Afortified church is a church that is built to serve a defensive role in times of war. Suchchurches were specially designed to incorporate military features, such as thick walls,battlements, andembrasures. Others, such as theÁvila Cathedral were incorporated into the town wall. Monastic communities, such asSolovki Monastery, are often surrounded by a wall, and some churches, such asSt. Arbogast inMuttenz,Switzerland, have an outer wall as well. Churches with additional external defences such ascurtain walls andwall towers are often referred to more specifically asfortress churches orKirchenburgen (literally "church castles").

Most fortified churches date back to time periods in Europe that were plagued by frequent conflict, for example ones in theDordogne region ofFrance, fought over byFrance andEngland in medieval times, and inTransylvania, during theOttoman invasions.^{[citation needed]} Fortified churches were also built in places controlled bycolonial empires, such as one in the Philippines at the scene of thesiege of Baler.^{[citation needed]}

Although many fortified churches in various styles existed in the lands ofBelarus, only a handful survived until the present. The most famous include Christian Orthodox churches inMuravanka, andSynkavichy, as well as Catholic fortified churches inKamai and Ishkold'. In addition to Christian churches Belarus also has the ruins of severalfortified synagogues, of which the Chief Synagogue inBykhaw is most notable.^[1]

About 65^[2] fortified churches are found in theThiérache region of northern France, near the Belgian border. They were built here because it was a major land passage on the border betweenChampagne andPicardy.^[3] As a result, the area was frequently under attack.

Several fortified churches have been preserved, especially in the German states ofBaden-Württemberg,Bavaria andHesse. Examples are the churches of Kleinbreitenbach inPlaue,Kößlarn,Grafengehaig,Großrückerswalde,Mittelsaida,Büchenbach/Erlangen,Kriegenbrunn/Erlangen,Morsbach/Künzelsau,Espendfeld/Arnstadt,Finkenbach-Gersweiler,St. Wolfgang inRothenburg, and the fortified church ofWenkbach.

Several fortified churches survive from the medieval period, includingHospital Church (Knights Hospitaller),Taghmon Church,Old St. Mary's Church, Clonmel andSt Finian's Church, Newcastle.

A rare surviving example of a fortress church used for defensive purposes is theChurch of St. Andrew inKraków, one of the oldest and best preservedRomanesque buildings inPoland. Located at ul. Grodzka street, it was built by a medievalPolish statesmanPalatineSieciech in 1079–1098. St. Andrew was the onlyRomanesque church in Kraków to withstandthe Mongol attack of 1241.

Some medieval fortified churches, monasteries, and cathedrals survive in Portugal. These buildings were built either inRomanesque orGothic styles. Romanesque examples are theLisbon Cathedral and theOld Cathedral of Coimbra. Gothic examples are the Church of Leça do Balio and theGuarda Cathedral.

The southeasternTransylvania region inRomania has among the highest numbers of existing fortified churches from the 13th to 16th centuries.^[4] More than 150 villages in the area count various types of fortified churches, seven of them being included in the UNESCOWorld Heritage under the name ofVillages with fortified churches in Transylvania.

Medieval limestone churches of Russia sometimes resembled towers and could be used for defensive purposes.^[5] At least three churches in the Moscow and Tver regions have been described as purpose-built defensive structures: namely,Kamenskoye Church,Gorodishche Church, andGorodnya Church.^[6]

During theOttoman-Habsburg Wars from the late 15th to the late 17th century, theSlovene Lands were subjected to constantOttoman raids, which reached their peak in the late 15th and early 16th century. During that period, around 300 village churches were fortified in the territory of present-daySlovenia, with another 50 in the neighboring area of southernCarinthia.^[7]

They were known astabors (which in modernSlovene means "camp"). A dozen of such churches remain today, the most famous of which are theHoly Trinity Church in Hrastovlje,Mount Saint Mary nearLjubljana, andPodbrezje inUpper Carniola.

In some cases, entire villages were fortified. Remaining examples areŠmartno in theGorizia Hills, andŠtanjel.

In Ukraine fortified churches were mostly constructed in a time period between the late 14th and the late 17th century in thewestern andcentral parts of modern Ukraine, most notablyGalicia^[8] andDnieper Ukraine.^[9] Some of these churches were constructed atop of existing fortifications and were extensively modified in later years, sometimes losing their sturdy appearance.

There are several medieval fortified churches near theAnglo-Scottish border, where defence was an important consideration until the 17th century, when England and Scotland were united inpersonal union under KingJames VI and I.All Saints' Church, Boltongate inCumbria is a fortified church with a fireproof stone-vaulted roof. Also in Cumbria,St Michael's Church, Burgh by Sands has a defensive tower, and originally had two. The west tower retains itsyett, a door made of interlocking iron bars to repel attackers. An even more formidable yett can be seen at St Cuthbert's Church,Great Salkeld, where the ground floor of the tower is tunnel-vaulted, and supports a fireplace above, enabling the tower to be habitable as a place of refuge. The tower of St John the Baptist's Church inNewton Arlosh is also tunnel-vaulted with very small windows, and has no outer doorway to the churchyard. Entry was inside at first-floor level.

Defensive towers can also be found on theEngland–Wales border, for instance St Michael's Church, inGarway, Herefordshire.^[10]

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  Fortified church inMuttenz,Switzerland
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  Holy Trinity Church inHrastovlje,Slovenia
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  Castle-church ofRudelle,France
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  St. Andrew's Church,Kraków,Poland
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  All Saints Church, Boltongate, England, with defensiveparapet
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  Fortified church inSaint-Angel, Corrèze, France.
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  Prejmer fortified church,Romania
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  Biertan fortified church, Romania
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  Moşna fortified church, Romania
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  Dealu Frumos fortified church, Romania
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  Østerlars Church inBornholm,Denmark
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  Solna Church close toStockholm,Sweden
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  Munsö Church,Sweden
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  Fortified Church ofGrafengehaig,Bavaria
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  Courtyard of the fortified church ofPrejmer, Romania
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  Fortified church in Muravanka, Belarus
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  Fortified church in Synkovichi, Belarus
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  Fortified church of Leça do Balio,Portugal
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  FortifiedLisbon Cathedral, Portugal
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  FortifiedOld Cathedral of Coimbra, Portugal
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  The fortified church of St. Alban and St. Wendelin, Germany
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  Fortified church in Kleinbreitenbach, Germany
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  Flor da Rosa fortified church, Portugal
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  Fortified church of St. Louis inBaler,Philippines.
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  Taghmon Church, Ireland
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  Monastery of Saint Thaddeus, Iran
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  Tranebjerg church, fortified church tower, Denmark

• Saint Catherine's Monastery
• Tangyud Monastery
• Video Fortified churches in Transylvania