. But why is money lacking? After the 1989 revolution, Saxons left Romania in droves. Therefore, in many communities there are no, or almost no, Saxons left. As Saxons are the only people who have historically used the churches, they are the only people who have invested their money in the upkeep and maintenance of the churches. So, no Saxons, no money.

Even in communities where there are Saxons left, they tend to be farmers with very little excess money to spend on renovating these monuments. Speaking generally, the money these small Saxon communities have donated in recent years, has been spent on superficial maintenance of a small portion of the church. Occasionally communities manage to raise enough money for a major renovation but usually only enough for one major aspect of renovation, such as an overall paint job, or repairs to the ceiling.

Also acting as an obstacle to the maintenance and renovation of the churches is lack of interest by non-Saxons. For example, the government, whether the local, regional or national, do not have any interest in preserving the churches.

Without any effort made to take care of the churches, time and nature are working their destructive force on the foundations, walls and towers of the churches. Overgrown vegetation is not only unsightly, but works its way into the plaster and bricks and creates gaps, cracks and generally makes the walls and foundations of the churches unsafe. Water damage, both from soil seepage and rain, is also creating many problems for the churches.