Restoration work uncovers 15th century frescoes in Romanian fortified churches

Several 15th and 16th century frescoes have been discovered at three Evangelical churches in the counties of Sibiu and Mures, during restoration work. A EUR 6 million European funded project will help restore 18 fortified churches in Romania's Transylvania region by the end of this year. For some of them, however, the timeline was prolonged, after the frescoes were discovered. The three churches are in Curciu and Ighişul Nou, in Sibiu county, and in Apold in Mures county. The Evanghelical Church in Romania, the project beneficiary, is curently working on tendering restoration for the frescoes, which should be done between April and October this year. The value of this sub-project is of some EUR 220,000. All the churches restored under this EU project will become tourist spots once finalized. So far, out of the 200 fortified churches in Romania, 26 are already part of the touristic circuit. Those who want to see all 26 churches can buy a pass issued by the Evangelical Church, which printed out 700 such passes in 2013, and sold half of them. The fortified churches currently under restoration are in the counties of Alba, Brasov, Mures and Sibiu. editor@romania-insider.com