Wooden Churches
The northwestern region of Maramures is known for its traditional wooden churches. These were built starting from the 17th century and are still being built today. You can still also see traditional houses built from wood in the villages. The roofs are wooden tiles and wooden tiles also sometimes cover the walls.
Maramuresin puukirkot
Maramuresin alueen puukirkot ovat hieno esimerkki paikallisesta kirvesmiestaidosta. Kirkkoja on vielä jäljellä satakunta, joista kahdeksan on päässyt Unescon maailmanperintölistalle. Vanhimmat on rakennettu jo 1600-luvulla. Kuvissa on Barsanan luostarin rakennuksia, jotka on rakennettu 1990-luvulla mutta noudattaen vanhoja perinteitä.
Eight of the churches are Unesco World Heritage sites but there are roughly one hundred churches left. The Barsana Monastery was built after Ceausescu’s fall but the architecture and building method is very traditional.
Merry Cemetery
We also visited the Merry Cemetery in Sapanta where the tomb stones are carved from wood and picture the life of the person buried, often in a humorous fashion. They are all painted in a special shade of blue called Sapanta Blue.
Hilpeä hautausmaa
Yksi tämän alueen tunnetuimpia nähtävyyksiä on Hilpeä hautausmaa Sapantassa. Hautaristeihin on veistetty tarina kuvan kera kuolleen henkilön elämästä, usein huumorilla höystettynä. Kaikki ristit on maalattu alkuperäisen mestarin kehittämällä “Sapantan sinisellä”.
Village Museum
To get a full picture of the traditional wooden houses of Maramures we also visited the Sighetu Marmatiei Village Museum. Like the churches, the houses also have a very high roof. Inside it is divided into three spaces; the living quarters with a large woodburning furnace, the middle space for storage and a third space for the animals? The house has no chimney. A short chimney leads the smoke into the entrance space and the smoke rises up to the rafters and exits through the roof.
Ulkoilmamuseo
Sighetu Marmatiein kylässä on hieno ulkoilmamuseo, johon on kerätty vanhoja puurakennuksia. Talot olivat hyvin korkeakattoisia ja katto on tehty muotoon veistetyistä paanuista. Alakerrassa on tupakeittiö, eteinen ja varastohuone/eläinsuoja? Puuhellan piippu johtaa vain eteiseen, josta savu nousee katon kautta ulos.
