Apr 00 - In Ieud, Maramureș, Romania
Maramureș was given attention in the Lonely Planet guide for the first time in its most recent edition when I was there, and I gathered the region was just being 'discovered' (with much of Transylvania). I hope the kindness of the locals and their customs and lifeways change as little as possible, against all the odds (locals wear traditional dress here more than anywhere else in Europe). Maramureș is one of my favourite places anywhere. It's home to ancient, lofty wooden churches, villages that look like folk architecture museums, and the locals are as friendly and kind as people get.
- "Century-old customs are still [assiduously observed] in this fervently religious village. Between 1787 (the year when marriages were first registered) and 1980 there were no divorces in Ieud." (LP)
- On my arrival in Ieud (Yood or Eeyood), I headed towards the Uniate or Greco-Catholic lower church (the Val or Şes church), built by 1718 and housing an "artistically valuable" iconostasis and collection of icons painted on glass. (RG) This shot of these 7 locals was taken next to or handy to it.
- Not far from where this was taken, an impressively direct local man in an embroidered vest and a 'clop' straw hat gestured to me and asked "Where are you staying?!" in Romanian and with body lg. and then said "Come with me!" I was then led to his home where I was the guest of his family at supper, slept that night on a bed in their living room (I think it was), and enjoyed superlative hospitality. The entrance to their home was just across a narrow courtyard from their small, wooden barn where early that evening after supper I witnessed one of their cows give birth to a healthy calf! (I'll scan a photo or 2). I was then invited along to another home where my host's adult daughter (I think she was his daughter) and someone else or other people watched home-movies filmed at her wedding which had been held just recently. Much of the footage was of her preparation for the wedding, being dressed and dolled up beforehand in traditional garb, etc. These people didn't speak much if any English or French but spoke to each other plenty, so I sat and watched and enjoyed.
- The walls in the large room where I slept were covered in part with what looked like small carpets with detailed floral patterns (I'd see similar wall-hangings of textiles in a number of homes in northern Romania. www.flickr.com/photos/97924400@N00/2582759296/in/photostr... ), and white scarves hung draped over the edges of framed pictures higher up on the wall such that each end was flat against the wall to display their embroidery (with images of roses). The walls themselves were painted and covered with a green block-print of a 3-leafed plant (a bit like a fleur-de-lys). For breakfast I had fresh eggs and big slabs of bacon thick with fat, which I enjoyed (very different from the leaner bacon I'm used to). I hope I thanked them enough for everything.
- I asked my host about the famous 'Church of the Birth of the Mother of God', aka the 'Church on the Hill' (1364, rebuilt in spruce and oak in the 17th cent.), and the next morning his son and his son's friend walked me over and up to it just after sunrise. I toured the cemetery surrounding it (a forest of crosses, most of wood, some of metal), climbed a little hill beside for a view of it, and toured the church itself that morning. Ancient frescoes in a 'folk art' style with rows of images of saints, etc. cover every square foot of the walls inside, and with St. Christopher on the interior-side of the door. www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPtFMYzAb-U
- "The tradition of woodworking has been maintained [here] since the superb Orthodox Hill Church was first raised here in 1364 [on the remains of an ancient, long-gone castle. "Evidence suggests that Ieud was inhabited as early as the {14th} cent. by Balc, Dragoș Vodă's grandson and later the Prince of Moldavia". {LP}] Long thought to be the oldest church in Maramureș (though largely rebuilt in the 18th cent.), with a double roof and tiny windows, it once housed the Ieud Codex (1391-92, now in the Romanian Academy in Bucharest), the earliest known document in the Romanian language. [!] It has perhaps the most renowned paintings of any church in Maramureș, executed by Alexandru Ponehalski in 1782. ... Abraham, Isaac and Jacob welcome people in their arms in the pronaos." I probably only saw 1 of the 8 'wooden churches of Maramureș' which together are designated as world heritage by Unesco, but at least I saw the oldest and the most illustrious.
- "The 8 churches [designated by Unesco] are outstanding examples of a range of architectural solutions from different periods and areas. They show the variety of designs and craftsmanship adopted in these narrow, high, timber constructions with their characteristic tall, slim clock towers at the western end of the building, either single- or double-roofed and covered by shingles. As such, they are a particular vernacular expression of the cultural landscape of this mountainous area of northern Romania." (Unesco)
- The gothic-inspired architecture of Maramureș' wooden churches reached its height in the 18th cent. "Crouching beneath hump-backed roofs, they rear up into fairy-tale spires, and are generally sited on the highest ground in the village. ... From 1278, Orthodox Romanians were forbidden by their Catholic Hungarian overlords to build churches in stone [so they could never be used doubly as fortresses I assume], and so used wood to ape Gothic developments. It was long thought that most were rebuilt after the last Tatar raid in 1717, acquiring large porches and tall towers, often with 4 corner-pinnacles, clearly derived from the masonry architecture of the Transylvanian cities. However, in 1996-97 a tree-ring study revealed that the wood used in many churches (notably those at Cornești, Breb and Oncești) was far older, the oldest dating from 1367. In general, the walls are built of blockwork (squared-off logs laid horizontally) with intricate joints, cantilevered out in places to form brackets or consoles, supporting the eaves. However, in Maramureș, Western techniques such as raftering and timber framing enabled the development of the region's characteristic high roofs and steeples, rather than the tent roofs or stepped cupolas used further north. Following the standard Orthodox ground plan, the main roof covers the narthex and naos and a lower one the sanctuary; the naos typically has a barrel vault, while the narthex has a low-planked ceiling under the tower, its weight transmitted by rafters to the walls thus avoiding the need for pillars. The main roof is always shingled and in many cases double, allowing clerestory windows high in the walls of the nave, while the lower roof may be extended to the west to form a porch (exonarthex or pridvor). Inside, almost every church has a choir gallery above the west part of the naos, always a later addition, as shown by the way it is superimposed on the wall paintings. These extraordinary works of art [the paintings] were produced by local artists in the 18th and early 19th cent.s, combining the icon tradition with pagan motifs and topical propaganda. They broadly follow the standard Orthodox artistic layout, with the Incarnation and Eucharist in the sanctuary (for the priest's edification), the last Judgement and moralistic parables such as the Wise and Foolish Virgins in the narthex (where the women stand), and the Passion in the naos; the treatment of the last, however, changed in the 19th cent. as the Uniate Church gained in strength, with more emphasis on the Ascension and the Evangelists. ..." (RG)
- It was a beautiful spring morning, and I had a great view from that church over much of Ieud. We headed back to the home of my host family (I'm not sure if we had breakfast before or after the trip to the church), where I took some more photos inside, and of pigs in the old wooden barn outside, and from there I was offered a lift by a friend of my host or a relative back up to neighbouring Bogdan Vodă on a crowded horse-drawn wagon carrying a large pig in the back (I'll scan a photo).
- At Bogdan Vodă I toured the old wooden church of St. Nicholas or Sfântul Nicolae (1718, painted in 1754), which has an elaborate wooden chandelier. I'll scan a photo or 2 taken inside the naos, incl. one of a fresco depicting Jael or Yael, "the heroine who delivered Israel from the army of King Jabin of Canaan in the Book of Judges", poised to drive a tent peg into the head of Sisera "in her tent near the great tree in Zaanannim." (wikipedia). www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKN8tRoctsw
- "Known as Cuhea until the late '60s, Bogdan Vodă was renamed in honour of the local voivode, Bogdan" (RG), who left in 1359 reportedly to hunt a huge bison, an auroch, but who then founded the state of Moldavia. (Bogdan's dog Molda was killed in the course of Bogdan's legendary 24-hr. long battle with the auroch, in the ultimate big fish story, and Moldavia was then named after that dog. No joke.)
- I passed SE through Bogdan Vodă and SE along the 186 and then hitched the 17C east and north through steep switchbacks to the 18, and headed east on that road away from wonderful Maramureș towards Moldavia. The compounds, houses and local people along that route were photogenic. (See the next photo of the woman with her pig). I'll scan a shot of a row of little teddy bears clipped to a clothes line and hanging to dry.
- If I'd taken the 188, a back road, east and north from Bogdan Vodă to its junction with the 18, traveled west less than 10 clicks to Leordina, and turned north from there up a rough road I would've arrived in Primăria Poienile De Sub Munte near the end of that road in a valley which is a Huțul or Ruthenian enclave. Ruthenians are "the archetypal inhabitants of the Carpathians who speak a dialect of Ukrainian which incorporates many Romanian words." (RG) (Andy Warhol's folks were Slovak Ruthenians). I consider that to have been a miss.
Apr 00 - In Ieud, Maramureș, Romania
Maramureș was given attention in the Lonely Planet guide for the first time in its most recent edition when I was there, and I gathered the region was just being 'discovered' (with much of Transylvania). I hope the kindness of the locals and their customs and lifeways change as little as possible, against all the odds (locals wear traditional dress here more than anywhere else in Europe). Maramureș is one of my favourite places anywhere. It's home to ancient, lofty wooden churches, villages that look like folk architecture museums, and the locals are as friendly and kind as people get.
- "Century-old customs are still [assiduously observed] in this fervently religious village. Between 1787 (the year when marriages were first registered) and 1980 there were no divorces in Ieud." (LP)
- On my arrival in Ieud (Yood or Eeyood), I headed towards the Uniate or Greco-Catholic lower church (the Val or Şes church), built by 1718 and housing an "artistically valuable" iconostasis and collection of icons painted on glass. (RG) This shot of these 7 locals was taken next to or handy to it.
- Not far from where this was taken, an impressively direct local man in an embroidered vest and a 'clop' straw hat gestured to me and asked "Where are you staying?!" in Romanian and with body lg. and then said "Come with me!" I was then led to his home where I was the guest of his family at supper, slept that night on a bed in their living room (I think it was), and enjoyed superlative hospitality. The entrance to their home was just across a narrow courtyard from their small, wooden barn where early that evening after supper I witnessed one of their cows give birth to a healthy calf! (I'll scan a photo or 2). I was then invited along to another home where my host's adult daughter (I think she was his daughter) and someone else or other people watched home-movies filmed at her wedding which had been held just recently. Much of the footage was of her preparation for the wedding, being dressed and dolled up beforehand in traditional garb, etc. These people didn't speak much if any English or French but spoke to each other plenty, so I sat and watched and enjoyed.
- The walls in the large room where I slept were covered in part with what looked like small carpets with detailed floral patterns (I'd see similar wall-hangings of textiles in a number of homes in northern Romania. www.flickr.com/photos/97924400@N00/2582759296/in/photostr... ), and white scarves hung draped over the edges of framed pictures higher up on the wall such that each end was flat against the wall to display their embroidery (with images of roses). The walls themselves were painted and covered with a green block-print of a 3-leafed plant (a bit like a fleur-de-lys). For breakfast I had fresh eggs and big slabs of bacon thick with fat, which I enjoyed (very different from the leaner bacon I'm used to). I hope I thanked them enough for everything.
- I asked my host about the famous 'Church of the Birth of the Mother of God', aka the 'Church on the Hill' (1364, rebuilt in spruce and oak in the 17th cent.), and the next morning his son and his son's friend walked me over and up to it just after sunrise. I toured the cemetery surrounding it (a forest of crosses, most of wood, some of metal), climbed a little hill beside for a view of it, and toured the church itself that morning. Ancient frescoes in a 'folk art' style with rows of images of saints, etc. cover every square foot of the walls inside, and with St. Christopher on the interior-side of the door. www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPtFMYzAb-U
- "The tradition of woodworking has been maintained [here] since the superb Orthodox Hill Church was first raised here in 1364 [on the remains of an ancient, long-gone castle. "Evidence suggests that Ieud was inhabited as early as the {14th} cent. by Balc, Dragoș Vodă's grandson and later the Prince of Moldavia". {LP}] Long thought to be the oldest church in Maramureș (though largely rebuilt in the 18th cent.), with a double roof and tiny windows, it once housed the Ieud Codex (1391-92, now in the Romanian Academy in Bucharest), the earliest known document in the Romanian language. [!] It has perhaps the most renowned paintings of any church in Maramureș, executed by Alexandru Ponehalski in 1782. ... Abraham, Isaac and Jacob welcome people in their arms in the pronaos." I probably only saw 1 of the 8 'wooden churches of Maramureș' which together are designated as world heritage by Unesco, but at least I saw the oldest and the most illustrious.
- "The 8 churches [designated by Unesco] are outstanding examples of a range of architectural solutions from different periods and areas. They show the variety of designs and craftsmanship adopted in these narrow, high, timber constructions with their characteristic tall, slim clock towers at the western end of the building, either single- or double-roofed and covered by shingles. As such, they are a particular vernacular expression of the cultural landscape of this mountainous area of northern Romania." (Unesco)
- The gothic-inspired architecture of Maramureș' wooden churches reached its height in the 18th cent. "Crouching beneath hump-backed roofs, they rear up into fairy-tale spires, and are generally sited on the highest ground in the village. ... From 1278, Orthodox Romanians were forbidden by their Catholic Hungarian overlords to build churches in stone [so they could never be used doubly as fortresses I assume], and so used wood to ape Gothic developments. It was long thought that most were rebuilt after the last Tatar raid in 1717, acquiring large porches and tall towers, often with 4 corner-pinnacles, clearly derived from the masonry architecture of the Transylvanian cities. However, in 1996-97 a tree-ring study revealed that the wood used in many churches (notably those at Cornești, Breb and Oncești) was far older, the oldest dating from 1367. In general, the walls are built of blockwork (squared-off logs laid horizontally) with intricate joints, cantilevered out in places to form brackets or consoles, supporting the eaves. However, in Maramureș, Western techniques such as raftering and timber framing enabled the development of the region's characteristic high roofs and steeples, rather than the tent roofs or stepped cupolas used further north. Following the standard Orthodox ground plan, the main roof covers the narthex and naos and a lower one the sanctuary; the naos typically has a barrel vault, while the narthex has a low-planked ceiling under the tower, its weight transmitted by rafters to the walls thus avoiding the need for pillars. The main roof is always shingled and in many cases double, allowing clerestory windows high in the walls of the nave, while the lower roof may be extended to the west to form a porch (exonarthex or pridvor). Inside, almost every church has a choir gallery above the west part of the naos, always a later addition, as shown by the way it is superimposed on the wall paintings. These extraordinary works of art [the paintings] were produced by local artists in the 18th and early 19th cent.s, combining the icon tradition with pagan motifs and topical propaganda. They broadly follow the standard Orthodox artistic layout, with the Incarnation and Eucharist in the sanctuary (for the priest's edification), the last Judgement and moralistic parables such as the Wise and Foolish Virgins in the narthex (where the women stand), and the Passion in the naos; the treatment of the last, however, changed in the 19th cent. as the Uniate Church gained in strength, with more emphasis on the Ascension and the Evangelists. ..." (RG)
- It was a beautiful spring morning, and I had a great view from that church over much of Ieud. We headed back to the home of my host family (I'm not sure if we had breakfast before or after the trip to the church), where I took some more photos inside, and of pigs in the old wooden barn outside, and from there I was offered a lift by a friend of my host or a relative back up to neighbouring Bogdan Vodă on a crowded horse-drawn wagon carrying a large pig in the back (I'll scan a photo).
- At Bogdan Vodă I toured the old wooden church of St. Nicholas or Sfântul Nicolae (1718, painted in 1754), which has an elaborate wooden chandelier. I'll scan a photo or 2 taken inside the naos, incl. one of a fresco depicting Jael or Yael, "the heroine who delivered Israel from the army of King Jabin of Canaan in the Book of Judges", poised to drive a tent peg into the head of Sisera "in her tent near the great tree in Zaanannim." (wikipedia). www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKN8tRoctsw
- "Known as Cuhea until the late '60s, Bogdan Vodă was renamed in honour of the local voivode, Bogdan" (RG), who left in 1359 reportedly to hunt a huge bison, an auroch, but who then founded the state of Moldavia. (Bogdan's dog Molda was killed in the course of Bogdan's legendary 24-hr. long battle with the auroch, in the ultimate big fish story, and Moldavia was then named after that dog. No joke.)
- I passed SE through Bogdan Vodă and SE along the 186 and then hitched the 17C east and north through steep switchbacks to the 18, and headed east on that road away from wonderful Maramureș towards Moldavia. The compounds, houses and local people along that route were photogenic. (See the next photo of the woman with her pig). I'll scan a shot of a row of little teddy bears clipped to a clothes line and hanging to dry.
- If I'd taken the 188, a back road, east and north from Bogdan Vodă to its junction with the 18, traveled west less than 10 clicks to Leordina, and turned north from there up a rough road I would've arrived in Primăria Poienile De Sub Munte near the end of that road in a valley which is a Huțul or Ruthenian enclave. Ruthenians are "the archetypal inhabitants of the Carpathians who speak a dialect of Ukrainian which incorporates many Romanian words." (RG) (Andy Warhol's folks were Slovak Ruthenians). I consider that to have been a miss.