I traveled to Maramures county this summer (2003) and I want to share with you my wonderful
experience. It is a unique ethnographic area full of legends, history and traditions, recognized
all over Romania and abroad. I felt like taking a tour in an open-air museum where old peasant
houses and wooden churches are carefully preserved. All this beautiful mountainous area
crossed by rivers is a natural fortress that made possible the preservation of the ancestral life
specific to Dacians (Romanians' ancestors). The intruders as Romans never crossed the
mountains to conquer this region, later called Maramures.
The first astonishing view I saw - going from Vatra Dornei to Borsa - was the
Prislop pass (1,414 m), a natural link between Bukovina and Maramures.
Here you have very often the impression of wilderness because of the secular woods
untouched by civilization. The fresh air and the silence create a lovely scenery where you feel
the magic of the early beginnings of mankind.
Borsa is a small town placed at an altitude of 700-850 meters, used as a starting
point to climb the mountains around (Pietrosu Peak, Zanoaga Mare, Piatra Alba Peak). Borsa
is called "The Pearl of Maramures" because of the superb landscapes nearby. Just a
few kilometers before entering the Borsa Complex, I had the surprise to visit The Roots
Museum created by Stefan Grec. You will see a panel on the right side of the
road which indicates its presence. Mr. Grec discovered that some roots found in the forest
had a hidden message to tell if he would modify their original shapes with much creativity. So
he began to search more and more roots during the years and the result is incredible, as
you may see in the pictures below. Now he is at retirement and he reserved a room in his
house for this museum. You will enjoy his hospitality and smile, I assure you.
Going to Sighetu Marmatiei, I chose the road which leads to Salistea de Sus. Doing the same
as me, you will have the possibility to admire another great museum : "The Maramures
Country Woman". It is also placed on the right side of the road in Dragomiresti.
At the entrance of the museum, I admired a beautiful wooden gate specific to this region.
Here there are well-preserved folk costumes, carpets, rugs, blankets ("cergi"
in Romanian), ceramics, old things necessary for daily life and above all the traditional interior
of a Maramures peasant house. Each old house has a big room where guests
can admire the family's most beautiful things, the majority made (during the time) by the
grandmother, mother and daughters of the family. If you are looking at the pictures below,
you will see a great diversity of things, traditional masks included. These masks are created
for the winter holidays when young people use to wear them. This tradition lasts for several
hundreds of years being inherited from father to son. Its purpose is to scary evil spirits who
come to earth in the magic night of 31 December.
I asked the guide why the threshold between rooms was so tall (approx. 30 cm) and she
kindly replied that "it must be hard to enter into the life as a newborn, it must be hard to go
out of life after passing away". Let us think deeply of these simple words that express an
old life concept! Maybe that is why people living in Maramures live their lives in honor and
create many things which will remain long after their disappearance on earth...
Bogdan Voda and then Rozavlea were my next stops. All churches built in this region show
a special Gothic style of Maramures. It is often said that the tallest wooden
churches in the world are here! After seeing them and trying to take their pictures, I
am convinced that the phrase was true.
In Bogdan Voda I saw an impressive new white church and a small wooden church
built in 1718. This place is located on the Iza river valley, the area being famous for its lovely
traditions and daily old habits (which create all together a specific lifestyle). The findings proved
that this wonderful valley was inhabited since the Bronze Age. Later, free Dacian tribes came
and settled here, reaching a period of flourishing during the Decebalus reign. Their unique
traditions are still alive.... Also from this place (former called Cuhea), in 1343 Prince Dragos
and his army went to stop Tartars conquering the land from the Eastern side of the
Maramures mountains (present Moldavia).
The church of Rozavlea was built between 1717-1720 in another place but it
was brought in the present location later. It has a structure made of pine tree beams and
a foundation made from oak beams. The roof is very steep. I was impressed both by the
wooden carved gate and by the interior painted walls.
A monastery that is really stunning: Birsana. The original church was raised in 1720
and painted later in 1806 by Toader Hodor. The documents told us about a monastery in 1787
in this village called Birsana. That one was destroyed by the Austrian General Adolf Bucow.
The present wooden church, with a stone foundation, preserves the architecture of the
ancient church but was built in 1993 when the monastic life revived in Birsana. Its steeple
has 56 m – which is taller than the steeple of the Surdesti church considered to be the
tallest wooden church in the country.
The new buildings within the perimeter of Birsana Monastery were raised between
1993-1995 and there are still new projects going on. It is a beautiful place where you
may meditate and think of God in silence. This convent of nuns worth your attention if you
are passing by. You will experience something really special if your trip will be exactly on
30 of June when this congregation celebrates the Patrons of the church: Holy
Apostles Peter and Pavel. This day brings here people coming from all over the
Maramures county, all of them wearing their beautiful folk costumes which differ from one
valley to the other. It is a good opportunity for you to admire the costumes in white, red and
black, sometimes having yellow, blue or green, with fine embroideries and artistic sewings.
Also you will be amazed by the traditional footwear called "opinci" made from pigskin –
a sort of sandals which are the same in shape since the Dacian period of time
(more than 2,000 years ago).
Coroieni Monastery was an unexpected revelation to me while going on the road
leading from Dej to Tirgu Lapus (on the map you will find Gilgau village). The monastery was
built in the heart of the secular forests and the construction began in 1992. It is still not
finished but one week before I visited it, on
20th of July, there was a great holiday :
the very first celebration of the Patron of the church – Saint Prophet Elias. On that occasion,
priest Galaction Danciu had many important ecclesiastical guests and many people from
the nearest village : Dealul Mare. If you will take a look at the pictures, you will
notice that the entrance of the church is painted very beautifully but the inside walls are still
white waiting for their icons. Also you may admire the guests rooms of the monastery where
I rest for one night (they have a wooden carved porch in front). The monks and the
personnel living here are extremely hospitable and dedicated to their mission - I think that
they deserve to be financial supported by any Christian who can give a little part from
his savings. Contact me by email and I will send to you further information!
The last monastery I visited during the summer vacation was Dobric. It is at 8 km
far away from Beclean city, if you are going from Dej to Bistrita. In this place you will see a
very beautiful small wooden church and a bigger church, made from stone, built in a
former mansion of a local aristocrat. The monastery has a huge green garden and this
summer these nuns were helped to raise a tall fence around the perimeter.
I invite you to visit Maramures if you want to fill your soul
with beauty and harmony!
