Places

The apsis from Şişeşti, which was once the altar of the church dedicated to "Saints Peter and Paul", was built of oak wood in 1675. The base of the edifice is surrounded by a twisted embossed belt, while wide consoles start from the centre of the walls. Above the twisted belt there are several wooden crosses. The interior walls still show traces of the original painting.

Erected in the middle of the 19th century, the apsis belonged to the wooden church "The Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel" in Cufoaia, of which only the polygonal altar, the stone of the Holy Table and the entrance door are preserved. Around the apsis, located on a hill in the central part of the village, there is an old cemetery, surrounded by fragments of a stone wall.

The Memorial Ensemble of the Martyrs in Moisei is a commemoration of the supreme sacrifice of our ancestors for the land. On the fateful date of October 14th, 1944, a number of 29 Romanians lost their lives in two wooden houses on the outskirts of Moisei, under the fire of the retreating Hungarian troops. The two homes of horror became memorial houses in 1983, paying homage to the memory of those who, in an attempt to reach their families, died innocently. Here you can see personal items and photos that belonged to the victims. The lifeless bodies of those who fell prey to the bullets were buried in a mass grave only two weeks after the tragic episode, above which was erected a wooden crucifix, which was later replaced by a memorial ensemble made by the famous sculptor from Maramureș, Vida Géza. The monument includes two human faces and ten traditional masks made of stone, each of which has a symbolism related to sacrifice and redemption, as well as the injustices and tragedies that occurred during the war.

The Butchers' Bastion is one of the seven bastions built about half a millennium ago, as part of the system of fortifications aimed at defending the medieval city of Baia Mare. Each such bastion was entrusted to a guild, and because the butchers 'guild was the most numerous and because this bastion guarded one of the most important entrance gates to the fortress, namely the southern one, it was called the Butchers' Bastion. This tower is also known as the Ammunition Bastion, as for a time, one of its rooms served as a place to store ammunition to protect the fortress from outside attacks. The death of the legendary outlaw Pintea Viteazul is also linked to the Butchers' Bastion. Thus, during the anti-Habsburg uprising of 1703, he was shot right next to the city's Southern Gate. Over time, the tower would undergo several restoration processes, being rebuilt in 2009-2011, as part of an extensive project. Today, the Bastion is on the list of historical monuments of national value and hosts exhibitions and fairs with ethnographic and folklore themes, immersing visitors into the troubled past of this old medieval city.

The Orthodox Church dedicated to "The Assumption of the Virgin Mary" was erected in Baroque-style in 1793, a date that gives the historical monument the status of the oldest place of worship in the city of Baia Sprie. The spacious nave, the semicircular altar and the bell tower with the bulb-shaped coif are some of the elements that make the beautiful church stand out. The interior of the holy edifice surprises through the painting of the vault, which is still partially visible, the vividly ornamented iconostasis and the paintings on the pillars of the holy doors.  *Photo credit: CJCPCT „Liviu Borlan” Maramureș

The "Assumption of the Virgin Mary” church in Copalnic was erected in 1735, with a stone foundation, stone masonry and a wooden superstructure. The medium-sized place of worship has a specific layout, respectively narthex, nave and altar. Over time, the church has undergone several stages of restoration, the most recent taking place between 2011 and 2012. *Photo credit: CJCPCT „Liviu Borlan” Maramureș

The church "Pious Paraschiva" in Cetățele was erected in 1794, being built of stone, with a wooden frame and asbestos roof. Although it has undergone numerous repairs, the church has preserved its layout, namely a porch, narthex, nave and altar. The church shelters extremely valuable icons made in 1754 and 1785, one of them being attributed to the famous painter Ștefan Zugravul.  *Photo credit: CJCPCT „Liviu Borlan” Maramureș

Made in 1672 from fir wood on a stone foundation, the church is a small one, with an open porch, a narthex over which rises the tower, nave and altar. From the original painting of the interior walls, but also from the one that replaced it, made in 1871, only fragments are preserved today. The uniqueness of the edifice is given by the shape of the altar, the church being the only one in our county that has a polygonal altar, with six outer sides.

The wooden church "Assumption of the Virgin Mary" from Călinești Susani was erected in 1758, unusual among the wooden churches of Maramureș, its forms rather revealing Moldavian influences. The interior still preserves some fragments of the murals made in 1788. 

Erected in 1757 as a modest building, the wooden church "Assumption of the Virgin Mary" was moved about 100 years later to its current location. Here, as the population of the village grew, it was necessary to expand the church by adding a porch, steel-lattice and a turret. Also, the nave was enlarged and the altar was rebuilt. The changes made turned the church layout into an atypical one, as it no longer had a detached apsis. 

The wooden church "Assumption of the Virgin Mary" from Lăpuş dates back from1697, being built of ash wood on a stone foundation. The edifice was erected on a ship-type layout, with a turret with a conical spire. On the outside, the church has decorations on the walls and on the entrance portal, the predominant motifs being the honeycomb and the cenotaph crosses. Some fragments from the original painting can still be seen on the walls of the narthex and the nave.

According to a local legend, the wooden church dedicated to the "Assumption of the Virgin Mary" in Săcălășeni dates from 1442, being rebuilt in the 17th century. However, dendrochronological studies revealed that it was erected on the current site between 1723 and 1725. The edifice surprises by its impressive proportions, but also by the thickness of the beams and the very high bell tower. Inside, visitors can admire murals made in 1865. However, they are in an advanced state of degradation. *Photo credit: CJCPCT „Liviu Borlan” Maramureș, Florin Pop

The wooden church dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary from Șieu dates from around 1717-1720, but it underwent several restoration stages in the middle of the 18th century, in the first half of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th  century. Some elements from the original construction have been preserved: the structure of the walls at the bottom, the old altarpieces, the openings in the interior consoles, fragments of a shutter window, the entrance to the porch and narthex, but also some old royal icons.

Along the Iza Valley, the road that accompanies the Botiza and Poieni streams leads to the village of Poienile Izei, where the impressive wooden church "Pious Parascheva" is located. Built in the first half of the 17th century - a period when the Moldavian voivode Vasile Lupu brought the relics of the Pious Parascheva to Iaşi - the church is a testament, over the years, of the cultural and religious ties between the Romanians from Maramureş region and the Moldavians. The accurate shapes of the monument, along with the decorative elements obtained through the artistic direction of the wooden structure, impress and create harmony with the surrounding nature. The building observes the traditional configuration, with a narthex, nave and altar, to which a porch was later added. Unlike other preserved monuments, the shape of the altar is reminiscent of the ancient square-altared churches, an architectural solution rarely found today. The double-guttered roof is laid over the two-tiered walls. The altar has its own roof, laid slightly lower than that of other buildings. The bell tower is provided with the customary turret protruding from the console, covered with the specific coif. Sharp and very flared, it rests on the eight short pillars, connected at the top by carved wooden arches, and at the bottom - by the shingle-covered battlement. The iconography of the place of worship in Poienile Izei immortalizes the folk art of the Maramureș villages from the end of the 18th century. Traditional reminiscences, post-Byzantine themes and a baroque approach merge here in what has been called an "eclectic style". Painted in 1794 by the painter Gheorghe from Dragomireşti, the church stands out with some special thematic features. In addition to the dramatic scenes depicting the torments of sinners in Hell, a unique symbolic representation of Christ's sacrifice is painted in the nave. It is a pelican that tears its breast to feed its young with its own flesh; a tragic metaphor that speaks of the sacrifice of Christ and of the sacrifices of the natives of these places. These elements make this place of worship in Poienile Izei unique, but at the same time they do not exclude it from the style of the other wooden churches in Maramureş which are UNESCO monuments, therefore it certainly deserves its place among them. *Photo credit: CJCPCT „Liviu Borlan” Maramureș, Rada Pavel 

Erected in 1699 in Vişeul de Jos, the "Pious Paraschiva" wooden church was offered to the people living in Botiza in 1899. The building is a good example of a classic Maramureș church, the roof having a double skirt. Also, the door frame at the entrance is decorated similar to the Maramureș gates, while the rope carved in wood surrounds the church.

Erected in 1928 from beech beams, the church "Pious Paraschiva" from Izvoarele is part of the classic category of churches with porch, narthex, nave and pentagonal altar. The exterior walls are covered with horizontally arranged paneling, while the interior walls are covered with plywood icons. The iconostasis of the edifice was brought from an old wooden church in Făurești. *Photo credit: CJCPCT „Liviu Borlan” Maramureș

With uncertain chronological belonging, which places it either in the 17th or in the 18th century, the wooden church "Pious Paraschiva" was moved from Suciu de Jos to the village of Rogoz, in 1883. The place of worship surprises with the proportions of the shingled turret, its coif being placed on eight truncated cone pillars. Inside, the painting was preserved in the narthex and on the steel-lattice, but it has degraded in the altar. *Photo credit: CJCPCT „Liviu Borlan” Maramureș

Made of oak wood around 1639, the "Pios Paraschiva" wooden church from Sârbi Susani reveals through the shape of the roof and the passage to the sacred part, some of the most archaic features found in the Romanian sacred wooden architecture. The entrance portal, which is believed to evoke a Byzantine calendar, has survived, offering invaluable value to the church.  *Photo credit: CJCPCT „Liviu Borlan” Maramureș, Rada Pavel

The "Pious Paraschiva" wooden church in the village of Șugatag was built of oak wood and dates from 1698-1699. The proportions of the ensemble, the double-skirted roof above the narthex and nave and with single eaves above the altar, the tower with the turret protruding from the basic profile and an elongated coif with eight sides are just a few elements that include this place of worship in the typology of Maramureș wooden churches. The exterior walls are decorated with the motif of the rope, while inside only fragments of the painting that adorns the walls can still be seen.

The wooden church "Pious Paraschiva" in Stejera was erected in 1700 and is a small place of worship with a 13 m high turret and a porch with a front arch, which rests on three of the four original pillars. Inside, the walls are decorated with paintings made in 1843, which were reconstructed in 1848. Today, only a few scenes from the composition of that time can still be admired. *Photo credit: CJCPCT „Liviu Borlan” Maramureș

Built of oak wood in the 17th century, the "Pious Paraschiva" wooden church from Valea Stejarului is, due to its proportions, a classic Maramureș church. Inside, the paintings specific to Byzantine iconography, made on canvas, are preserved only in a small part. However, inside the building there are several valuable objects, such as: icons, ritual books, the triptych or the medallions on the royal doors. Photo credit: CJCPCT „Liviu Borlan” Maramureș, Rada Pavel

Dintr-un muzeu care redă viața satului maramureșean, nu putea lipsi simbolul credinței strămoșești. Așadar, vizitatorii se pot reculege într-o biserică de lemn, ridicată în anul 1630 și adusă aici din satul Chechiș, în 1939. Fiind o biserică "în cult", aici se săvârșesc slujbe religioase în fiecare duminică și în zilele de sărbătoare. Biserica poartă hramul Sfântului Mare Mucenic Gheorghe Purtător de Biruință și adăpostește icoane pe lemn din secolul 18, precum și icoane pe sticlă din secolul 19. Odată cu prăznuirea acestui sfânt, Muzeul Satului Baia Mare își deschide porțile pentru vizitatori. Această biserică a fost inclusă de către Centrul Județean pentru Conservarea și Promovarea Culturii Tradiționale "Liviu Borlan" Maramureș în proiectul său Biserici din Țara Chioarului.TururiVirtuale. Troița de lângă biserică a fost sfințită în 2019 și este decorată cu motive tradiționale specifice Maramureșului: funia, copacul vieții, simboluri astrale.

The oldest building that enriches the patrimony of the Maramureș Village Museum is the church, relocated here from Oncești, where it had been brought from the village of Criciova, on the right bank of the Tisza River. The archaic features of the building are highlighted by small windows, the joined two-level structure and the presence of a royal and a deacon's door. The 16th century wall paintings were restored in 1802.

The church dedicated to the "Ascension of the Lord" was built of wood, in 1992, according to the architectural specifics of the Maramureș churches. The cross-shaped place of worship has a narthex, nave and altar, being covered with shingles and having a tower with a long coif on top. Inside, the magnificent edifice houses an iconostasis carved in oak and adorned with Byzantine icons.

The Ukrainian wooden church "Ascension of the Lord" in Poienile de sub Munte dates from around 1788-1798. Its architecture combines two styles, that of Maramureș and one with Ruthenian influence: the bell-shaped roof, but also the wide row of eaves. At the same time, the church also surprises with its positioning, as it is located on a straight piece of land, in the middle of an open courtyard.