More details – History

Cârța was built in 1202 by the Cistercians, representatives of a Catholic monastic order that appeared somewhere in France in 1098. They built their monasteries in isolated places where they lived very simply, austerely, working all day long with small breaks used for prayer. Their principle was “Pray and work”, they ate only the fruits of their labour and were vegetarians and wore only clothes they had made themselves. In time the monks became attracted to material life and the monastery was dissolved in 1474 by order of Matthias Corvinus.

The church nave is in ruins but the church choir is still used by the evangelical Saxon community. Inside the church we find the altar and the baroque organ, dating from 1777. In the inner courtyard we find a cemetery of German soldiers who fell at the front during the First World War, September 1916, and also here we find the statue of Roland, a hero who watches over them and symbolizes freedom and justice. The Parish House is on the site of the old kitchen and is the oldest inhabited house in Transylvania.

The village teacher’s house now houses the tourist information office and a museum.