The Church of Budeşti, Josani is a magnificent example of the Greek Catholic cultural synthesis in Maramureş. The place of worship blends Eastern and Western traditions in perfect harmony. Basically, it is the largest wooden church in the UNESCO patrimony. The church was built in 1643, on a hill that dominates the village. The settlement was attested in 1361, when it was part of a Romanian Principality, attested in a diploma issued by King Louis of Anjou. The prosperity enjoyed by the locals allowed them to finance this particularly impressive construction. The length of the church is 18 meters, 8 meters wide, while the height of the tower is 26 meters.
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27-02-2015, 15:23
- Views: 6563
- Author: admin
- Date: 27-02-2015, 15:23
Budeşti , "The Wooden Cathedral"
Category: History / Maramureș / Budeşti
The Church of Budeşti, Josani is a magnificent example of the Greek Catholic cultural synthesis in Maramureş. The place of worship blends Eastern and Western traditions in perfect harmony. Basically, it is the largest wooden church in the UNESCO patrimony. The church was built in 1643, on a hill that dominates the village. The settlement was attested in 1361, when it was part of a Romanian Principality, attested in a diploma issued by King Louis of Anjou. The prosperity enjoyed by the locals allowed them to finance this particularly impressive construction. The length of the church is 18 meters, 8 meters wide, while the height of the tower is 26 meters.
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27-02-2015, 15:15
- Views: 5153
- Author: admin
- Date: 27-02-2015, 15:15
Bârsana - the power of the Greek Catholic Cultural Synthesis
Category: History / Maramureș / Bârsana
The wooden church in the village of Bârsana is a sublime expression of a Greek and Catholic cultural synthesis. This place of worship was built after the Union of the Romanian Church in Transylvania and Maramureş with the Church of Rome and marks the opening of this Byzantine spiritual space to the influence of the West. The church was built in 1711 and it is dedicated to "The Entrance of Virgin Mary in the Church." Initially, it served as a place of worship for a monastic resort built in the area, also known as the Monk's hair. The founder was the nobleman John Ştefanca and his sons, who wanted thus to thank the Creator for having them insulated from the great plague of 1710.
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27-02-2015, 15:11
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- Author: admin
- Date: 27-02-2015, 15:11
Piatra Roșie –The Fortress which Stubled the Celtic Rampage
Category: History / Transylvania / Piatra Roşie
One of Antiquity’s strongest fortresses in this part of Europe is Piatra Roşie. It is a fortress which comprises two joined enclosures. The oldest was built in the time of King Burebista to stop the rampage of the Celts, and the second enclosure was added in the time of Decebalus, in the context of the Roman offensive for the conquest of Dacia. The two enclosures measure an area of approximately 1.2 hectares. The first enclosure is built on a rocky peak, at an altitude of 832 metres. The peak is surrounded on three sides by inaccessible abysses. Access is only possible from the east.
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27-02-2015, 15:04
- Views: 4720
- Author: admin
- Date: 27-02-2015, 15:04
Căpâlna, a Dacian Fortress About to Be Rebuilt
Category: History / Transylvania / Căpâlna
The Dacian fortress of Căpâlna poses one of the greatest challenges for Romanian restorers. The fortress, part of UNESCO’s heritage, is going to be rebuilt, thanks to a five million Euros project, financed by the European Union. The Dacian fortress walls will be restored two millennia after they were destroyed by the Roman army. Local authorities promise that these walls will be entirely rebuilt. Also, the land on which the old fortification stands will be strengthened.
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27-02-2015, 14:51
- Views: 6804
- Author: admin
- Date: 27-02-2015, 14:51
The Costeşti - Blidaru: Dacia’s Strongest Fortification
Category: History / Transylvania / Costeşti-Blidaru
The south of Transylvania is home to the strongest fortification across the kingdom of Dacia. Most likely, the fortress was built in two successive stages during the reign of Burebista and Decebalus, to serve first as a defense against the Celts, then against the Romans. First, a tower-house was built on the hill, at the altitude of 705 meters, by one of the local aristocrats, before the reign of Burebista. This king ruled between 82 and 44 BC and was assassinated in the same year as his great rival, Julius Caesar.
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27-02-2015, 14:37
- Views: 3949
- Author: admin
- Date: 27-02-2015, 14:37
Valea Viilor or the Treasure of Saint Peter
Category: History / Transylvania / Valea Viilor
A remote village lost among the sunny hills of southern Transylvania hides a real treasure. It is the church of St. Peter in the village of Valea Viilor (Vine Valley). The story of the village begins in 1263, when the settlement was first documented. The village, colonized by Transylvanian Saxons, gathered serfs and peasants, subjects of the nobleman Apafi, who in 1305 left the village heritage to his son, Gregor. In the fourteenth century, Valea Viilor was a thriving community that decided to demolish the old Romanesque church, built by the early settlers, and instead build a new church in the Gothic style, dedicated to St. Peter.
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27-02-2015, 14:34
- Views: 4064
- Author: admin
- Date: 27-02-2015, 14:34
Voroneț – The Sistine Chapel of the East
Category: History / Moldova / Voroneţ
One of Moldavia’s monasteries is so beautiful that art historians compared it to the Sistine Chapel. We are talking about the Voroneţ monastery, built by Prince Stephen the Great, proclaimed saint of the Orthodox Church, at the request of another Orthodox saint, Dani Hermit, the ruler’s advisor. At the heart of Voroneț lies a relatively modest-sized church, dedicated to St. George, which was built in 1488 in just three months and three weeks, a record for that time. Between 1488 and 1785, Voronet operated as a friary. After the monastic settlement was closed, the local parish took over the church. In 1991, the monastic life resumed as a convent for nuns.
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27-02-2015, 14:28
- Views: 4450
- Author: admin
- Date: 27-02-2015, 14:28
Viscri – The White Church of Prince Charles of Great Britain
Category: History / Transylvania / Viscri
The Viscri village in Braşov County has a touching story. The village founded by the Saxons in the Middle Ages almost became a ghost town under the rule of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Fortunately, the village was revived due to the help of His Royal Highness, Prince Charles of Wales, heir to the Crown of the United Kingdom.
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27-02-2015, 14:22
- Views: 9181
- Author: admin
- Date: 27-02-2015, 14:22
Suceviţa or the Legend of the Sinful Woman
Category: History / Moldova / Suceviţa
The legend of the founding of Suceviţa monastery says that all the stone required to raise the imposing structure was carried by a single woman and her oxen-drawn chariot for 30 years, in an attempt to redeem her sins. However, in reality, the monastery was founded by one of the most important aristocratic families in Moldova, Movilă, which gave the Moldavian and Wallachian people rulers, as well as Bishops for Moldova and Kiev.
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27-02-2015, 14:19
- Views: 7840
- Author: admin
- Date: 27-02-2015, 14:19
Prejmer, the Fortress-Church of the Teutonic Knights
Category: History / Transylvania / Prejmer
Prejmer is one of the few fortifications established by the Teutonic Knights, a crusading order, founded in the Holy Land, in the city of Accra, at the end of the twelfth century. In 1212, following the expulsion of the Crusaders from the Middle East, as a result of the Muslim conquest of the Holy Land, the Teutonic Knights were invited by King Andrew II of Hungary to take possession of the Bârsa Land, in south-east of Transylvania, and fight the Cuman and Mongol pagans.