15
Facade Details
Detail and consistency give the place its character
Once you've entered Biertan, you’re greeted by a colorful tableau of small houses, quietly nestled at the base of the church, awaiting discovery. The entire village scene speaks of the simple beauty of times past.
We’ve mentioned something about the "clipped gable." You’ll often notice a white outline framing this gable—a plastered profile created by pulling a wooden mold along the oblique or horizontal line of the gable. Ventilation openings here are harmoniously arranged and the space between them adorned with either a decorative rosette or a calligraphic decor, or even a floral or religious motif. Frequently, this spot or another on the facade is marked by a monogram—a decorative letter design containing the owner’s initials. This area often features the year of the house’s construction or restoration, usually accompanied by a religious inscription, similar to what you’ve seen on the village’s old pharmacy and on many of the Saxons' artifacts.
Houses feature a sign of harmony and diversity for the village: Romanian-built houses adhered to the Saxon design, sometimes with slightly more slender proportions, but the gable would often display an Orthodox cross.
The two sections of the houses—the ground-floor facade and the gable—are separated by a thin eave line, covered with ceramic roof tiles and adorned with plaster profiles along the lower edge.
The facade field is enhanced by window casings that enrich the houses as if they were traditional garments. Carefully crafted, floral or geometric motifs delicately frame the windows. In this visual field, we also notice pilasters, like those on this house, or raised relief designs that segment the facade and seem to frame windows, usually dressed in wooden shutters. The corners of the house aren’t forgotten either. The entire architectural composition of the facade is completed with corner rustication—protrusions that suggest the interweaving of stones at the wall’s corners. These rustications can also cover the houses' bases. Sometimes the vents in the base are also graced with a patterned grille.
Lastly, the entrance gates, both the large and pedestrian ones, speak of craftsmanship that’s nearly forgotten today. Carefully crafted in wood, they often feature meticulously wrought ironwork that greet people right from the street, setting the stage for warm, heartfelt encounters between community members and neighbors.
Today, the houses are painted in a subdued palette, sometimes in two colors—one for the main facade field and another for the details, always in natural hues derived from oxides. It seems these houses were once far simpler, without raised decor, featuring only black-painted facade designs. Imagine a village in pure black and white, both austere and sensitive, a testament to Saxon rigor, reminiscent of their traditional attire, also not highly colorful. What an impression this vision of a village must have made, and what an impression it would still make today if it could be seen again.
The love for beauty and attention to detail has given value to the houses before you, especially due to these ornaments. Without these small additions, the village wouldn’t have the same warmth, and the houses wouldn’t convey the same sensitivity. The ornaments tell stories of history and tradition, giving character to the place.
Text by Patricia Mihai and Andrei Tache, documented and written as part of the Heritage Lab workshop in 2024. Audio guide organized by the Association of Designers, Thinkers, Makers and the Biertan Town Hall, as part of the "Culture & Cultures. Connecting the dots" project, co-funded by the National Cultural Fund Administration.
Audio guide produced in 2024 via the Culture&Cultures. Connecting the dots project.
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