Last Updated on March 20, 2023 by PowersToTravel
Tucked in Northern Transylvania up at the Ukrainian border, Maramures is a primarily agricultural county famous for its wooden churches, wooden gates, tiled facades and, dare I say, haystacks.
I’d seen a couple of pictures of these wooden churches on the travel agency’s website and thought, “Oh, these are nice, but are they real, or just a couple of locations or instances?” You, know, the website promoting a vacation rental conveniently cropping out all the neighboring houses making the home appear elegant and private.
I can tell you that the pictures you may have seen of Maramures are not isolated incidents, one-offs, they are for real! And if you have no idea what I’m talking about, just keep reading, and take a peak into our fantastic visit there.
Competition for the roads
First of all, we visited in mid-September, that is, the 15th to 17th, to be more precise. The fall harvest was in full swing, and it is then that this primarily agricultural nook of the country really shines!
Yes, if you visit, you will see so many of these:
(And just think, you’ll have to avoid these carts with your car! Another reason to hire a car/driver for your trip.)
Haystacks, ordinary haystacks?
More fascinating to me than the non-mechanized transport were the alien haystacks. They peaked out at me from everywhere.
“They’re just haystacks!” Greg informed me.
“But they look like alien pods, disguised as common objects, as if the little aliens are going to pop out at night!” Perhaps I had seen too many science fiction films as a child. “See the three sticks! I’m sure they’re antennas!”
I couldn’t stop taking pictures of them:
Surdesti
More noteworthy in Maramures are the wooden churches and wooden gates. The wooden churches aren’t the simple clapboard structures of New England; they are tall, very tall, shingled structures. Built in 1766, the church at Surdesti was until recently the tallest wooden church in Europe. UNESCO declared it and ten other wooden churches a World Heritage Site.
Almost as outstanding as its height are the preserved paintings within. Sadly, no picture-taking was allowed in the church, and we were forced to buy the color brochure. We didn’t begrudge the cost of the brochure, considering the funds presumably go to the upkeep of the historic building. However, in this case, the brochure pictures were bleached in comparison with my memory of the murals.
Desesti
Sensing my excitement about the wooden church, Iulian, our guide, took us to see Desesti, another of the UNESCO sites. There we visited the Church of the Holy Paraskeva. (What in the world is a Paraskeva? I just looked it up and found she lived in approximately the year 1000 and was sainted by the Eastern Orthodox church; I’ve been unable to find out why.)
The church at Desesti is easily the most impressive of the historic wooden churches of Maramures due to its beautiful hill-top location, the eye-popping murals, the eerie cemetery surrounding it, the typical wooden gate, and dare I say it, the field beyond with its iconic haystacks!
There I was so glad to meet an elderly woman, a greeter for the church. Our guide translated for us, “May I take your picture?” She seemed so surprised I would want her picture when the entire church was so photogenic. She is my favorite picture of all Romania!
I must have taken fifty pictures of the interior but I won’t fill this page with them when there is so much more in Maramures to show you.
We stayed the night in Sighetu-Marmatiei in a historic inn called Casa Iurca de Calinesti. The inn’s ambiance was inviting, the service and breakfast good, but the beds were hard as rock, and our room didn’t have windows to open for fresh air – it had windows and a door which opened to a breezeway which was common to all rooms in that first-floor wing. Unfortunately, the people in the next room thought that the area made an ideal smoking space, so we were forced to close up our room, which without air-conditioning made for a stuffy night.
Sapanta
Eager to be out and about the next morning, we next visited Sapinta. No historic, UNESCO site, this beautiful church demonstrates that the woodworking skills for which the area is famous live on even now. Huge and brightly painted as it is, the church’s celebrity comes not from its building or murals, but from its cemetery. Called “the Merry Cemetery,” we had expected gravestones or grave-markers with poetic epitaphs. We did not expect the brilliant color and uniformity of the markers, at the same time the diversity of the art and wit. It is imperative that a Romanian speaker accompany you to translate the epitaphs!
If you consider going to Romania, I recommend that Sapanta be at the top of your list, and that you close your eyes as the next two pictures roll by. Believe it or not, I purposely did not search for pictures of Romania when planning the trip. I read articles and blogs and travel agency websites; I tried to picture for myself what I might some day be seeing. When we arrived in the region, Wow, what a overwhelmingly beautiful experience.
But if you aren’t considering Romania for yourself, by all means, take a peak at Sapanta:
On our way out of the region we stopped at Barsana Monastery and the Bogdan Voda historic church.
Barsana
Barsana, while large and impressive, in terms of acreage, volume and size, interested me only in that it showed how alive the monastic tradition in Romania is today. The woodworkers still construct huge churches, the painters still decorate them with colorful murals; there is clearly a competition here to be the most outstanding. Is religion still as powerful and ever-present, or have churches found that magical marketing nook?
Bogdan Voda
Bogdan Voda, while as visually amazing and historically significant as the UNESCO historic churches, does not qualify as a UNESCO site due to its close proximity to a modern church. Nonetheless, we were able to visit it and take as many pictures as desired.
“Ordinary” homes
The woodcarvers of Maramures do not limit themselves to large, expensive buildings. Many, many homes present their best features forward. Many an ordinary home is protected by a modern, hand-carved gate:
Many a modern home is decorated, as well, by the same exuberance of color we encountered at Sapanta:
We spent only two days in Maramures. My camera wished we could have stayed longer. We had allocated only eleven days to the entire country, since we were doing all of our Eastern European countries in thirty-three.
My lesson learned?
Romania deserves more. Costs are lower here – it is reasonable to hire a driver/guide for a longer period of time. Believe me, you’ll need him outside of the main cities, as many people do not speak English, and you’ll need someone focusing on dodging the horse-carts while your head swivels with the fantastic scenery and amazing art!
Interesting Links
Compass Travel Romania, who provided an excellent itinerary
The next step in our Romania itinerary
Day 6: Crossing the Carpathian Mountains to Bucovina, Romania
Check out my key Romania article
Romania Travel Blog – Itinerary, Planning and Diabetic Travel Tips
