Photo: Terje Nypan©Directorate for Cultural Heritage

The village church in the valley dates from the 13th century and was the most important church in the area until the 16th century. The church has later been added to and changed. When the area was given its own bishop a new main church was built in Biertan, the neighbouring valley. The church in Biertan is today on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The original population of German / Luxembourgian origin settled in the area in the late 12th century. After nearly 50 years of communist regime, more than 90 % of them emigrated to Germany. The Directorate for Cultural Heritage is responsible for a project in the area financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The aim of the project is to conserve architecture, village structure and cultural landscape.