Ilieni
Ilieni, Hungarian: Illyefalva is a village located in Covasna County, south-eastern Transylvania, 7 km south of Sfântu Gheorghe (Hungarian: Sepsiszentgyörgy).
Population
The number of inhabitants is 1853 according to the 2002 census. Ethnic breakdown:
History
There is archaeological evidence of the area having been populated since the Bronze Age. The place was first time mentioned in a church tax inventory as “Villa Helye” in 1332. In the middle ages, having the rights of a market town, the settlement was more important than today. The abundance of arable lands in the area (within the historical Háromszék region), and its neighbourhood of Saxon settlements, including Brasov, contributed to the sound economic basis of the community.
Also resulting from its geographical location, the Székely settlement, during its history, was often subject of foreign military campaigns. In 1658, the fortified church of the village was successfully conquered by allied Turkish and Moldavian forces, who killed all the defending fighters and threw their bodies into the well of the stronghold.
Fortified Church
The time when the church was built is not recorded. It was rebuilt in the 15th century in Gothic style, later Renaissance and Baroque renovations were made. Following a series of Tatar, Saxon and Turkish attacks the church was gradually fortified during the 15th-17th centuries. The painted wooden ceiling of the church was made in 1786. The building was seriously damaged by an earthquake in 1802. The building was renovated in the 1990s.