The Fortified Church of Ruși (Biserica Fortificată din Ruși) is a historic Lutheran church and fortified enclosure in the village of Ruși, part of Slimnic commune in Sibiu County. The complex is best known for its strongly leaning bell tower, which tilts noticeably above the church and has become one of the most distinctive church towers in Transylvania.
Ruși was first documented in 1424, and an earlier church already stood here before the present building was constructed. The unstable ground beneath the site repeatedly caused serious structural problems: parts of the church collapsed during the 17th century, and the building suffered another major failure in 1780. The present church was rebuilt in 1782-1783.
The bell tower survived these rebuilding phases but was affected by the same unstable terrain. During the 19th century, a landslide caused it to lean toward the northeast, eventually reaching an inclination of around 18 degrees. Consolidation work carried out in 1968 stabilized the structure, allowing the tower to remain standing despite its dramatic angle.
The church is surrounded by a surviving defensive enclosure that once included several towers. Most have disappeared, leaving the western bell tower as the principal surviving defensive structure. Inside, the late 18th-century church has a three-sided gallery decorated with painted figures of the Evangelists, giving the interior a character quite different from the medieval fortified churches nearby.
The combination of the compact fortified enclosure and the sharply leaning tower gives Ruși an unusually recognizable silhouette, with the church standing slightly elevated above the village and visible from the surrounding roads.
