Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The village of
Deseşti
is a few kilometres southwest of Giuleşti on the road to Baia
Mare. Its tiny Orthodox church, built in 1770, was struck by lightning in 1925, destroying
much of the outer walls and the steeple. Its interior paintings, by Radu Munteanu, date
from 1780 and feature Sodom and Gomorrah.
Close to the church is an oak tree, hundreds of years old and measuring about 4.5m in
diameter. It has been preserved as a monument to the extensive oak forest that once
covered the area before people felled the trees to build their homes.
Mara
, just a couple of kilometres south of Deseşti, is known for its elaborate wooden
porch fences. These porches are a unique architectural feature of the Maramureş region. In
more recent times, the spiritual importance of these outside porches has been overridden
by the social status attached to them.
WOODEN MARAMUREŞ: CHURCHES &
GATEWAYS
Dating back to the 14th century when Orthodox Romanians were forbidden by their Hungarian rulers to build
churches in stone, the carpenters of Maramureş used wood to express their people's spirituality. Of the eight
Unesco-listed churches you can see today, all were built in the 18th and 19th centuries after the Tartar invasions
finished in 1717. These churches' weatherbeaten exteriors have taken on an eerie, blackened hue, their gothic
spires rising austerely to narrow pinpricks. However, inside you'll find them vibrant and cosy, with packed con-
gregations of fervently religious villagers, and walls painted in naïve biblical frescoes and representations of rural
traditonal life. These Orthodox churches are divided into the ante-nave, nave and altar, with towers rising up to
50m above.
Traditionally, homes of the Mara, Cosău and Izei Valleys used oak, while in Bârsana pine was used, and this is
still the case. Roofs are tall and steep, many finished in shingle tiles that look like fish scales, while the oldest are
covered in thatch.
Immense carved wooden gates fronting homes are common now, often used to illustrate the social status and
wealth of the inhabitants, yet originally they were built only by royal landowners to guard against evil. The gates
were the symbolic barrier between the safe interior and the unknown outside world, and people placed money, in-
cense and holy water under them for further protection against dark forces. Gate carvings include the Tree of Life,
the snake (guardian against evil), birds (symbols of the human soul) and a face (to protect from spirits).
SAT-ŞUGATAG & AROUND
Seven kilometres south of Giuleşti is
Sat-Şugatag
, home to a church dating from 1642.
The church is famed for its fine, ornately carved wooden gate. Sat-Şugatag was first docu-
mented in 1360 as the property of Dragoş of Giuleşti, a voivode and probably Moldavia's
first ruler.
