CUPSENI, the small church, Maramures County, Romania

Posted on 28/03/2014by Turist prin Romania

Cupseni wooden church general view

The village was recorded in 1584, as part of Lapus area, former domain of Ciceu Fortress that was owned by the Princes of Moldavia.

This wooden church, whose patron saints are the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel is known by the villagers as ”the small church”. It was brought from Peteritea around 1847. The church is probably much older, dating back to 1733. It is distinguished from the other church in the village by its small size and the shape of the roof and steeple, with hidden watchtower. The parapet is made of vertical boards cut at their bottom in the shape of a trident. The spaces of the arcades are covered with a gratin made of thin wooden boards.

The interior painting is well preserved. On the back of the pronaos there are scenes with:

Cupseni wooden church detail

“Adam’s Temptation”, “The Banishment from Heaven”, The sun and moon with human features, a two-headed golden eagle and two crosses formed by four circles framed by squares.

”The Trinity”, ”Elijah’s Ascension”, “Jacob’s Ladder” and scenes from The Apocalypse are painted in the nave.

On the vault of the Sanctuary, Mary’s face is painted. She is surrounded by paintings of angels and Prophets, Abel’s and Abraham s Sacrifice Saints Constantine and Helena, and Melchizedek. Hierarchs and Archdeacon Stefan are painted on the walls.

The Iconostasis has two rows. Jesus and the twelve Apostles are standing under the arcades of the temple, painted above the Holy Doors. The second row shows Jesus on the cross; guarded by John and Mary his Mother; with her sister and Mary Magdalena. The two

Cupseni wooden church detail

thieves are also painted there.

The colors used: sky-blue, brick red and grey are gentle to the eye. The style and the decorative elements imitate the ones found in other churches, and clearly indicate that the painters were Radu Munteanu and Mihail Palcoviciu.

The Holy Doors are worth mentioning. They date back to the 17th century.

The most recent restoration took place in 1982. Both the roof and its base were re laced by skilled builders from Salistea de Sus in Maramures.

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CORUIA wooden church, near Sacalaseni, Maramures County, Romania

y Turist prin Romania

The wooden church, general view

The village was first recorded in 1566. The patron saint of thus wooden church is Saint Anne, an uncommon dedication for Maramures. It was built in 1794 and painted in 1808 and again in 1928.

The construction consists of a porch, a pronaos a nave and a pentagonal disconnected apse. The walls are made of oak, joined at the corners and doubled in strength by vertical pillars, which hold up a few short carve concave brackets. On the brackets there are solid beams carved in high relief, covering the empty space under the eaves.

The uniform roof has half-spires with crosses at the ends of its copings. The bell-tower is built on two levels up to the watchtower, with a gallery of arcades and races decorated with carved rounded forms, resembling the horns of a ram.

The octagonal spire is square at the bottom and it has four little towers on the corners and

Detail of painting in the nave

a cross with four arms on the top. This is a sign that the village was an important one at that time; and a Council of the Judges; or the Old People’s Council had the right to judge in the village. The facade and the exterior wall are surrounded by a twisted rope in high relief, at the level of the windows. The entrance door was replaced and its framework is ornamented with small snaked grooves, areas of rhombuses, twisted ropes and solar rosettes; all beautifully carved.

The porch is impressive as the supporting pillars are very solid and the upper corona is joined to the pillars through braces decorated with wolf-teeth in high relief and more forms shaped as the horns of a ram. The arcades are ornamented with rows of ears of wheat, ending in spirals of solar rosettes. A wall separates the pronaos from the nave. It has openings in arcades, supported on pillars decorated with carved circles, with two carvings painted in our national colors.

Detail on the Iconostasis

On the side vault of the nave one can identity figures of the Evangelists, dressed in loose robes, colored in red, yellow, blue and green. They are in frames inspired by the embroidery on the traditional shirts – (the so-called ”ii”).

The Iconostasis is completely covered by towels and kitsch-icons. Beautiful Holy Doors decorated by the Wheel of Life with twelve spokes, symbolizing the months of the year are still visible. The Holy Spirit is at the centre above the Annunciation, which is enclosed by large rectangular frames.

The church houses an interesting collection of old icons -almost completely damaged, except the one that depicts the face of Jesus on Veronica’s scarf and held by two Angels.

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BOTIZA wooden church, Maramures County, Romania

by Turist prin Romania

Botiza wooden church, general view

The settlement was recorded in 1373.

The wooden church dedicated to Saint Paraschiva, a patron saint borrowed from Moldavia, was brought from Viseu de Jos and set on the place of the former one around 1699. It was reconsecrated in 1899. Dionisie Iuga and his daughter Aurelia, painters from Nicula, painted the church the same year.

The construction is typical, with large porch supported by pillars decorated at their top with a straight and simply decorated corona. The double roof with bell-tower and watch-tower ends with a spire decorated with a wrought iron cross.

The church is surrounde by a twisted wooden rope frieze at window level under the roof brackets connected to the ornamental ropes that are raised and carved in wood; and found on the frame of the entrance door.

The entrance door is painted on both sides; and the frame is decorated with more of the

The inside of the entrance door

raised and twisted wooden rope decoration on the inside. On the exterior, there are geometrical motifs, rosettes and deep carved crosses, which are painted.

The church had an entrance door with access from the south that opened in the nave. Nowadays this door does not exist.

Above the door between the pronaos and the nave, a wooden corona is fixed. Two eagles are carved in a large board. Saint Elijah’s Ascension (sat in a chariot with two horses) is painted on the parapet of the balcony dated 1899.

T ie painting has entirely deteriorated. The Holy Spirit in a three-coloured circle is painted on the ceiling vault of the Sanctuary. In the centre of the vault a three-coloured frieze is still visible. On the back of the entrance door ”Death”, has been painted with his scythe.

Detail of painting on the Iconostasis

The modest Iconostasis was painted later. The Annunciation is painted at its to . The Holy Doors are decorated in the well-known Maramures style.

A cross is painted on bothsides with angels and The Trinity hangs from the vault of the nave. It is decorated with grape vines and candlesticks, its original purpose being that of a chandelier.

The whole of this building is harmonious. The carved elements are original. They impart messages and ideas that enhance the spiritual needs of mankind.

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