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inhabitants of Maramures consider themselves descendants of the Dacian tribes
which inhabited the area beginning around 1000 B.C. The Roman emperor Trajan,
conquered the region that is now Romania in 106 A.D., but the Romans never crossed
the range of mountains which protected the Maramures villages. Because of this,
their culture remains free of Roman influence. | 
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Churches here are traditionally made from fir wood
, and their very form , what is sometimes called " Romanian gothic"
, resembles that of the fir tree.Villages here are famed for their spectacular
churches .In the churches, the men occupy the the pews or stand in front of the
altar with the young girls in front of them, often around the altar. Young boys
fill the balcony while the women, and girls over fifteen years of age, sit or
stand in the narthex. Older women sit outside on the benches attached to the walls
of the church. In many villages, divorce or abortion has never been known.
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The
Wooden Church of Barsana steeple at 56 meters. |
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| Maramures is an area where the tradition is
preserved like in an open-air museum. The remarkable peasant architecture, with
the famous 400 ft tall wooden churches built with no metal nails, the traditional
sculpted gates a unique place in Europe, is a charming destination. |  |
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| The Maramures villages with their extraordinary yard gates
in every street, seem to be original sculpture exhibitions. |  |
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| An
support of human existance in Maramures over the centuries was and still is the
fir tree , which cannot be denied the tltle of king of the forest . Planks of
fir wood meet all the needs of life , from the cradle to the coffin. It is ever
present ,in and around the house . Its symmetrical grain contributes to the beauty
of objects . |  |
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In
Sapanta, the traveller receives one of the most beautiful lessons of life, from
the people here. Their ancestors considered death as a beginning, and not the
end. This faith is still present today.
"The merry cemetery" here
is proof of this faith. People welcome death more with joy, rather than sorrow.
So the inscriptions of the dead person's life, with satirical verses, describing
the main events of their life. |  |
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Note: For
tourists who have spent 3 days in our guest rooms in Starchiojd, we will, upon
request, make reservations for them at lodging accommodations at friends who have
guest houses in these regions. |
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