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Maramures Mountains, RomaniaWooden Churches, Traditional Agriculture and Beautiful SceneryThe Maramures mountains in northern Romania offer a unique vacation, magical wooden churches, and traditional agriculture largely unchanged since the Middle Ages.
The Maramures Mountains offer genuine hospitality (accompanied by home made plum brandy!) fabulous scenery and traditional churches built from nothing but wood and community spirit. The mountains are green, often covered in forest, and very picturesque; a wonderful peaceful haven a long way from the preoccupations of everyday life. The region has remained essentially unchanged for centuries; you travel back in time to a land of hand-built haystacks, simple wooden houses and folk traditions that are very much a part of everyday life. The local architecture is perfectly integrated into the landscape, and all agriculture is “organic and local” through simple necessity – the region is still remote and difficult to reach even today. Farmers cut hay with fearsome looking scythes and great skill while their wives rake it into stacks; great rows of beans grow for use dried in the winter, and the nearby pig will no doubt be salted and smoked for the winter too. Every village has its wooden church, built entirely of wood down to wooden roof shingles. Many are centuries old and still central to the local community; however wooden church building is a living tradition. If a village loses its church due to a fire, or in one case the former communist government simply took a church away for a museum in Bucharest, a neighbouring village will build them a new church. They are delightful buildings, with a tall wooden steeple and decorated inside with traditional hand woven cloth embroidered with the simple local traditional designs. It is not unusual to be invited in to share plum brandy and roasted aubergines by a friendly family because you happen to be walking by; genuine hospitality is second nature in the Maramures. There is no better way to end a day of hiking in the mountains! And if you don’t happen to share a language? Well, there is always animated sign language and enthusiastic curiosity! There are no starred hotels in the Maramures; accommodation is often basic, but always welcoming. You will probably share a bathroom with other guests or the host family, but the water will be hot thanks to simple wood fired boilers. The food is generally simple, and sometimes excellent, such as green beans cooked in the pod with tomato, onion and smoked pork. To reach the Maramures from Bucharest, you travel through Transylvania, although the region is in fact closer to Budapest for international travellers. A James Bond-style first class sleeper cabin for two on the state owned railways costs under 100 euros one-way Bucharest-Viseu de Sus, or why not spend a day or two in the fascinating cities of Brasov and Sighisoara en route to the tranquillity of the mountains?
The copyright of the article Maramures Mountains, Romania in Romania Travel is owned by Joanne E. Brannan. Permission to republish Maramures Mountains, Romania in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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