Nocrich (Leschkirch in German and Újegyház in Hungarian) has always been a mysterious place for me. Its name is hard to pronounce in Romanian and I didn’t even know it exists until a couple of years ago. However, the village was the ancient center of a Transylvanian Saxon Seat, the Leskircher Stuhl. The name comes from the German term Neukirch, neu meaning “new” and Kirch meaning “church”. It is also the birthplace of Samuel von Brukenthal, governor of Transylvania between 1774 and 1787, and personal advisor of Empress Maria Theresa.

The village sits on a mountain of salt… which I find quite interesting… It was founded by the Germans in 1263 as Nogrech and now has only around 1400 inhabitants. Quite a loss for such an important place…

This article is the last one from the series of trips around Sibiu. It was twilight when I arrived in Nocrich so it was normal to expect it to be closed.

But, judging by the dead leaves at the entrance, the church is either closed for a long time, or the people step over the leaves without disturbing them, something which I doubt.

Here is a detail of the banner at the entrance… It is in English so there is no need to translate it. All I can say is that it was a very poor choice of a banner given the natural elements (rain, wind, fog), although I appreciate the creativity…

I wondered whether the place is abandoned… seeing the uncut bushes around… But I persevered…

Next to the church there is a playground for children… I don’t think it fits near a historical monument but… who am I to judge?!?

I found the place desolate… don’t you also?

The church is rather new, being built in 1803, as the old church (a Romanesque basilica) has burned. The fortifications however are old, belonging to the 15th century.

In all likelihood, this is a muddy fountain with little water. And it could be given as an example of kitsch…

One last glance towards this ancient place… It’s high time to return to Sibiu!