The churches of Maramures are a World Heritage Site
The wooden churches in the Maramures in northern Romania date back to the 17th and 18th centuries and impress with their masterful architecture and beautiful paintings. Eight of the 60 wooden churches have been declared a World Heritage Site – but urgent conservation work is now needed to prevent the irretrievable loss of the protected paintings
The important wooden churches in the north-western Romanian province and the neighboring Ukraine present a coherent cultural-historical picture. They are to be regarded as part of the cultural heritage of the Eastern Carpathian Arc and are made exclusively of wood (beech, oak, fir and elm).
In 1999, UNESCO inscribed eight of the 60 wooden churches on the World Heritage List as outstanding examples of sacred architecture typical of northern Romania. These eight churches date from the 17th and 18th centuries. They are all located in the Romanian county of Maramures. These are the village churches of Barsana (1720), Budesti (1643), Desesti (1770), Ieud (around 1620), Plobis (1798), Poienile Izei (1604), Rogoz (1663) and Surdesti (1766). The characteristic, very slender bell towers are located on the west side of each building.
The structural shells of the buildings, which are similar in design and architecture, are largely in good condition, although there is some damage to the wooden shingle roof coverings and thresholds. The interiors of the Orthodox churches, which are largely painted in polychrome, mainly depict scenes from the lives of the saints or motifs from the Old Testament.
The Maramures painters have completely covered the interior walls with countless scenes and pictures, which form a powerful, charming and varied tapestry that impresses with the originality of its execution. Numerous icons (mainly attached to the dividing wall between the nave and chancel) complete this artistic treasure. As separately framed panel paintings, they impress with their high painterly quality and their typical metal leaf overlays on the backgrounds and halos and come from specialized icon workshops. This becomes clear to the viewer in the diversity of the artistic handwriting.
The glue-bound paintings of the interior design are partly painted directly onto the wooden surfaces, as well as onto textile laminations. The lamination usually bridges the joints and levels out unevenness. The original painting technique (animal glue), or in most cases earlier restorations, led to the surface being partially strengthened.
Read more in RESTAURO 6/2019, which will be published in mid-September 2019, www.restauro.de/shop.