The Civilization of Wood in Romania
The people of Maramures have always been faithful to wood, to which they gave the most diverse forms
Daniel Onea, 28.11.2024, 13:51
The people of Maramures have always been faithful to wood, to which they gave the most diverse forms, from the bowl they ate from, to the roof over their heads, and the churches in which they worshiped. And tourists always stop and marvel at the beauty of the old houses, gates and churches. These can be seen by accessing a dedicated cultural-tourist route, “Wood Civilization in Romania”, about which we learn from Edit Pop, the manager of the Eco Maramures ecotourism destination.
“The vast forests of historical Maramures provided raw material for human settlements, from which both houses and annexes were built, as well as the carved Maramures gates and the woven fence. This is how the story of the wood civilization was born, which continues today in Maramures, but, of course, on a different scale. From a tourist perspective, the wooden churches from the 16th to the 18th century, which are historical monuments and of which we have one in each village in the Eco Maramures destination, are the ones that attract culture lovers the most today. The “Wood Civilization” route was born in 2021 as a tool for promoting cultural tourism. We proposed a route in the Eco Maramures destination in another show, but this route, the following month, after its certification, was included in a much larger cultural route, the wood civilization in Romania, along with the wood civilization in Bucovina and the “Dowry Box” of Neamț County.”
Getting to know Maramures starts right from the authentic village, where tourists can discover the traditions, but also the culinary part, which is ancestral, with recipes from elders. It is also from there, more precisely from the Eco Maramures ecotourism destination, that the “Wood Civilization in Romania” route also begins.
“This route follows a route through the most representative villages and with the most representative wooden objects in our destination. Our route starts from Budești, but can be done as a circuit and can be started from any of the other villages. In the commune of Budești, we propose to visit the wooden churches of Josani, which is a UNESCO monument, and the one in Susan, which is a historical monument. Then, the route continues to the village of Vecini, in the commune of Sârbi, where tourists can visit the traditional technique installations that are also built of wood. These installations are powered by the water of the Cosău River and still serve the needs of the village today. We will find there the whirlpool in which heavy woolen fabrics are washed, the mill with a horizontal wheel for grinding cereals, the pounding crucible used for hardening woolen fabrics, and the installations that produce the drink so famous in Maramureș, the horinca. Without these folk technique installations, the traditional winter costume of Maramures practically could not continue. In the villages, when tourists arrive in Eco Maramures, they will see many people dressed in the traditional winter costume woven from wool.”
The Maramures village of Breb, also included in our route, was selected in November in the “Upgrade” Program of the “Best Tourism Villages 2024” competition. The program, run by the World Tourism Organization, represents a global effort to highlight the villages of the world where tourism is a tool for preserving cultural heritage, celebrating diversity and protecting biodiversity. The village of Breb is famous for its traditional wooden houses, some of them hundreds of years old. Here you can see hand-carved Maramures gates, wicker fences, pointed shingle roofs and a remarkable attention to detail, all in the traditional Maramures style. Our journey continues, together with Edit Pop, the manager of the Eco Maramures ecotourism destination.
“Next is the commune of Călinești, with two other wooden churches, the church in Căeni and the church in Susani, after which we go to the famous Breb, the village that built its fame on tradition and culture. Here we can visit the old church and many traditional wooden peasant households. We will see many houses here. In addition, we can also visit the craftsmen, those who make the tradition and culture of wood continue. There are many craftsmen even today in the villages of Eco Maramures. Then, the last destination, the last locality, Desești, where we visit the UNESCO monument church.”
For detailed information about the objectives of this route, Edit Pop, the manager of the Eco Maramures ecotourism destination, recommends accessing the ecomaramures.com website.
“We have a very tasteful website, with a lot of information. The Eco Maramures destination has a lot of cultural objectives to offer. All the information is available there and, when tourists plan their vacation, it is good to allocate a little more time. This cultural route, which we talked about, can be covered in a very short time, in eight hours. However, I would recommend allocating time for a more leisurely visit, over several days, because the destination really has something to tell.”
So, a vacation in Maramures is, in fact, a continuous and complex journey. More and more tourists have learned about this unique experience.
“There are more and more foreign tourists who come here, more recently, after the pandemic. We had a pretty tough time in terms of arrivals, but now things are settling down. There are even more foreign tourists than in 2019. They are fascinated, they are simply captivated by this village life, because the villages in Eco-Maramureș are not ready for artificial tourism. There, life goes on at its own pace, people take care of their animals, take care of their households, and the tourists, when they step into these villages and walk through them on foot, in a slower way, provides a feeling of integration. They find something that outside of Romania and outside of rural areas has long been lost. So, there is that authentic, true atmosphere that they live and rediscover.”
The Eco Maramureș destination has been certified since 2014, and is part of a network of ecotourism destinations at a national level. Since its founding, the emphasis has been on transforming ecological tourism into a local development engine for communities. The goal is for each villager to find their own place, where their family can thrive and basically bring new value and experiences that tourists can experience in Romania.
