Budesti josani: Biserica de lemn "Sf Nicolae" (1643, UNESCO)
The wooden church in Budeşti Josani is a Maramureş wooden church dated 1643, which is considered a "magnificent" construction for its time and long afterwards. It has a rectangular plan, with a polygonal apse cracked. Wall paintings date back to 1762. The church was included on UNESCO's World Heritage List in December 1999.
The church was in possession of the Romanian Orthodox Church since 1948. Then the locality was successfully claimed by the Romanian Church united with Rome after 1989.
An ancient settlement, founded before 1361, the village of Budesti lies at the foot of the Gutâi Mountains, on the valley of the Cosau River, near the springs, about 30 km south of Sighet. It was mentioned for the first time in a diploma by King Louis of the same year, 1361.
The wooden church of Josani, dedicated to St. Nicholas, is built on a small hill, dominating the central area of the village. Built by the village community in the first half of the 17th century (the tradition dates back to 1643), the edifice is imposing by monumentality and artistic value, being the largest wooden church in historical Maramures.
Of considerable size (18 m long, 8 m wide, 26 m high), the Josani church has three traditional rooms, namely the polygonal apse of the altar, the nave and the narthex. The space reserved for the altar is covered with a semicircle (element taken from the wall architecture and transposed into wood), the nave has a semi cylindrical vault, raised on the consoles, and the narthex supports the bell tower on the massive beams of the ceiling.
The three chambers of the church have a unique shingle roof with fast slopes with a double eaves around them, which have a particularly important role in protecting the walls from moisture. Above the narthex, the bell tower rises sharply, having in the upper part, beneath the pointed helmet, a turret with three arcades on each side. The corners of the tower are framed by four small turrets, a unique element in the historical architecture of Maramures.
The interior painting and many of the many icons in the church date back to 1762, realised by Alexander Ponehalschi who was a remarkable artistic personality in the 18th century Maramures, being stylistically attached, from the point of view of the iconographic program, to the post-Byzantine tradition. We also owe to the same painter the fragments kept in the nave and the narthex.
However, the painting of the apse of the altar, dating back to 1812, belongs to Ianos Opris, who signs this baroque mural ensemble, along with the icon "Coronation of Mary" on the altar table. A large number of icons are also kept in the church on wood dating back to the 19th century, XVII-XVIII, and it seems even older, as well as a valuable collection of icons on glass.
Among the most interesting icons is that of St. John the Baptist belonging to a church raised before the 15th century.
Budesti josani: Biserica de lemn "Sf Nicolae" (1643, UNESCO)
The wooden church in Budeşti Josani is a Maramureş wooden church dated 1643, which is considered a "magnificent" construction for its time and long afterwards. It has a rectangular plan, with a polygonal apse cracked. Wall paintings date back to 1762. The church was included on UNESCO's World Heritage List in December 1999.
The church was in possession of the Romanian Orthodox Church since 1948. Then the locality was successfully claimed by the Romanian Church united with Rome after 1989.
An ancient settlement, founded before 1361, the village of Budesti lies at the foot of the Gutâi Mountains, on the valley of the Cosau River, near the springs, about 30 km south of Sighet. It was mentioned for the first time in a diploma by King Louis of the same year, 1361.
The wooden church of Josani, dedicated to St. Nicholas, is built on a small hill, dominating the central area of the village. Built by the village community in the first half of the 17th century (the tradition dates back to 1643), the edifice is imposing by monumentality and artistic value, being the largest wooden church in historical Maramures.
Of considerable size (18 m long, 8 m wide, 26 m high), the Josani church has three traditional rooms, namely the polygonal apse of the altar, the nave and the narthex. The space reserved for the altar is covered with a semicircle (element taken from the wall architecture and transposed into wood), the nave has a semi cylindrical vault, raised on the consoles, and the narthex supports the bell tower on the massive beams of the ceiling.
The three chambers of the church have a unique shingle roof with fast slopes with a double eaves around them, which have a particularly important role in protecting the walls from moisture. Above the narthex, the bell tower rises sharply, having in the upper part, beneath the pointed helmet, a turret with three arcades on each side. The corners of the tower are framed by four small turrets, a unique element in the historical architecture of Maramures.
The interior painting and many of the many icons in the church date back to 1762, realised by Alexander Ponehalschi who was a remarkable artistic personality in the 18th century Maramures, being stylistically attached, from the point of view of the iconographic program, to the post-Byzantine tradition. We also owe to the same painter the fragments kept in the nave and the narthex.
However, the painting of the apse of the altar, dating back to 1812, belongs to Ianos Opris, who signs this baroque mural ensemble, along with the icon "Coronation of Mary" on the altar table. A large number of icons are also kept in the church on wood dating back to the 19th century, XVII-XVIII, and it seems even older, as well as a valuable collection of icons on glass.
Among the most interesting icons is that of St. John the Baptist belonging to a church raised before the 15th century.