Magic Maramures

DAY 1

Bucuresti – Ocna Sugatag

Depart from Bucharest and head towards Ocna Sugatag, Maramures.

The Rupea Fortress is one of the oldest archaeological remains on the territory of Romania, the first signs of human settlements dating back to the Paleolithic and early Neolithic.

The first documentary attestation dates from 1324 when the Saxons revolted against King Carol Robert of Hungary took refuge inside the fortress, Castrum Kuholm. The name of Kuholom refers to the rock on which it was built: basalt. Documents from the 15th century mention the fortress as an important trade and craft center with 12 guilds.

Overnight in Ocna Sugatag.

DAY 2

Ocna Sugatag –Sighetu Marmatiei – Sapanta – Ocna Sugatag

After breakfast, head for a visit at Memorial Sighet (Memorialul Victimelor Comunismului si Rezistentei)

The Academia Civică Foundation took over the ruins of the former prison in 1993, in order to transform it into a museum.

The former prison is today the setting for what happened during communism in Romania and in the other countries of Central and Eastern Europe. In each of her cells, transformed into a museum room, one finds a thematic or chronological detail of the political malformation that brought suffering and death – inside or outside prison walls – throughout the European 20th century.

Leaving Sighetul Marmatiei, we head towards Sapanta.

The first stop in Sapanta will be at Sapanta-Peri, the tallest wooden church in the world.

With a maximum height of 78 m, the church of the Săpânța-Peri monastery is currently ranked 3rd among the places of worship in Romania, after the Orthodox cathedral in Timișoara and the Roman Catholic church of St. Michael in Cluj, and before other imposing wall buildings, such as the evangelical churches in Bistrița or Sibiu.

The famous cemetery in Săpânta is located in the center of the commune, at the parish church, and has over eight hundred folk art monuments, a real and complex open-air museum. Here the monuments have very special appearances and meanings.

The Cheerful Cemetery is the life work of the renowned sculptor, painter and popular poet Ion Stan Pătraș, continued by his students.

The specificity of this cemetery lies in its unusual monuments in other cemeteries. These are crosses carved in oak wood, painted and versified by inlay. All crosses are painted in a certain blue color.

Overnight in Ocna Sugatag.

DAY 3

Ocna Sugatag – Viseu de Sus – Barsana – Ocna Sugatag

Today it takes us to the Vaser Valley, where we will take a ride on the mocanita.

Vişeu de Sus CFF train station, the place where “Mocăniţa” starts from Valea Vaserului. The C.F.F. station was built to monitor the activity of transporting wood material on the narrow-gauge railway from the town of Vişeu de Sus. It was built in the premises of the Valea Râului – Vişeu de Sus sawmill, put into use in 1930. The offices of the C.F.F. staff function in this building. which served the forestry railway. In 1931, the first section of the normal railway line, installed also for the narrow line, was put into use, which connected the timber factory to the C.F.R. railway station. from Viseu de Sus. The festive inauguration of this first section took place in December 1931.

Returning from the trip by steam train, we are heading to the town of Barsana.

The church is in the historical Maramureș, on the Iza valley. The old wooden church was built in 1711 in the place called “Părul Călugărului” by the noble priest Ioan Ștefanca, together with his sons and other villagers, to thank God for protection during the great plague of the previous year. The church was moved to Valea Izei around 1739 on the site of a cemetery that appeared after the fight with the Tatars in 1717.

The monastic complex was built of wood, according to local tradition, under the direction of the architect Cordoș Dorel. It is composed of: the specific Maramuresi gate, the bell tower, the church (with a height of 57 m), the summer altar, the monks’ cells, the chapel (built on several levels), the foremen’s house and the artists’ house (workshop).

On the way to the accommodation, we stop in the village of Sarbi to see a traditional washing machine (valtoare).

Overnight in Ocna Sugatag.

DAY 4

Ocna Sugatag – Bucuresti

On the way to Bucharest, we will make a stop in Sighisoara for a short visit.

This medieval fortress, still inhabited, was built in several stages between the 14th and 17th centuries. It appears as a nucleus of massive houses painted in different colors and placed on small streets, surrounded by the defense wall, 7 km long and 14 towers.

Between 1431 and 1435, Vlad the Impaler stayed in Sighisoara, waiting for the right moment to ascend the throne of Wallachia. At the same time, he ruled these regions in the name of Sigismund of Luxemburg, the king of Hungary. It seems that during this period (in 1431) Vlad Țepeș was born in Sighisoara.

Arrive in Bucuresti.