Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Maramureş
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Why Go?
Widely regarded as Romania's most traditional region, scattered with gothically steepled
wooden churches and villagers' homes fronted by ornately carved gates, Maramureş feels
as if you are climbing into a horse-drawn time machine and heading back 100 years. Smal-
ler in scale and softer in contour than neighboring Transylvania, Maramureş' tapestry of
pastureland, peopled by colourfully garbed crone-faced peasants, jumps straight from a
Brothers Grimm story. Welcome to the heart of folkloric, medieval Romania where the last
peasant culture in Europe continues to thrive. But don't wait forever to visit: even here the
21st century is making inroads.
Medieval Maramureş exists in the Mara and Izei Valleys. Eight of its churches, in the
villages of Bârsana, Budeşti, Deseşti, Ieud, Plopiş, Poienile Izei, Rogoz and Surdeşti, are
on Unesco's list of World Heritage Sites.
