Visitors pose for a photo inside a frame reading "Haferland week" at the fortified church in the village of Crit, Romania, on August 9, 2026. "Haferland week", a traveling cultural and ethnographic festival, is the largest event in Romania dedicated entirely to celebrating the heritage, music, gastronomy, and customs of the Transylvanian Saxons. The church in Crit is one of few which was renovated in 2026. Built in the late Middle Ages to provide shelter from attacks, Transylvania's famous fortified churches risk crumbling despite efforts to preserve and breathe new life into them. Transylvania region holds over 160 fortified churches, built by the German minority so that the population could take refuge behind the defensive walls, as the region was a disputed border territory. As the Saxons left Romania, many to escape the communist dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu, several of the churches started to deteriorate with no one left to look after them. They are among historic monuments and other buildings in the eastern European country -- one of the poorest in the EU -- to fall victim to neglect and face decay. (Photo by Daniel MIHAILESCU / AFP via Getty Images)