Maramures

Maramures Information

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Saturday 9.00am - 4.30pm

Maramures holidays

“A biblical landscape”, “a land that time forgot” and “a step back in time to a medieval rural life”. These are expressions that conjure up a land which no-one who visits will ever forget. When you visit many of the villages in Maramures you are going back at least 200 years!

Maramures is somewhere very special, the very heart of Romania, with ancient traditions and superstitions spanning centuries – and with the church a very powerful influence. The peasant culture still exists here with traditional music, colourful festivals and traffic jams of horse drawn carts.

Wood is the main material in Maramures and the area is famous for its exquisite wooden churches which, when viewed at a distance, seemingly made out of matchsticks. Maramures was never conquered by the Romans but was under Hungarian administration as part of Transylvania and the people here have a different spirit. Separated from Transylvania by impenetrable mountains, the communists never imposed their collectivism in this region as it was hilly, mountainous and composed of many small-holdings. 28% to 30% of Maramures is dense forest. Many houses in Maramures have wonderfully carved immense wooden gates. The more elaborate the carving the higher the status of the inhabitants and there are many beautifully constructed and carved wooden houses to be seen in the villages.

Holidays In Maramures

In the middle-ages, the minority Hungarian Catholics, who ruled the area, were only prepared to allow the Romanian Orthodox to build wooden churches so that these would not last through the centuries and draw attention to the orthodox religion. However, these were so skilfully built that there are many to be seen dating from the 13th century onwards. The churches in the villages of Budesti, Desesti, Surdesti, Ieud, Barsana, Plopis, Poienile Izei and Rogoz are all UNESCO World Heritage sites. The wooden churches are built of oak and spruce on a stone base. They are decorated with both Christian and pre-Christian pagan symbols.

The main town in northern Maramures is Baia Mare. It is an industrial town but is the gateway to an area composed of the Mara and Izei valleys which are truly medieval. As collectivism and the 20th century never touched this area it remained wealthier than other areas of Romania and much of the money earned is still given to the church. At Botiza village the priest insists that every Sunday everyone wears their traditional costume and, in fact, the wearing of the national costume is very much in evidence. Horse and carts abound and the whole area is very keen to preserve its traditional way of life, family values and traditional culture. These villages do not have shops but small provision stores. Many people who live here are self-sufficient. One farm will have sheep and poultry, another will have cows and water-buffalo and the barter system still works.

Folk music is of paramount importance to the life and culture of Maramures and, when mixed with the local gypsy rhythms, this creates a heady blend. Accommodation in Maramures is offered in homes and farms because there are no hotels in the villages but this adds to the overall unique experience.

Maramures lends itself to a walking holiday with accommodation in the villages. This is the only way to truly savour this wonderful, atmospheric and very friendly area.