© Lonely Planet Publications 232 lonelyplanet.com MARAMUREŞ •• Baia Mare 233 History Maramureş, with Baia Mare as its capital, was GETTING INTO & AROUND Maramureş first documented in 1199. Prior to this, Da- MARAMUREŞ cian tribes are thought to have settled here Accessing Maramureş and then getting around 1000 BC; today’s inhabitants believe around can be a resolve-testing struggle. they are descended from these tribes. When Train entry often requires visitor-challenging the Roman emperor Trajan conquered the rest transfers in small, lazily marked stations and of Romania in AD 106 , his forces never made maxitaxis are, well, maxitaxis. The same Dismount from the horse-drawn cart and tip your chauffeur in cigarettes. You’ve found it over the range of mountains protecting the goes for the sparse and limited options for one of the last places where rural European medieval life remains intact. Where peasants Maramureş villages. getting around, though the upshot is you live off the land as countless generations did before them. Where tiny villages, steeped in Hungary gradually exerted its rule over the will rarely enjoy more genial hitchhiking local customs and history, sit among rolling hills and dreamy landscapes. Where the word region from the 13th century onwards. Tartar conditions in Europe. For DIY touring, car invasions of the Hungarian-dominated region hire is strongly recommended, preferably ‘cappuccino’ elicits a bewildered stare. Even Romanians joke that nothing has changed here continued into the 17th and 18th centuries, from Suceava or Cluj, meaning you’ll have for 100 years – welcome to Maramureş. the last documented battle being on the Pris- nary a transport dilemma throughout your lop Pass in 1717. Numerous churches sprang visit – deficient countryside signage not- The last peasant culture in Europe is thriving here, with hand-built ancient wooden up in Maramureş around this time to mark the with standing. A detailed map of the region churches, traditional music, colourful costumes and festivals. Villagers’ homes are still fronted Tartars’ final withdrawal from the region. is essential. Alternatively an organised with traditional giant, ornately carved wooden gates, and ear-smoking, 100-proof ţuică (plum Maramureş was annexed by Transylvania tour ( p244 ) will alleviate virtually all of brandy) stills percolate in the garden, tended by a rosy-cheeked patriarch. Discovering this in the mid-16th century, then ceded to the the above. Austrian empire in 1699. It was not until 1918 part of the world is a time-travel adventure, verily stunning Western visitors. that Maramureş was returned to Romania, The region was effectively cut off from Transylvania by a fortress of mountains and has albeit only part of it – the remainder went to smoke stack was built in an attempt to allevi- what is now Ukraine. ate air pollution. remained largely untouched by the 20th century (and the 19th century, and the 18th cen- Between 1940 and 1944 the Maramureş The town was again thrown into the en- tury…). It escaped the collectivisation of the 1940s, systemisation of the ‘80s and the West- region – along with northern Transylvania vironmental hot seat in early 2000, when a ernisation of the ’90s and as such is living history. and parts of Moldavia – fell under pro-Nazi poisonous spill from the Aurul gold mine Hungarian rule, during which time the en- caused one of Europe’s worst environmen- Medieval Maramureş exists in the Mara and Izei Valleys. Eight of its churches – in the tire Jewish population of its capital, Sighetu tal disasters. On 30 January a tailings dam villages of Bârsana, Budeşti, Deseşti, Ieud, Plopis, Poienile Izei, Rogoz and Surdeşti – are on Marmaţiei, was shipped to Nazi Germany’s burst, causing cyanide-contaminated water Unesco’s list of World Heritage sites. concentration camps. to leak from the gold mine – part-owned by Ceauşescu’s rule had little effect on the Australian company Esmeralda Enterprises – area. Indeed, he curiously encouraged the contaminating the Someş and Tisa Rivers people here to maintain their traditional cul- before spilling into the Danube and finally ture, contrary to his systemisation policies for the Black Sea. the rest of Romania. With six neighbouring countries affected, the water supply of 2.5 million people con- BAIA MARE taminated and the rivers’ ecosystems dev- %262 / pop 141,611 astated, the full impact of the spill may not HIGHLIGHTS Baia Mare (Big Mine), at the foot of the Gutâi be known for another two decades. Drink- Find God (or don’t) while facing fiery visions Mountains, is the seat of Maramureş County. ing water remains unpotable and fish stocks of hell at Poienile Izei church ( p246 ) The town was first documented in 1329 and polluted. developed as a gold-mining town in the 14th On a lighter note, at the time of writing Knock on the wooden churches of Budeşti and 15th centuries. In 1446 the town became Baia Mare was in full renovation mode. Piaţa ( p242 ), Surdeşti ( p237 ) and Ieud ( p246 ) S©pân»a the property of the Iancu de Hunedoara fam- Libertăţii in particular will likely be a whole Enjoy the beauty and humour of death Izei Vaser ily. In 1469, under the rule of Hungarian king new, nightlife-focused hub of good vibrations Mara Valley Valley Valley through the painted wooden crosses in Matthias Corvinus (Iancu de Hunedoara’s by the time you read this. The city’s museums Bude¢ti Săpânţa’s Merry Cemetery ( p244 ) Ieud Surde¢ti son), the town was fortified. are unexpectedly arresting and the superior MARAMURE Ş Get your medieval on at homestays in the Poienile Baia Mare gained notoriety during Ceau- hotels are a good place to reintegrate with the Izei Izei ( p244 ) and Mara Valleys ( p243 ) şescu’s regime as home to the Romplumb 21st century after staying in the villages. and Phoenix metallurgic plants which re- Despite its lacklustre name, the Chestnut Festi- Ride up through the Vaser Valley on a leased more than 5 billion cu metres of val (last weekend in September) is a lively bash, narrow-gauge railway from Vişeu de residual gases into the atmosphere each year, with concerts, dancing, sports events, people Ş MARAMURE Sus ( p246 ) smothering the town with a sulphur-dioxide/ carousing in costume and dodgy-looking metal powder smog. In the early 1990s, a new carnival rides. 234 MARAMUREŞ •• Baia Mare lonelyplanet.com Book accommodation online at lonelyplanet.com MARAMUREŞ •• Baia Mare 235 0 20 km MARAMUREð 0 12 miles Northwest of the football stadium is the Ethnographic Museum (Muzeul Etnografic; %212 Chust To Lviv To Vynohradiv Chernivtsi 845), in which all the traditional trades of the Vásárosnamény Tisza Maramureş region are represented. U K R A I N E Nearby, the Village Museum (Muzeul Satului; €1; Tisa h10am-5pm Tue-Sun, closed 16 Oct-14 May) displays To Debrecen Rachiv Rona Tur» de Jos traditional wooden houses and churches, for Mátészalka Halmeu C©m©rzana which the region is famed. C©line¢ti- S©pân»a Rona Baia Mare has a small zoo (admission €1; Turulung Oa¢ Bixad Vadu de Sus Farc©u Sighetu Izei Mara Roni¢oara (1961m) C©line¢ti Marma»iei h10am-5pm Tue-Sun) adjoining an amusement Livada Lake Valea Negre¢ti-Oa¢ H U N G A R Y M©riei Berbe¢ti Iza E81 Sat- park (Str Petőfi Sándor 28). Vama Blidari Fere¢ti Bârsana ðugatag Giule¢ti Ora¢u Nou Valea The Mineral Museum (Muzeul de Mineralogie; B-dul Firiza Neagr© H©rnice¢ti Corne¢ti Strâmtura Some¢ Dese¢ti C©line¢ti Vaser Traian 8) houses a monument to the Jews de- Doba Satu Rozavlea Seini Izvoare Mara Sârbi Mare Culcui Valea ðieu Mare Hoteni Bogdan Vi¢eu de Sus ported from Baia Mare to Auschwitz during Vinului Baia Bude¢ti Baia Bor¢a Baia Poienile Vod© M©d©ras Mare Neteda Pass Ocna Izei WWII. Until 1848, Jews were not allowed to Crasna Sprie (1040m) ðugatag Dragomire¢ti Moisei Carei Moftinu Bor¢a Complex Ardud Botiza Ieud Vi¢eu Turistic Bor¢a live in the city because of a 17th-century law Mic ði¢e¢ti Cavnic S©li¢tea C de Sus S©cel Colt©u Catalina Surde¢ti a Pietrosul Prislop forbidding them from settling in Hungarian r (2305m) S©c©la¢eni p Pass Satulung Plopi¢ mining towns. Posta Tible¢u a (1416m) Culcea Cup¢eni t Rodna L©schia (1840m) To h Mountains Pietrosul Vatra Remetea L©pu¢ i Rodnei Dornei ðomcu»a Chioarului a Nature Sleeping n Ὀ T©¢nad Mare Reservation Târgu L©pu¢ Rogoz Baia Mare has no budget accommodation M Mare Valea options except for home stays which must be Rohia o E81 Chioarului Marghita u booked in advance. n Some¢ Mara Holidays (%226 656; [email protected]; B-dul t To Oradea a Unirii 11; h9am-5pm Mon-Fri) This is an agent for i Some¢ul n Antrec and arranges rooms in private homes T R A N S Y L V A N I A To Cluj- s Napoca in the region for €15 to €20 per night, includ- Zal©u ing a home-cooked breakfast. Hotel Maramureş (%216 555; Str Gheorghe Şincai Orientation TOURIST INFORMATION fragments and rooms devoted to literature, 37; s/d €32/49) Grand three-star hotel with faded The train and bus stations, west of the centre Mara Holidays (%226 656; [email protected]; sports, industrial equipment and clocks. charm but comfortable rooms. Some rooms on Str Gării, are a 15-minute walk from Piaţa B-dul Unirii 11; h9am-5pm Mon-Fri) Helpful, English- Looming above Piaţa Libertăţii is Stephen’s have balconies. Libertăţii, Baia Mare’s central square. The Şasar speaking staff arrange car hire, walking, trekking and Tower (Turnul Ştefan).