Barsana Church and Desesti Church

Barsana Church

With a height of 57 metres, the Barsana church is one of the tallest wooden churches in Romania and is located in Barsana village, Maramures County. The church is protected as a piece of world heritage by UNESCO.

Due to the wooden church known as "The Entrance of the Mother of God into the Church," the Barsana church, the folk costumes, the carved gates in the Maramuresean style, and last but not least, the local cuisine, Barsana village is now one of the most popular pilgrimage and tourist destinations in the nation and abroad.

This wooden church was built in 1720. The interior of the church is decorated with some of the finest examples of baroque indoor paintings, with numerous scenarios from the Apocalypse or the Last Judgement painted on the walls.

Documents from the year 1326 contain references to this church. The church was relocated to the nearby Jbar Hill in 1806 despite having been finished in 1720. Nowadays, it is found here.

In accordance with a legend, plague victims were buried on this hill in the midst of chaos and without the required religious rites.Therefore, people decided to relocate the church on the burial grounds in order to lift the spirits.

Maramures's historic timber structures are distinctive, and they appear much more magnificent in a religious atmosphere. Beautiful churches, towers, and even the quarters for the nuns have been built in the same design.

Desesti Church

Desesti's wooden church from Desesti village, Maramures County was built in 1770.

The post-Byzantine mural painting that has been kept well makes the Church distinguish remarkable.

The inside of the church is divided according to traditional Orthodox practise, with a narthex, a nave, and an altar set apart from the rest by an iconostas. The church is larger within than most other wooden churches attributed to its distinctively steep rooftop with two eaves. 

The Old and New Testaments are depicted in the nave paintings.With the dramatic purpose of getting everyone to reflect on how their actions are assisting them or hindering them in the afterlife, the paintings in the narthex depict hell and heaven. The origin of the other paintings dates the 18th century.

Even if you will be charmed by the traditionalism of the surroundings, in order to get the maximum enjoyment out of seeing the wooden churches in Maramures, you must enjoy old churches and old frescoes.