Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights & Activities
Follow the main road south from Baia Mare towards Cluj-Napoca for 14km to Satulung.
Three kilometres south of Satulung, take the unmarked turn-off on the left, opposite
Cabana Stejarul, to Finteuşu Mare and continue for 5km until you reach the village of
Posta
. A small wooden church dating from 1675 sits at the top of the hill.
Nine kilometres south of Şomcuţa Mare lies
Valea Chioarului
, the southernmost vil-
lage in Ţara Chioarului. Its delightful tall church stands next to the bus stop in the centre
of the village. Beside the church is a bust of Hungarian hero Mihai Viteazul (1994).
From Şomcuţa Mare, a minor road winds its way to
Remetea Chioarului
, 12km north-
east. Its tiny church, dating from 1800, is the highlight of Ţara Chioarului. It stands
majestically beside the village's extraordinarily ugly, seven-spired modern church (1996).
Săcălăşeni
, 7km further north, has a small church built in 1442, but sadly a modern
church dominates the village.
FESTIVITIES & CULTURE
Outside of carefree,
horincă
-swilling wintertime, the most noteworthy celebration in Maramureş is the
Hora de
la Prislop
folk-music festival, held annually on the second Sunday in August.
Additionally there is
Tânjaua de pe Mara
, a celebration of peasant work held in May in the villages of Hăr-
niceşti, Hoteni and Sat-Şugatag. Revellers, young and old, are 'watered' in the river for purification, before retir-
ing to a feast and party. Tourists are welcome. Other notable festivals include
Sanzienele
(St John's Day/Midsum-
mer Day), in the third week of June, which revolves around rejoicing in the regenerative power of nature, and
St
Maria's Pilgrimage
in Moisei on 15 August.
The
Winter Festival
(27 December) is the undisputed high point of the year, featuring food, music, masks, a
parade of colourful peasant costumes and oxen carrying baked cakes between their horns!
Sighetu Marmaţiei
POP 44,200
Sleepy 'Sighet' (its shortened nickname) has a few sights for a morning's browsing, a
pretty square edged by a church, and the Ukrainian border crossing just a few minutes
away; but your real reason for being in Maramureş is its rural charm, so you needn't
linger long. For centuries Sighet formed a cultural and geographic border between Slav-
