The Greek-Catholic wooden Church – “Nativity of the Virgin Mary”, Ieud-Şes
The wooden church “The Birth of the Virgin Mary” in Ieud Șes is a historical monument of national importance. It was built in 1717, after the last invasion of the Tatars, being one of the largest wooden constructions in Romania. Also called the “Wooden Cathedral”. Through its monumentality and harmony of proportions, it is, perhaps, the most beautiful wooden church in Maramureș. Inside, there is a beautiful collection of glass icons, typical of the northern part of Transylvania, many of them coming from the Nicula monastery, known as the center of iconography.
The Greek-Catholic wooden Church – “Nativity of the Virgin Mary”, Călineşti-Căeni
The “Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary” in Călineşti-Căeni, having an archaic architectural style, is currently a historical monument, inscribed in the National Heritage List. This church is small, originally built of oak wood, covered with shingles. According to some documents, it seems that it had the role of a monastery church, dating back to 1390, but some research shows that this church was built in the years 1628-1630. The church painting was made by the painter Alexandru the Painter Ponehalschi, in 1754.
The Museum Monumental Complex “DR. VASILE LUCACIU”, Şişeşti
The “Dr. Vasile Lucaciu” Museum and Monumental Ensemble evokes the personality of the one nicknamed “The Lion of Şișești” (1852-1922), a well-known fighter for the rights of Romanians in Transylvania. The ensemble includes: the Church of the Holy Union of All Romanians (1890), with the tomb of Vasile Lucaciu, the Memorial House (18th century), the School (confessional school founded in 1905), the Spring of the Mother of the Romanians in Şișești, the Pavilion of the Assembly of Romanians, the Altar of the old wooden church.
The Cultural Ensemble “George Pop de Basesti”, Băseşti
The “George Pop de Băsești” Memorial Museum is arranged in an emblematic building, which belonged to the Pop de Băsești family. Inside the museum, visitors can discover the documentary-historical exhibition “George Pop de Băsești and the Great Union of Romanians”, as well as pieces of furniture, paintings, and decorative art objects. On the Vineyard Hill there is the “Assumption of the Virgin Mary” Monastery. In its garden there is “Teiul Unirii”, a centuries-old linden tree, witness to the preparation of the Union in 1918.
"Nativity of the Virgin Mary" wooden church from Ieud Deal, UNESCO
The wooden Church of the Nativity in Ieud din Deal dates back to the early 17th century, when it was built by the Bala family, part of the local nobility. In addition to its early dating, the church is also notable for the discovery in 1921 of the Ieud Codex in its attic, a document that some historians believe is the oldest text written in Romanian in Cyrillic letters. Since 1999, the church has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Bârsana Monastic Complex, Bârsana
One of the most visited attractions in Maramureș, the Bârsana Orthodox Convent is a monastic ensemble consisting of several wooden buildings and following the traditional style of Maramureș, with a church tower that stands out, 74 metres high.
The foundation stone of the new monastery was laid in 1993 on the site of the old monastery, which operated from the beginning of the 14th century until 1791, when it was dismantled and the monastery church was moved to the village in 1806.
The wooden church of the “Entry of the Virgin into the Temple” in Bârsana is of particular beauty and is specific to the small churches of Maramureș with a double roof. The shrine, built in 1720, was originally the church of the old Bârsana Monastery, converted into a parish church in 1806, when it was moved to its current location. The interior walls were decorated with paintings in 1806. Due to its inestimable value, the church has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.
"Saint Nicholas" wooden church from Budești Josani, UNESCO
The wooden church dedicated to “Saint Nicholas” in Budesti Josani, built in 1643, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999. With a length of 18 metres, a width of 8 metres and a height of 26 metres, the building is the largest wooden church in historic Maramures. Inside the church, there are a number of paintings and icons attributed to Alexandru Ponehalski, as well as some references to the outlaw, Pintea the Brave.
Ensemble of rural culture and architecture from Breb
The village of Breb is located in the central and northern part of the Maramures Basin, in the upper part of the Mara River basin, in the northern foothills of the Gutai massif, in the valley of the Breboia stream. The village is located 6 km from the resort of Ocna-Sugatag, 27 km from Sighetu Marmatiei and 54 km from Baia Mare.
Together with the villages of Hoceni and Sugatag, Breb belongs to the Okna-Sugatag community, from which it is 7 km away.
Access is via a local road, 1 km from the county road DJ 109 F. At the entrance to the village, you will be greeted by the famous Maramures gate.
The village of Breb includes territories that were part of the Grand Duchy of the Sea in the medieval period and appear in documents under the names Breb, Copacis (or Copaceni) and Vala Mare.
The first written evidence dates back to 20 March 1360, when King Louis I of Anjou recognised Dragos, son of Giulia, as the owner of the estates of Breb, Kopacis, Slatina (present-day Ocna Sugatag), Desheşti, Herniceşti and Sat Sugatag. In these documents, the village appears under the name Villa Olahalis or Hodpataka, which translates as “village of the brook sheep”, sheep meaning beaver (a rodent that adapted to aquatic life, which has meanwhile disappeared from these lands, but whose memory is preserved by the place name of the village).
Several documents from the XIV-XVI centuries tell about this village and the families that owned it.
In the 19th century, there was a confessional school here, and in 1880 the Breb Ploughmen’s Choir was founded. The town was also known for its sulphurous waters. Until 1918, baths could still be seen here, where, as they say, the Emperor of Austria-Hungary Joseph II also came. At the beginning of the 20th century, in 1910, there were 366 houses in the village.
In 1912, among the 1670 inhabitants there were Romanians and Jews, and in 1930 the national composition was as follows: 1530 Romanians, 159 Jews, and a Russian. According to Wikipedia, in terms of confessional structure, in the same 1930, Greek Catholics, with 1526 people, were the majority, followed by 159 Moslems, 3 Orthodox and 2 Baptists.
Today Breba has 500 houses and 1500 inhabitants.
Important monuments have been preserved in the village: the wooden church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel (1531); the ensemble of the Holy Archangels Church, which includes the cemetery, the parish house (1904) and the gate (a copy of the original, dating from 1790 and housed in the Village Museum in Sighetul-Marmacia).
Prince Charles visited the village in 2004 and supported a project in which three old wooden houses were brought to Breb and restored, which can now be seen on House Street.
William Blacker, who has lived in Breb for many years since the 1990s, has since become “out of place” and has published a book with great excitement called “By the Enchanted Road: A Story of Love and Life in Romania” and promotes it in a way that is better than anyone else.
The streets of Breba form a chain about 6 km long, going up or down, passing one by one the historical monuments in the village, as well as traditional houses that are scattered in freshly mown meadows and seem fairytale-like. The gates of Maramures are impressive – local folklore says that the richer the gates are in decorations, the richer the family.
To understand the role and purpose of the church in the middle of the village, you traveller must understand that it identifies with the heart that pulsates life in a body, it is the identity document of the community, it is our direct line with eternity, the bond that in all times united those who have crossed its threshold; for this reason absolutely everything significant in the life of the community was happening in and around the Church.
The Church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel has been likened to a history book, whereas it has imprinted in it (for those who can read) the influence and imprint of each historical period through which it wandered.
As a keeper of the great hourglass measuring the times, itself having 400 years old, with 500-year-old elements, raised from the root and hearth of the one before it, gathered around and stacked up beneath it many generations of passers-by through life.
Erected by ethnic Orthodox Romanians in 1626, in the old typology of Maramureş churches (chapel type), it succeeded to fit and reconcile those who built it: to fit the earthlings from two villages that united and to reconcile the social differences between the Germans (landowners) and serfs.
Built of oak guard wood, yet from the beginning, it wore a bell 100 years older than it, because the tower of the old church in Copăciş was placed on its top (1531), the symbol of Nemes, and from the body of the same church, which was resettled here, the current roof (structure) was crafted. Therefore, recycling is by no means a recent concept or foreign to these lands, especially since they have been found, according to laboratory analyzes, on the secondary roof, wooden tiles (shingles) since 1475 (550 years).
Then, after 1739, (when the last Orthodox bishop of Maramureş of those times is remembered), under Austro-Hungarian rule, the people of Maramureş were also informed that, by order of the Royal House of Vienna, they would now be called united with Rome (Greek-Catholics) and the church in Breb would enter into the patrimony of the Church United with Rome.
During this ruling, between 1854-1868, the little church entered a process of restoration, making some significant changes. A new altar was built, much more spacious, with Western influences, the planimetry was changed (from nave to cross type church) and the original church painting, from 1626, was covered with a decorative painting (girdles with traditional motifs of the time), windows and door were widened. From the old altar we still have preserved the foot of the Holy Table, carved in the shape of a chalice (exposed in the church) and a couple of icons from the original iconostasis.
In 1948, again the political leadership “knows what is best”, this time the Romanian Communist Party informs the Romanians in Transylvania that from now on they will call themselves Orthodox again, so the place of worship returns to the patrimony of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
To speak about the bond between the authentic Romanian peasant and the village church is like talking about the connection between man and his own blood; the peasant has no connection with the Church, he is and feels part of the Church and the Church is simply part of him. Maybe to some people this state of things seems utopia, but we invite them to postpone for some time the experience of their own daily life and going to a traditional Romanian village to seek to live, to seek the joy of living in the midst of God’s creation and not man’s; who knows, maybe they will have the surprise of learning more from the simple words of some peasant and will “discover” more than sinking their noses into what they know what is otherwise valuable studies and writings.
In the traditional Romanian village, social life is intertwined, to the point of oneness with religious life, in which everyone participates, from small to large. So if men erected this shrine, then women were the ones who adorned it with the work of their hands: towels, rugs and woollen carpets about which we have the “humble” peretence to have caught the Great Union (1918), the traditional motifs authentically from Maramureş, present in the fabrics, confirming this.
And let’s not forget about the crosses and icons between the 17th-20th centuries, each with its own story, which add patrimonial value to the little church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel in Breb.
Come to think of it, therefore, you realize that in the same church there are also Copăciş and Breb; and the Nemes and the serfs; and of the Orthodox, and of the United; both of men and women; a part from 1531, another part from 1626 and another from 1868, but all of them gathering, all clutching them to your chest, so that you come to realize that it is not the Church that belongs to some, but we, all of us, belong to the Church, the heart of this community.
Wooden church of the "Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel", UNESCO, Şurdești
Built in 1721 by the Greek Catholic community of the village and supervised by master craftsman Iona Makari from mountain oak wood, the church is impressive in keeping with wooden structures of the time, with a total height of 72 metres. The main tower is surrounded by four smaller towers, making this wooden church with its 54 metres the tallest in the world of the period. Combining all the elements of architecture, support, and decoration in the most developed form of the time, this church is the main reference point for wooden churches, achieving constructive and aesthetic perfection in its implementation. Since 1999, the church has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and in the new list of historical monuments.
"Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel" wooden church from Rogoz, UNESCO
The wooden church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, Rogoz, Maramures county, is one of the most interesting and valuable in Transylvania. Rogoz is located 6 km from Tirgu Lepus.
The church is on the list of historical monuments from 2004, code MM-II-m-A-04618. This historical monument is also included in the World Heritage List under the code 904.
The church is constructed of massive elm beams closed at right angles and in some places reinforced with thick wooden plugs. The church has a less common type of plan: a polygonal narthex facing south, a rectangular nave and an apse of a retreat altar, polygonal, with seven sides (instead of the usual five).
The church is entered through a richly decorated door on the south wall.
Inside, the main beam of the nave vault and the consoles are decorated with a rope motif. The exterior of the church is richly decorated: the southern façade has a profiled rope motif in the middle, the entrance door to the church has a bracketed opening and a frame decorated with a simple profile, double rope and rosettes, and to the left of the door is a cross decorated with the same motifs. The cornice is supported by consoles with a cap, and the beams under the cornice have notched edges. The roof is asymmetrical (about 1.20 m from the axis) to protect the “mass of mansions” along the northern façade. The bell tower rises above the narthex, square, with an open bell tower, in a cantilever, with pillars and arches, and a high pyramidal roof with corner turrets. The tower with a truncated cone is made with great skill, and the conical helmet is divided into three steps.
The painting also contributes to the special value of this monument. The interior painting dates back to 1785, the grandstand was added in the 19th century, and the existing painting was completed in 1834. The original painting is well preserved in the altar, narthex, and with some imperfections in the nave.
The exterior decoration of the church gives the monument a special beauty due to its richness and complexity, while the interior decoration of the church is complex.
The village of Rogoz was first documented in 1488 (Rogoz), when it belonged to the fortress of Ciceului in the Someș valley (Bistriţa Năsăud county) belonging to Stefan cel Mare and other rulers of Moldavia.
The church is located in the “Lapus Country”, in the valley of the Lapus River, and was built after the Tatar invasion in 1661, as evidenced by the inscription at the entrance: “since they were enslaved by fire”. The tradition of the construction of the church in 1663 by the village community on the site of the old church was, of course, preserved by the inscription at the entrance, which is undated but easily corrected over time. Structural features date back to the same period.
In 1785, it was painted by the artists Radu Munteanu and Nicolae Mane; as the following inscription on the altar states: “From the village of Mane, priest Todor and Vlăşin priest Ioan, and paid this servant of God, the man Gregory and his wife Ioana”. The inscription in the nave reads: “In June 1785, in 10 days, this holy church was painted and completed in 11 days in September.” The Tatar invasion of 1717 is also mentioned in the nave, and the artists’ signatures appear: “Veleat of the Tatars of 1717. Painted by Munteanu Radu from Ungureni and Man Niculai from Poiana Porkului”.
In 1834, a tribune was built on the western side of the nave, the parapet of which was repainted the same year, according to an inscription on its edge: “This bridge was painted in the year of Xs. 1834, son of Bod(ea) Hrihorii”. At the same time, the windows of the nave were modified and the ceiling of the narthex and the vault of the nave were repainted.