The Rehabilitation of the Trumpeters' Tower in Mediaș

The Trumpeters' Tower: A Symbol of Mediaș

In the last 90 years, the Trumpeters' Tower, a true symbol of Mediaș, has undergone several significant maintenance works. The current works, which will involve replastering, repainting the tower, and repairing the roof, were preceded by those carried out between 1927 and 1930 and in the early 1970s.

Historical Maintenance Works

1. 1927-1930:

- When Dr. Carl Martin Römer was the pastor of the Evangelical Church and his son Karl Michael Römer was an engineer at the town hall, extensive consolidation works were carried out on the lower floors, which were surrounded by a concrete belt.

- The tower was at that time in acute danger of collapse.

- The works came just in time, allowing the tower to withstand the great earthquake of 1940.

1. Early 1970s:

- It was noted that the tower was still not sufficiently stable.

- Pastor Michael Paulini, supported by engineer Erhard Roth, surrounded two more floors with a pre-compressed concrete belt, largely maintaining the slender silhouette of the upper floors of the tower.

- Shortly after these works, the earthquake of 1977 occurred.

- Michael Paulini recounts that when the ground began to shake, he hurried out into the churchyard to see if the tower would hold. The top visibly swayed, the pastor says, but the tower endured.

- Since then, an acute static danger is believed to have been definitively eliminated.

Current Rehabilitation Works

Nonetheless, the weather continues to erode and damage the plaster, allowing water to seep in. Therefore, rehabilitation is welcome, especially considering that an important event for our town is approaching – the 750th anniversary in 2017 of the first documentary attestation, which we hope will attract many guests to the medieval fortress.

If they are greeted by a tower that shines in fresh colors, it will be due to the joint efforts of:

• The Evangelical Parish of Mediaș
• The Mediaș City Hall
• The Mediaș Saxons settled in other countries through the Association of the Mediaș Homeland

These institutions have contributed as much as they could to the financing and thus to the realization of the project. The current parish priest in Mediaș is Gerhard Servatius-Depner, and the architect responsible for the project's execution is Dr. Liviu Gligor from Sibiu.

A Look into the Past

Now that the rehabilitation works have begun, it is worth taking a look into the past. How old the tower is remains uncertain. It is believed to date back to the 13th century, thus from the period of the first documentary attestation of a settlement in Mediaș.

Historical Milestones

• Mentioned for the first time in 1508.
• It was raised in 1550 by three floors, and the roof with colored and plastered tiles was completed in 1551.
• It was rumored even then that the people of Mediaș wanted to compete with St. Stephen's in Vienna, whose roof was and still is brightly colored like that of our tower.

However, the main reason for the elevation was likely the possibility of surveying the surroundings. This task was assigned to the guard in the tower, who lived at the top and ensured that no fire would break out.

In 1783, the guard in the tower was Stephanus (Stefan) Schnell, who hailed from the village of Biertan and died in 1791. During some repair works initiated by the guard at the magistrate, the guard drafted an unprecedented letter revealing interesting details about his life and ethos as a guard.

Document Translation

We reproduce the document in translation. We thank Dr. Liviu Cimpeanu from Dumbrăveni for the translation into the language of the 18th century.

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In memory of Stephan Schnell, once a guardian, to be remembered.

Good luck, health, and blessings, with peace, to the reader who is zealous, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We, humans, live on even after death if we have done, spread, and perfected good. Therefore, I, the undersigned, have written this to leave a memory both for myself and for my children, and, if it is God's will, for my grandchildren, or even for our great-great-grandchildren, in the world that is to come. For this reason, I place it in the globe of this little tower, for I have spent 42 years in it, serving the city with vigilance and God with prayer; [little tower] where I have often lived with my life endangered by fierce wind storms, by terrible lightning and thunder; I have awakened the townspeople, the night watchmen, and the soldiers in the dark of night with the sound of drumbeats, urging them to quell and extinguish the embers from the burning hearths and chimneys, or the dreadful flames ignited on rooftops and houses; until, finally, I warned the general public (sic!) and, especially, the High Magistrate of our free royal city and the seat of Mediaș, of a great danger, by discovering the weakness of the old roof of the Tower and kneeling in prayer to prevent such a threatening harm.

Then the best and most costly preparations were made, so that a brand new roof was built, to the completion of which I also contributed with all my possible efforts. In the name of God in the heavens, hymns of praise were finally raised, and everything we did was:

1. for the glory of God,
2. for the memory of our descendants,
3. for some merits (sic!) in favor of my family and my heirs.

Signatum

in Mediaș in August 1783. Stephanus Schnell, citizen and guardian of the tower and Stephanus Schell, the son of the same parent. In Transylvania.

(in partnership with www.mirceahodarnau.ro)