Axente Sever

Axente Sever

The Reins

The Reins (in Saxon dialect Franderf, Frândref, Frandref; in German Frauendorf; in Hungarian Asszonyfalva) is a village in the northern part of Sibiu County, in the Tarnava Plateau. The village is the seat of the Axente Sever commune.

In 1931, on the occasion or under the pretext of commemorating the 25th anniversary of the death of the revolutionary figure Ioan Axente Sever, the name of the locality *The Reins was changed to Axente Sever*.

Historical Context

Frâua was a free commune in the Mediaș Seat, later in the Mediaș district of the Târnava Mare County. At the 1930 census, there were 1,742 inhabitants recorded, of which:

• 933 were Germans
• 790 were Romanians
• 19 were Hungarians

Religious Affiliation

In terms of religious affiliation, the population consisted of:

• 935 Lutherans
• 506 Orthodox
• 282 Greek Catholics
• 15 Reformed
• 3 Roman Catholics

The Fortified Church

The fortified church in Frâua is mentioned for the first time in 1322. The church, dedicated to *All Saints, is a hall church with a square nave and a pentagonal choir. It is one of the few churches in Transylvania that has a bell tower above the choir (similar examples can be found in Agârbiciu, Ocna Sibiului, and Turnișor*).

The enclosure, built simultaneously with the fortification works of the church, has an oval layout, with walls 6–8 meters high, equipped with crenellations and buttresses. Inside, the walls appear lower due to the high level of the courtyard.

Source: [Wikipedia](http://ro.wikipedia.org)