Thanks to its richness in minerals, its large pastures and
hay fields, forests and agriculture, its fauna and flora,
Maramures has been inhabited for many centuries.
Due to its remote position, the county of Maramures is also
rich in ethnographic and folk elements. Folk art is preserved
here in a very original form: houses, wooden gates, tools,
textures, pottery, unique churches made entirely from wood,
and specific customs. Because of their age and architecture,
8 of the wooden churches in Maramures are placed on the
UNESCO world heritage list.
Following the Mara valley, our first destination is the
tiny Orthodox church in
Desesti, built in 1770 in
the old cemetery and dedicated to the Holy Paraskeva. Due
to its traditional local architecture and its painted depictions
from the Bible, the church was listed on the UNESCO world
cultural and natural heritage. One of the most beautiful
villages in Maramures is
Budesti; the old village
church, built in 1643, holds a small collection of icons
painted on glass and wood; their prize piece being an 18th
century painting of the Last Judgment and also the coat
of mail of Pintea Viteazul, a famous outlaw who used to
take from the rich (Hungarian and Austrian nobility) and
give to the poor (Romanian peasants) and had his hiding
places in the forests on Mount Gutin.
Our
next destination will be
Sighetu Marmatei, the major
town of historical Maramures first documented in 1326, and
situated where the rivers of Tisa and Iza meet. Sighet (as
it is locally known) is home to different touristy sights,
but definitely the most important one is the town's former
maximum-security communist prison, open today as a museum,
named: "
The Memorial of the victims of communism
and of the resistance". After the Soviet conquest
of Romania, one of their main objectives was to destroy
the internal political structure. In order to do that, they
organized fake trials upon which the Romanian democratic
leaders were imprisoned. Between 1948 and 1952 approximately
180 members of Romania's academic and political elite were
imprisoned in Sighet. The museum, established in 1993, was
nominated by the Council of Europe in October 1998 as the
third most significant European memorial dedicated to victims
of attrocities, along with the Auschwitz Memorial and the
Normandy Peace Memorial. After visiting the prison we will
pass by the only remaining synagogue and Elie Wiesel's house.
The Jewish writer and Nobel peace prizewinner (1986), Elie
Wiesel was the one who coined the term "Holocaust";
he was born in Sighet and was later deported to the death
camps.
The
last tourist spot for the day will be
Sapinta village,
12 km north-west of Sighet, and just 4 km south of the Ukrainian
border. The local wooden sculpting technique and the strong
Orthodox beliefs are illustrated in the church cemetery,
better known as SAPINTA'S MERRY CEMETERY. It was the creation
of Ioan Stan Patras, a simple wood sculptor, who in 1935
started carving crosses to mark graves and to paint them
in blue, the traditional color of hope and freedom. Even
more interesting, he inscribed a witty epitaph to the deceased
on top of each cross, telling a different story about the
persons life or death. Sapinta's cemetery attracts thousands
of tourists yearly and is definitely one of the highlights
of Maramures. The colored crosses and humourous epitaphs
reveal the way those people lived and died. Since Patras'
death, Dumitru Pop, his apprentice, has continued the tradition.
Recently completed, and close to the Cemetry is the tallest
wooden church in the world. At 74 metres high, constructed
mostly from wood, the church in Sapinta will soon become
a tourist hotspot.
After a long day, we'll go for a traditional Romanian dinner
and stay overnight in a local guest house in the remote
village of
Poienile Izei or
Barsana.
The
next day, soon after the breakfast we will visit the local
wood church and monastery, a very popular pilgrimage spot
in Maramures. It was the last Orthodox monastery built in
the region before Serafim Petrovai (head of the Orthodox
church in Maramures) converted to Greco-Catholicism in 1711.
Due to its extraordinary position and architecture, the
church is listed on the UNESCO world heritage protected
areas.
Heading through the Iza valley we'll pass several villages
like Stramtura, Rozavlea, heading again to
Poienile Izei,
home to the most dramatic frescos of hell in the entire
area. The church here was built in 1604 and its interior
frescos date back to 1783. They depict hell, symbolized
by a ferocious bird waiting to swallow up the sinners.
The oldest wooden church in Maramures, dating from 1364
is in
Ieud, and is also named as "The Church
on the hill". Made out of fir wood, built on the castle
ruins, the church hosts extraordinary interior frescos,
that have recently been renovated. Ieud's second church,
Greek-Catholic was built in 1717. The church is unique in
this region as it has no porch. Located at the southern
end of the village, it houses one of the largest collections
of glass icons found in Maramures.
Nearby, there is an old traditional house, recently transformed
into a museum, where you might buy handy crafts and different
other folk stuff.
At the Southern tip of the valley is
Dragomiresti
village, first documented in 1405. A traditional art museum
dedicated to the countrywomen of Maramures has been unveiled.
Apart from seeing and buying hand crafts, you'll have the
opportunity to get dressed for photos in unique Maramures
costumes.
Before saying goodbye to Maramures, we'll have lunch in
a local farm house and soon after, we will head south to
Sacel along Salauta river valley.
We
highly recommend that this program be open to changes, considering
that Maramures has many local traditions, specific events
and festivals, country fairs, and religious celebrations.
Tour program:
Day 1: Cluj-Napoca – Baia Mare – Maramures region
– Poienile Izei
Day 2: Poienile Izei - Iza valley - Salauta valley - Cluj
Tour information:
- duration - 2 days;
- validity - thoughout the year;
- minimum people required - 2;
- transport - over 600 km by road.
Note: This schedule is flexible according to the departure
time, weather and road conditons, and your own suggestions!
The first and last days of the tour are also open to change
according to your wishes and travelling program.
PRICES :
- 153 euros / person for minimum 2 people;
- 102 euros / person for 3 people;
- 76 euros / person for 4 people;
- 58 euros / person for 5 people;
- 57 euros / person for 6 people;
- 55 euros / person for 7 people;
- 52 euros / person for 8 people;
- 61 - 39 euros / person for 9 - 14 people;
- 43 - 48 euros / person for 15 - 20 people;
- 46 - 32 euros / person for 21 - 31 people;
Prices includes:
- transfer and tour Cluj - Maramures - Cluj, by car, minibus
or bus;
- English, German, Italian or Hungarian speaking guides;
- snack and coffee, in the car;
Prices excludes:
- entrance tickets to places visited;
- all drinks and meals;
- accommodation;
- personal expenses;
For accommodation (a regular guest house in a country
side), all the meals and entrance tickets, you can consider
40 - 50 euros/person.
click here
for the tour photo gallery!!
