Muzeul Abandonului

Opened to the public in 1981, the museum, which originally looked like a scattered village, now has more than 40 heritage sites. The oldest building that enriches the museum's collection is the church, moved here from Oncești, where it was brought from the village of Criciova, on the right bank of the Tisza River. The painting of the place, dating from the 16th century, was remade in 1802. The traditional architectural monuments in the museum were arranged so as to describe the specificity of the subzones Cosău - Mara and Lower Iza, Middle Iza, Vişeu - Borşa, Tisza and the Ruscova basin, from Historic Maramureș. The houses and outbuildings were made of wood on a stone foundation or boulders, maintaining a simple floor layout. Each building illustrates the social status of the owners, either through inscriptions or through specific decorative elements. It should also be mentioned that this museum is a true example of the Maramureș village, showcasing houses specific to ethnic minorities in these areas: Jews, Hungarians, Germans, and Ukrainians. The inside of the houses is traditionally decorated, some preserving the original pieces of furniture and others having original features. The museum, included in the ICOM and UNESCO networks, hosted the 16th Conference of the European Association of Open Air Museums in 1993, and the European conference entitled "The Wood Route in Europe" in 2000. One year later, the institution received the "Gheorghe Focşa" Award from the Ministry of Culture and Cults, and in 2019 it was included in the top museums in Romania, according to the prestigious Michelin Guide. 

The museum in Chiuzbaia was founded at the initiative of Romică Breban, a local who, for over 30 years, has been collecting old ethnographic or mining objects, taking into account the local tradition in the mining industry. The small museum was inaugurated in 2016. The collections are housed in the old parental home of the local. Visitors can admire the collection of traditional clothing and household items in one of the rooms, as well as mine flowers and mining tools in the second room.

Right on the border of Maramureș County with Suceava County we find the Roots Museum, a unique exhibition that reveals the lifelong passion of Ștefan Grec, the local man who has dedicated the last 40 years to collecting tree roots with unique shape. Those more than 100 processed exhibits within the collection are sheltered in a modest old house covered with shingles. Each one of the bizarre roots found here bear the name given by the collector himself, depending on what each exhibit inspires. In addition to the impressive collection of roots, this museum located in the heart of the mountains also has a room where military objects belonging to the soldiers of the two World Wars are exhibited. These objects were found in the surrounding forests, from where the famous roots originate as well. Here, tourists can also admire small exhibitions of old banknotes, eggs decorated with Maramureș and Bucovina motifs, but also "mine flowers" (mine rocks). 

The Natural Sciences Department of the Maramureș Museum is located in the complex of buildings, in the Liberty Square (Piața Libertății). The history of this institution goes back to 1899, when a two department’s museum was established in Sighetu Marmației: Natural Sciences and History. The First World War led to the closing of the institution, with the museum's current collection containing only two exhibits that have survived the passage of time, namely a naturalized black goat and a mammoth molar. The current department of the museum was founded in 1968 and, through its valuable exhibits of plants, vertebrates, fungi, minerals, rocks and fossils, it illustrates the surprising natural richness of the Maramureș Depression. The flora and fauna of this area are captured in the over 17,000 leaves of grass which are part of the "Artur Coman Herbarium", named after the famous Borșa native, who dedicated himself to this field of research, while the collection of vertebrates includes about 96% of the species found here. More than 1000 samples of minerals, mine flowers and fossils, as well as the more than 1300 samples of macromycetes from the fungi collection are added to this collection.

The History-Archeology Department of the Maramureș Museum operates in a beautiful historical monument building which is almost 300 years old. This department of the Museum of Maramureș brings to the attention of visitors the exhibition entitled "Sighetu-Marmației - 680", which first opened its doors to the public in 2006. The valuable museum collection includes Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic exhibits, as well as one of the more comprehensive collections from the Bronze Age, comprising over 140 exhibits. The collection of knives and firearms, which still bear the marks of the conflicts that have left deep wounds in our past, is particularly interesting. Here, visitors can observe pages from the history of Sighet, the documents exhibited recreate the course of the political, economic and cultural life of this area, from the Middle Ages to the present day. The historical testimonies take us through the key moments of our national past, such as the Great Union that gave life to the centuries-old wish of our people, the horrors of the Second World War or the turning point of the Revolution of December 1989. The museum's efforts to preserve and promote Romanian cultural values ​​were recognized in 2020, when the institution was awarded the Anniversary Medal "Centenary of the Great Union", conferred by the President of Romania, Mr. Klaus Iohannis.

The "Victor Gorduza" County Museum of Mineralogy from Baia Mare, an institution that initially operated within the Natural Sciences Department of the Maramureș County Museum since 1976, received the legal status of museum in 1992. During its approximately 45 years of activity, the "Victor Gorduza" County Museum of Mineralogy from Baia Mare succeeded to be on top of geological museums in Romania. The museum’s heritage, which comes exclusively from the outcrops and mines of the northwest of the country, has brought the institution the status of the largest museum of mineralogy with regional representation on the entire European continent. The museum's four collections, namely the mineral, fossil, rock and ore collections, include over 20,800 pieces. In addition to the permanent exhibition, organized in four different departments, namely petrography, mineralogy, deposits and mine flowers, the famous museum brought to the public's attention over 195 temporary exhibitions, organized both in the country and abroad. During the permanent exhibition, the unique samples of stibin, calcite, barite, pyrite, rhodochrosite, fluorine, quartz, amethyst, gypsum and realgar fascinate visitors, revealing never-before-seen shapes, varieties, sizes and colors. Precisely this character of rarity of such exhibits, doubled by their spectacularity, gives some of them the quality of treasure of the national cultural patrimony of Romania. 

The Maramureș County Museum of History and Archeology is a public cultural institution with a long tradition in the cultural life of the county. It was originally founded in 1904, under the name of Baia Mare City Museum. Since 2006, it has been operating under the name County Museum of History and Archeology, having its headquarters within the Mint Office building, which was included in the list of historical monuments. In addition to this location, the museum also comprises the Butchers' Bastion, another emblematic objective of the city of Baia Mare. The permanent exhibition of the Maramureș County Museum of History and Archeology includes cultural items describing  the evolution of the communities in this area, some of the archeological vestiges dating back to the Bronze Age and others from the medieval or modern period. Visitors have the opportunity to discover over 1500 pieces that reconstruct the mining history of this area, from tools and means of transport, to documents and photographs. Also, one should not miss the collection of clocks exhibited in the museum, which includes about 300 exhibits, with an invaluable cultural and scientific value. This "journey" takes visitors through various and interesting items of all types and sizes, which have served several purposes over time: tower clocks, table clocks, pocket watches, wall pendulums and more.

The Maramureș County Museum of Ethnography and Folk Art is one of the emblematic public cultural institutions of the county, subordinated to the Maramureș County Council, and it includes two locations: the Pavilion Department and the Village Museum. The exhibition space of the Pavilion Department operates in the building of the former Summer Theater. Here, in two separate rooms, tourists can see the permanent exhibition as well as a temporary exhibition. The permanent exhibition, entitled "Wood in the traditional community of northern Transylvania - from cradle to grave", brings to the public's attention the process of woodworking, traditional tools, interiors of peasants’ homes, but also folk costumes, traditional ornaments, cult objects and ceramics, belonging to all the four ethnographic areas of Maramureș: Historical Maramureș, Chioarului Land, Lăpuș Land and Codrului Land. Not only the interior of this museum is surprising, but also the exterior area. Beyond the impressive landscape created by the beautiful green plain, one can also admire a set of statues consisting of 12 columns, bearing the signature of the great sculptor Vida Géza. The Village Museum, the second location of the Maramureș County Museum of Ethnography and Folk Art, was inaugurated in 1984 and operates outdoors. Its patrimony includes true masterpieces of folk architecture, representative, in turn, for all four "lands" of the county. An imposing Maramureș gate makes the transition from the city to the village up the hill, having been sculpted by the famous folk craftsman Găvrilă Hotico. The traditional houses and domestic annexes from this corner of heaven, which rewrite pages from the past of Maramureș, take visitors back to an era dominated by simplicity, authenticity and beauty.

The County Museum of Art " Baia Mare Artistic Center" is an institution that brings to the attention of art lovers the art created in the Baia Mare Artistic Center, ever since 1896, when it was under the careful guidance of the painter and pedagogue Simon Hollósy. Works belonging to over 3000 visual artists from the country and abroad are today part of the generous heritage of the institution, including paintings, graphic works, sculptures, decorative art and photography. The artistic colony founded in Baia Mare more than a century ago has a unique character, strengthened by the continuity of this guild to this day. Many renowned artists have refined their talents here, becoming part of avant-garde movements and exhibiting their creations along with famous names in the field. Approximately 4,500 artifacts, as well as a generous documentary collection (documents, photographs, catalogs, prints, negatives, medals, graphic works) complete the collections of the County Museum of Art "Baia Mare Artistic Center". In addition to the works that bear the artistic print of the Baia Mare colony of artists, which constitute 95% of the museum's fund, in the museum one can admire other exhibits of modern Romanian art, but also works that restore the European art route across two centuries, respectively from the 18th to the 20th century. The museum has been operating in the current building since 1984, but the construction dates back to 1748, initially serving as the headquarters of the Maramureș Salt Office, later becoming private property.