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saxon houses
Solid, Secure, and Welcoming
Let’s delve into a colorful “x-ray” of Saxon houses, exploring their distinctive structure along with their cultural significance and oral histories. This journey through Saxon urbanism and architecture highlights three defining features.
First, there’s the unique street alignment of Saxon villages, with homes positioned close to each other and fortified by tall gates. Despite having vast open spaces, Saxon settlers chose narrow street parcels, with houses placed near the sidewalk and barns set behind the yard. Rows of houses along the street create the impression of a fortification, a lasting characteristic that endows these villages with a cohesive and appealing visual identity. In contrast to this sober exterior, the inner courtyards are always welcoming and orderly.
The second distinctive feature is the roof design, known as the “truncated gable” or ”clipped gable”. You might notice the small triangular roof on the short facade, and the trapezoidal gable or it forms, which provides an opportunity for various architectural decorations—something we’ll explore further on.
The third major feature is the ubiquitous use of handmade tiles on roofs, especially in the shape known as "beaver tail"—rounded but not fully semicircular, widely seen in Biertan. These vibrant, orange-tiled surfaces are essential to the visual appeal of Transylvanian Saxon villages and the cultural landscape.
On a structural level, Saxon houses were built with stone foundations, ideal for resisting ground moisture, and brick upper walls. With thick walls, spacious rooms, and often raised floors to make room for cellars, these houses have stood the test of time. Oral histories tell of the solidarity of the Vecinătate (Neighborhood) groups, where community members would gather to build homes under the guidance of a master mason, who often traveled between villages. Though these houses are not technically perfect, their consistent and coherent construction style has endured for centuries.
Saxon villages also have quarters or homes of other ethnicities—Romanian, Romani, Hungarian—and these houses, often adapted from the Saxon model, form a cohesive cultural magnet within the community.
A local saying notes that when Saxons arrived in Transylvania, they first built a barn and a stable, and finally the house. Whether literal or metaphorical, this saying reflects the Saxons' practical mindset. To this day, Saxon barns stand out in the village landscape, made from thick, solid oak, usually joined with wooden pegs. Their high roofs and broad layouts make them architecturally and historically valuable. These barns, many of which have been converted into “cultural barns,” now host events, gatherings, and social or cultural initiatives, bridging the past with the needs of modern life.
The cultural lesson of Saxon houses is that well-crafted work endures time, preserves its value, and continues to inspire. Few regions in the country maintain such architectural cohesion, despite modernization. It’s a powerful lesson in how dedication to quality can echo through the centuries.
Text by Andrei Tache, documented and written during the 2024 Heritage Lab workshop. Audio guide by Designers, Thinkers, Makers Association and the Municipality of Biertan, 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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