The Documentary-Exhibition Center of the Maramureș Nobility

St. Anne - Rohia Monastery has a very valuable museum ensemble. The place of worship located in the heart of Maramureș is one of the places that carry the greatest spiritual load, a magnificent example of church traditions in these lands. Every year, thousands of visitors from all over the world visit Rohia Monastery, a destination that reveals a rich religious and cultural heritage. The museum of the monastery is arranged in the wooden church dedicated to "St. Anne" and brings to the public's attention a collection of over 100 church books, but also a valuable collection of old icons, painted on wood or glass. In addition to this museum, which shelters priceless exhibits, hundreds of years old, the monastery's museum complex also includes Nicolae Steinhardt's cell, as well as a vast library of over 40,000 books of worship and theological magazines, as well as volumes of universal and Romanian literature. The cell where Father Nicolae Steinhardt spent the last years of his life and which is located on the ground floor of the "Poet’s House", has preserved the personal belongings of the monk, known as a doctor of law, writer, publicist and literary critic. Nicolae Steinhardt, a native Jew, converted to the Orthodox religion while being incarcerated in Jilava Prison, where he would serve his sentence for refusing to testify against his friend, Constantin Noica. Between 1979 and 1989, Nicolae Steinhardt lived as a monk in the Rohia Monastery.

The museum that houses the collection was inaugurated in 2019, through a joint effort of the Foundation of Ukrainian Hutsuls from Romania and the Sinaptica Association - Maramureș. The small museum was arranged in a former annex household  and houses objects specific to the traditional culture of the Hutsuls. The objects, old inscriptions and photographs on display reflect the material culture and the very identity of the Hutsuls, the Ukrainian community to which this ethnic subgroup belongs, having a well-established presence in this region. The museum-type collection also includes works of contemporary art that describe the cultural and ethnographic richness of the Ruscova Valley, a place of special beauty.  

Teleki Castle is believed to have been erected between 1740 and 1760, during the reign of Empress Maria Theresa. The most famous owner of the imposing building erected in the Baroque style was Teleki Sándor of Szék, a well-known revolutionary and writer, close to some personalities of the time, including the poet Petőfi Sándor. Between 1846 and 1847, the famous Hungarian poet was a three-time guest at Teleki Castle, the most important stay taking place in 1847, when Petőfi Sándor and his wife spent their honeymoon here. The visit, which lasted more than a month, culminated in the enrichment of Hungarian literature with 24 love poems, works that the poet wrote on a stone table in the castle courtyard. Originally, the castle housed a single Petőfi Sándor memorial room, but in 1960, as more and more pieces joined the collection, it was extended over an entire floor. In 2020, the historic monument building was inaugurated as a result of a rehabilitation process, and the museum's exhibition material shall be further expanded with the support of the Petőfi Literary Museum in Budapest. The rooms of the museum welcome their guests with themes related to the history of the building, from the presentation of the Teleki family and the evolution of the castle, to the visits of the poet Petőfi Sándor. Not only the inside of the castle is surprising, but also the outside area, where one can still admire the horn and the stone table on which the famous works of art of the poet were created, as well as a group of statues representing the relatives of Count Teleki, a crucifix and magnificent secular trees. 

The modest wooden house reproduces the unmistakable style of the master cross-maker, who made the name of Maramureș known throughout the world. The carpenter Stan Ioan Pătraș was only 14 years old when he started to transform pieces of oak into works of art, perfecting his style over time. Thus, the crosses he sculpted were no longer reminiscent of dull funerary monuments, his art combining folk craft with painting, sculpture and poetry. The vivid colors, the sculpted figures, but also the famous epitaphs that speak ironically about the fate of the dead, adorn more than 700 crosses made by Stan Ioan Pătraș. In addition to the famous crosses with epitaphs, the artist left behind other sculpted objects, as well as numerous painted icons. The tourist objective that pays homage to the life of the folk craftsman is located just a few hundred meters from the Merry Cemetery and consists of the house, the stable and the workshop in the yard, which belonged to the most famous artist of Săpânța. Inside the house you can see the specific furniture, along with household textiles, but also a significant collection of objects crafted with care and skill by Stan Ioan Pătraș himself. The story of the craftsman is carried forward not only by the works that bear his mark, but also by his successor, Dumitru Tincu Pop, who continues his work, restoring old crosses and creating new ones, in the same "Săpânța blue", according to artistic canons passed down from his master.

The hero-poet, Ion Șugariu, was born in 1914 in Băița and has distinguished himself throughout his life by his important publishing activity, highlighted by his collaboration with well-known publications, at national level. His debut poem, "Hymn to youth", was published in 1934 in the "Observatorul" magazine. During his university studies at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy, he was appointed President of the Refugee Students Association. During the Second World War, Ion Șugariu was forced to give up his career in order to serve his country, initially as a reserve officer of a training school, and later as a member of an Infantry Regiment. The poet passed away during the horrors of war in Czechoslovakia, where he had remained, after being sent to Hungary in 1944. He left behind an important wartime manuscript, a diary describing the emotional impact of the battlefield experience. The house that today bears his name was donated to the state in 1976 by Floarea Șugar and was in the patrimony of the Maramureș County Museum until 2008, when it entered into the administration of the Local Council of Tăuții-Măgherăuș. Those who visit the small parental home of the talented poet and journalist have the opportunity to discover, in one of the rooms, documents, letters and manuscripts describing the author's life, and in the second room, a decoration specific to the traditional homes of miners in this area.

Elie Wiesel Memorial House is a special place that honors the memory of one of the most famous personalities of Maramureș. The first attempts to evoke the culture of Maramureș Jews took place in the early 70's, when the Maramureș Village Museum wished to represent the Jewish culture, an initiative that materialized through the restoration and arrangement of two houses that belonged to Jewish families. After the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in 1986 to Professor Elie Wiesel, a survivor of the concentration camps that took the life of millions of Jews, efforts were made for many years to turn the house where he was born into a museum. The Elie Wiesel Memorial House, which opened its doors to the public only in 2002, is located right in the house where the famous novelist, playwright, essayist and memorialist lived until the age of 15, in one of the old Jewish neighborhoods in Sighetu-Marmației. After experiencing the horrors of Jews and other minority groups during World War II, Elie Wiesel published nearly 40 volumes describing the inhuman treatment of the victims of the Holocaust in Nazi extermination camps. In the rooms of the memorial house are exhibited pieces of furniture and decor that belonged to Jewish families, but also a reconstruction of Elie Wiesel's desk, along with documents and photographs on the life of the memorialist. Also, one of the rooms of the house evokes the consequences of the Vienna Dictate, which led to the deportation of Jews from Maramureș and one room presents the cultural relations that Elie Wiesel had with other personalities of the Jewish community in Sighetu Marmației. The courtyard of the house was arranged as a space for recreation and silence, a good place to contemplate the cruel truths revealed inside the museum.

Born in 1895, Ilie Lazăr distinguished himself as a lawyer and, above all, as a politician. He fought in the First World War, after which he was a member of the Romanian National Party in Hungary and Transylvania and then a deputy on behalf of the National Peasant Party. Dr. Ilie Lazăr is one of the historical personalities from these lands who contributed to the accomplishment of the Great Union, being delegated to the Great National Assembly in Alba Iulia. The memorial house from Giulești is also related to the historical period of the Great Union, here being summoned the members of the Maramureș delegation who then signed the union of Maramureș with Wallachia. The building, which is a monument of traditional architecture, was erected in 1826 and originally belonged to the Greek Catholic archpriest Vasile Mihalyi, and was later inherited by the Lazarus family. The house with oak soles and walls made of spruce beams combined in a "blockbau" system respects the traditional Maramures typology. Those who cross the threshold of the boyar house with six rooms will discover documents, photographs and manuscripts from the Union period, as well as an exhibition of local ethnography.

The "George Pop de Băsești" Memorial Museum was first opened to the public in 1976. Arranged right inside the architectural masterpiece that was erected between 1885-1890 and which belonged to the President of the Grand National Assembly in Alba Iulia, George Pop de Băsești, the memorial museum was recently restored and reintroduced into the sightseeing tour. For about three decades great political figures of the time met at the residence of George Pop's family, including: Vasile Lucaciu, Vasile Goldiș, Ion Rațiu, Nicolae Iorga, Nicolae Filipescu, Iosif Vulcan, Vasile Braniște, Iuliu Maniu, Teodor Mihali and others.  Inside the memorial museum, visitors can discover the documentary-historical exhibition "George Pop de Băsești and the Great Union of Romanians", which emphasizes the importance of the illustrious political leader in the fight for national unity, but also pieces of furniture and antiques, which recreate the ambiance of the times when the leader of the Great Union put all its knowledge and skill in the fight for the rights of the Transylvanians. Among the valuable pieces exhibited here, some have been found in the patrimony of the Museum of History and Archeology of Maramureș. The collection was completed by the joint effort of other museums in Cluj, Sălaj and Satu Mare, as a result of which the institution's patrimony was enriched with numerous relevant materials, related to the name of this prominent figure of the Transylvanian intellectuality.

The Stephen’s Tower, located in the immediate vicinity of the Liberty Square (Piața Libertății), served as the bell tower for the former church dedicated to the "Holy King Stephen", which dates from 1347, but which was officially inaugurated only in 1387. The construction of the massive stone tower was ordered by John Hunyadi (Ioan de Hunedoara), after the victory in Ialomița against the Ottomans. In 1468, more than two decades after the beginning of the works, the tower was completed. Over time, the tower would undergo several stages of restoration and rehabilitation, the last of which restored the building to its current appearance in 2013. The moon clock, which completes the medieval character of the monument that is 50 m high, was installed in 1628, and it also underwent a vast process of rehabilitation. The bell, although cast in a foundry in Arad about five centuries ago, found its place in the tower only in 1925. A total of 165 narrow stairs, some of which made of stone and some of wood, allow access to the steeple at the top of the tower, which reveals an unparalleled view of Baia Mare.