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Sighetu Marmatiei Fast Facts
Name: Sighetu Marmației
Pronounced: See geh' too Mahr mah' tzeai
Nearest airports: Baia Mare and Cluj Napoca
Size: 2.5 sq. miles (6,57 sq. kilometers)
Elevation: 790 ft (247 meters)
Population: 41,000
First documented: 1326 (Plebanus Zygnet)
Oldest building: the Reformed Church (14th Century)
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Sighetu Marmatiei Sights and Landmarks
Set amid beautiful rolling hills and farmlands close to the Tisa River, Sighetu Marmatiei, also known as Sighet,
is the second-largest town in the Maramures region, an area noted for its rich centuries-old traditions.
Sighetu Marmatiei (called in the past Sighetul Maramureşului) was - for over six centuries - the capital of the region of Maramures.
The outdoor Village Museum in Sighetu Marmatiei boasts dozens of homes and farm buildings assembled from around the Maramures region.
Beautifully carved wooden gates and unique wooden churches with tall spires and shingled roofs can be seen in many nearby villages.
The towering Maramures wooden gates, often-compared to triumphal arches, are the calling cards of the local wood carvers.
Supported by four columns, they feature traditional ornamental motifs, including the sun and the twisted rope, both symbols of life and continuity.
Other attractions of this town, which boasts religious buildings of many denominations, include the 16th century Reformed Church, the Ethnography Museum, the Elie Wiesel Memorial House and the Museum of Arrested Thought located in a former communist prison in the center of town.
The spiritual philosophy of the people of Maramures is perhaps nowhere more apparent than in Sapanta – a 20-minute drive from Sighet. The town folks' ancestors considered death as a beginning, not the end, and this faith is reflected in the carvings in the town's unique Merry Cemetery. Blue wooden crosses feature a carved scene and humorous verses that endeavor to capture essential elements - both the good and the imperfections - of the deceased's life. Even without benefit of translation, visitors can appreciate the handiwork of sculptor Stan Ion Patras, who began carving these epitaphs in 1935, and his successors. Patras' house in the village is now a fascinating museum. Sapanta is also home to several wooden gates and one of the region's tallest wooden churches.
As it has for hundreds of years, social life in Maramures continues to revolve around the village church. The Wooden Churches of Maramures – located in the nearby villages of Surdesti, Plopis, Rogoz, Ieud, Poeinile Izei, Barsana, Budesti and Desesti - have been recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. Unique in shape and ornamentation, they have characteristic high roofs and tall, narrow, pointed steeples, often collectively describer as 'the Gothic style of Maramures.'
Jewish Sighetu Marmatiei
Jews settled in Sighetu Marmatiei in the mid-1600s and quickly became an important element in the city's economic development. The Jewish population of Sighet grew significantly and surpassed the 10,000 mark in early 1940s (more than 40% of town's population. Sighetu Marmatiei was home to 12 synagogues and an important center of Hasidism. Starting in early 1930s Jews in Sighet and neighboring areas were regularly threatened. In 1940, Nazi Germany forced Romania to concede Northern Transylvania and Maramures to Hungary. Immediately, all Jews that could not prove Hungarian citizenship were arested and surrendered to the Nazi Einsatz gruppen. In May 1944 Jews in Sighetu Marmatiei and neighboring areas were put in a ghetto from which 12,000 were deported.Sighetu Marmatiei Jewish history more info.
Sighetu Marmatiei Jewish heritage sites include:
Wijnitzer Klaus Temple
Sinagoga Wijnitzer Klaus
Address: Str. Basarabiei 8
Before World War II, eight synagogues served the local Jewish community.
Today, only one, built in 1885 in an eclectic Moresque style, is still standing and in use.
Satmar Hasidic Synagocue
Sinagoga Hasidică Satmar
Address: Str. Gheorghe Doja 71
Old Jewish Cemetery
Cimitirul Evreiesc
Address: Str. Szilagiy Istvan
Sighet was a center of Hasidism and pilgrims from around the world still gather here to visit the tombs
of the tzadikim (righteous ones) in the Old Jewish Cemetery.
Jewish Community Centre
Comunitatea Evreilor din Sighetu Marmatiei
Address: Str. Basarabiei 8
Telephone: (+4) 0262 311.652
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Sighetu Marmatiei Museums
Elie Wiesel Memorial House and Jewish Culture Museum
Casa Memoriala Elie Wiesel
Address: Str. Tudor Vladimirescu 1
Tel: (+4) 0262 311.521
Open:
Tue. – Sun. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (April 15 -- September 30)
Tue. – Sun. 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. (October 1 -- April 14)
Located not far from the Wijnitzer Klaus synagogue, the house where Elie Wiesel - 1986 Nobel Peace Prize winner -
was born is now a museum dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust and the Sighet Jewish community.
Born in Sighet in 1928, Elie Wiesel is the author of over 40 books, the best known of which is Night,
a memoir that describes his experiences during the Holocaust and his imprisonment in several concentration camps.
Wiesel writes candidly of his childhood in Sighet, where his parents were shopkeepers like many other Jewish townspeople. The town was annexed to Hungary in 1940. In 1944, Elie, his family and the rest of the Jewish community were placed in one of the two ghettos in Sighet. The Wiesel family lived in the larger of the two, on Serpent Street. On April 19, 1944, the Hungarian authorities deported the town's Jewish population to Auschwitz–Birkenau.
Maramures Ethnography Museum
Muzeul de Etnografie al Maramuresului
Address: Piata Libertatii 15
Tel: (+4) 0262 311.521
Open:
Tue. – Sun. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (April 15 -- September 30)
Tue. – Sun. 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. (October 1 -- April 14)
Housed in a baroque-style building from 1730, the museum displays a valuable collection of
folk masks, old ceramics, carpets, woodcarvings, handmade rugs, icons painted on glass and other pastoral heritage items.
Maramures Village Museum
Muzeul Satului Maramuresan
Address: Str. Dobaies 40
Tel: (+4) 0240 513.249
Open:
Tue. – Sun. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (April 15 -- September 30)
Tue. – Sun. 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. (October 1 -- April 14)
Laid out in the style of a traditional Maramures village,
Sighet's open-air ethnographic museum is home to numerous houses, farm buildings and a typical wooden church,
all original structures transported from regional villages to the museum's grounds.
Museum of Arrested Thought
Memorialul Victimelor Comunismului si al Rezistentei
Address: Str. Corneliu Coposu 4
Tel: (+4) 0262 316.848
Sighet's infamous prison, one of the most oppressive in the country during the communist years,
witnessed the torture and starvation of numerous members of Romania's intellectual and political elite during the 1950s.
Today a museum dedicated to the memory of the prisoners and the resistance movement in communist Romania,
he prison features photographic displays illustrating the history of this gloomy institution.
Those interested can also visit the prison's cells and torture chambers.
Attractions Near Sighetu Marmatiei
The Merry Cemetery
Cimitirul Vesel - Sapanta
Where: 12 miles northwest of Sighetu Marmatiei
Nearest train station: Sighetu Marmatiei
Colorful, five-foot, carved oak headstones, featuring a carved portrait or scenes from the deceased's life,
are inscribed with witty epitaphs that capture essential elements – both the good and the imperfections – of the villagers who rest here.
Words and images were chosen by the sculptor as he saw fit at this unique cemetery located 20 minutes outside of Sighetu Marmatiei.
The headstones also feature geometric designs in symbolic colors:
yellow for fertility (the subject had many children), red for passion, green for life, black for early death.
The townsfolk's ancestors considered death as a beginning, not the end. Therefore, the background is always blue, the color of hope and freedom.
Even without benefit of translation, visitors will appreciate the creativity and handiwork of sculptor Stan Ioan Patras (1907-1977),
who began carving these epitaphs in 1935.
Patras' house, Casa Memorială Stan Ioan Pătraș
located 0.2 miles west of the cemetery, is now a fascinating museum
(sddress:
Strada Principală 445, Săpânța).
Vasile Stan, one of Patras' apprentices, continues the work of his teacher.
The Merry Cemetery in the press:
The Last Laugh; In the Merry Cemetery, grave markers celebrate life with beautiful images and gentle wit
You'll Die Laughing, if You're Not Already Dead
Town of Baia Mare
Where: 40 miles southwest of Sighetu Marmatiei
Baia Mare more info
Day Trips
Maramures Villages
Sighetu Marmatiei is a good starting point for visiting Maramures's river valleys Tisa, Iza, Viseu, Mara and Cosau, doted with traditional villages.
The people of Maramures have preserved, to an amazing extent, the rural culture and crafts of their Dacian ancestors.
Mountains (Gutai, Lapus, Tibles Maramures and Rodnei massifs) and rolling hills characterize the landscape of Maramures.
Five mountain passes (Huta, Gutai, Prislop, Setref and Botiza) and three large valleys (Viseu, Iza and Maracross) cross the region.
Rodnei Mountains National Park a nature reserve filled with a rich diversity of flora and fauna, has been awarded biosphere status by UNESCO. Here, chamois leap between rocks, eagles' cries ring out overhead and as the snows recede in the spring, crocus and other flowers cut swaths of dazzling colors across the landscape.
Wooden Churches of Maramures
Across Eastern Europe, from Karelia and northern Russia all the way to the Adriatic,
there is a strong tradition of building wooden churches; the best, most unique, examples are in Maramures.
Woodlands still account for more than four-fifths of the land surface of Maramures
and wood has long been the medium of expression for the region's artisans.
The Wooden Churches of Maramures are unique in shape and ornamentation.
The characteristic high roofs and tall, narrow, pointed steeples are often collectively described as the Gothic Style of Maramures.
The primary material used by the artisans was local oak, which has survived the elements with sturdy elegance until the present day.
The interior walls of the churches were painted by local artists,
with biblical scenes often juxtaposed against the familiar landscape of the village.
Seven of the almost 100 wooden churches in Maramures have been included on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list.
Barsana Village
Biserica Intrarea Maicii Domnului in Biserica
Location: 10 miles southeast of Sighetu Marmatiei
Nearest train station: Sighetu Marmatiei
Built in 1720, the wooden church in Barsana features some of the most representative baroque indoor murals in Maramures.
This outstanding church boasts an impressive collection of icons painted on glass and old religious books.
Budesti Village
(Biserica Sfantul Nicolae)
Location: 15 miles south of Sighetu Marmatiei
Nearest train station: Sighetu Marmatiei
Dating from 1643, the church in Budesti is home to a valuable collection of icons painted on glass which depict folkloric scenes;
it also houses a unique collection of wooden icons painted on both sides.
The influence of the Western Gothic style can be seen in the arrangement of the main belfry, which is surrounded by four smaller turrets.
Desesti Village
Biserica Cuvioasa Paraschiva
Location: 16 miles south of Sighetu Marmatiei
Nearest train station: Sighetu Marmatiei
This wooden church was built in 1770 in traditional Maramures style and painted by the renowned post-Byzantine fresco painter Radu Munteanu.
The interior is home to a collection of 14 painted wooden icons of great artistic value.
Ieud Village
(Biserica Nasterea Maicii Domnului)
Location: 20 miles southeast of Sighetu Marmatiei
Nearest train station: Viseu de Sus
Built in 1364, the Church on the Hill is the oldest church in Maramures.
Built of pine and fir with small windows, a double roof and a single, impressive steeple, it features 15th century primitive Byzantine-style murals.
Fourteen icons, illustrating moments from "Judgment" to "Crucifixion" are placed along the path leading up to the church
to recall "The Way to the Cross" that Jesus Christ walked to Golgotha.
Plopis Village
(Biserica Sfintii Arhangheli Mihail si Gavril)
Location: 28 miles southwest of Sighetu Marmatiei
Nearest train station: Viseu de Sus
Built between 1796-1798 and painted in 1811, this church's construction combines architectural elements from both the Maramures and Transylvania regions.
High walls endowed with two rows of windows increase interior illumination and add to the distinctive style of the church,
he only one in Maramures with a vaulted roof.
Poienile Izei Village
Biserica Cuvioasa Paraschiva
Location: 18 miles southeast of Sighetu Marmatiei
Nearest train station: Viseu de Sus
This is one of the most beautiful and best-preserved architectural monuments in Maramures.
An interesting element is the metal horned moon under the cross, considered a means of protection against the Tartars.
Built in 1604, the church's interior frescoes feature dramatic depictions of hell.
Rogoz Village
Biserica Sfintii Arhangheli Mihail si Gavril
Location: 10 miles west of Sighetu Marmatiei
Nearest train station: Sighetu Marmatiei
Built in 1663 of elm and painted in 1785, the wooden church in Rogoz features an asymmetrical roof with the northern side larger
and lowered to protect the people standing outside during important religious celebrations.
Unlike the typical churches in Maramures, this church has a much smaller interior space, with walls no higher than 10 feet.
Surdesti Village
Biserica Sfintii Arhangheli Mihail si Gavril
Location: 30 miles south of Sighetu Marmatiei
Nearest train station: Baia Mare
Dating from 1767, the famous wooden church in Surdesti, built of oak beams skillfully intertwined,
displays well-preserved interior watercolor canvases and a remarkable 175-feet tall belfry.
Surdesti is known to be one of the highest oak buildings in the world with an overall height from ground level to the top of the steeple of 235 feet.
Remarkably, no metal was used to erect the belfry as even the fastenings are made entirely from wood.
Festivals and Events
Paste in Maramures (second day of Orthodox Easter)
Communities from allover Mareamures gather at the Village Museum in Sighetu Marmatiei for the Festival of Easter Customs and Traditions.
"Marmatia" - Festival of Christmas Traditions (December)
Authentic Experiences
Every year on December 27, locals and visitors from villages in Maramures county promenade through town dressed in traditional costumes, some riding horses adorned with ribbons, evergreen sprigs and embroidered saddlecloths. Carols and traditional music resound. Vasser Valley Narrow Gauge Steam Train (Mocanita)For a one-of-a-kind experience, take the narrow-gauge steam train Mocanita which departs from Viseu de Sus.
Starting from this small logging town, the steam railway runs along a scenic road for about 30 miles, chugging behind an old steam engine.
The train provides the only access, other than on foot, to settlements higher up in the valley.
During stops, passengers can watch workers load firewood and take on water from clear mountain streams.
On the trip back down in the evening, the engine driver whistles for brakemen to stop the train, sometimes to pick up or drop off passengers,
sometimes to gather wild mountain mushrooms.
Mocanita Website
Past is still present in Maramures. To experience both visitors can spend one or more nights in a B & B in a village not far from Sighetu Marmatiei or Baia Mare. Maramures village accommodations include: Village Hotel in Breb, Soare in Maramures in Budesti, Pajisti Verzi in Viseu de Sus, Magnolia in Vișeu de Sus, Landhaus in Vișeu de Sus, Pensiunea Raluca in Vadu Izei, Talhaus in Vișeu de Sus, Casa din Vale in Breb.
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Trip Planning InfoTransportation
AirNearest airports to Sighetu Marmatiei:
Baia Mare (BAY) – 40 miles southwest of Sighetu Marmatiei
Satu Mare (SUJ)– 70 miles west of Sighetu Marmatiei
Cluj Napoca (CLJ)– 110 miles south of Sighetu Marmatiei
Suceava (SCV)– 160 miles east of Sighetu Marmatiei
Sighetu Marmatiei Train Station
Gara Sighetu Marmatiei
Address: Str. Garii 2
Phone: (+4) 0262 310.202
Trains connect Sighetu Marmatiei to Bucharest, Brasovv Cluj Napoca, Arad, OPradea and Timisoara arrive and depart daily to/from Sighetu Marmatiei.
There is also daily service to Viseu de Jos, Salva, Vatra Dornei, Campulung Moldovenesc, Gura Humorului, Suceava.
The train station is located about a half-mile from the town center.
To check train schedules for domestic routes, please visit
RomaniaTourism domestic transportation section.
The site has complete information about domestic train schedules and fares.
For departures from /to Bucharest, please select Bucuresti Nord.
Nearest SNCFR's Advance Booking Office (Agentia de Voiaj CFR is located in Baia Mare.
Address: Str. Victoriei 57, Baia Mare
Telephone: (+4) 0262 219.113
Train schedule information and advance tichets purchase. Tickets for same-day travel can only be purchased at the train station.
Sighetu Marmatiei Bus Stations (Autogara)
Autogara Tur Calatori
Address: Piața Gării 70
Phone: (+4) 0742 122.615
Autogara Jan
Address: Piața Gării 10
Phone: (+4) 0728 931.198
Daily bus service from/to: Baia Borsa, Baia Mare, Borsa Complex, Botiza, Budesti, Mara, Poienile Izei, Remeti, Sacel, Saliste, Sapanta, Sat Sugatag, Viseu De Sus
CarBucharest to Sighetu Marmatiei via E60/Route 1:
Bucuresti – Sinaia – Brasov –Targu Mures – Reghin – Bistrita – Beclean – Dej – Baia Mare – Sighetu Marmatiei
Cluj Napoca to Sighetu Marmatiei via E576 - E58 / Route 1C – DN18:
Cluj Napoca – Gherla – Dej – Somcuta Mare – Baia Mare – Sighetu Marmatiei
Satu Mare to Sighetu Marmatiei via E81 – E58/Route 1C – DN19:
Satu Mare – Livada – Negresti Oas – Sapanta – Sighetu Marmatiei
| Road distance from Sighetu Marmatiei to: | |
|---|---|
| City | Distance: Miles / Km |
| Bucharest | 350 miles |
| Arad | 215 miles |
| Baia Mare | 40 miles |
| Brasov | 235 miles |
| Budapest (Hungary | 320 miles |
| Cluj Napoca | 120 miles |
| Constanta | 465 miles |
| Iasi | 170 mi |
| Oradea | 160 miles |
| Satu Mare | 70 miles |
| Sibiu | 220 miles |
| Sighisoara | 160 miles |
| Suceava | 140 miles |
| Timisoara | 240 miles |
| Tulcea | 380 miles |
| Vienna (Austria) | 485 miles |
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Sighetu Marmatiei Taxi Companies| Sighetu Marmatiei Taxi companies: | |
|---|---|
| Name | Telephone # |
| ProTaxi | (+4) 0262 977 |
| Radio Taxi | (+4) 0262 317.443 |
| Taxi Non-Stop | (+4) 0262 311.911 |
| Taxi Party | (+4) 0262 318.888 |
| Taxi Sighet | (+4) 0740 062.062 |
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Sighetu Marmatiei Accommodations
Accommodations in Sighetu Marmatiei include:
| Hotel Name | Class | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Gradina Morii | four-star / upper-midscale | one mile south of Sighetu Marmatiei Town Centre |
| City Room Sighet | four-star / upper-midscale | Town Centre |
| Casa Iurca | three-star / midscale | Town Centre |
| Iza | three-star / midscale | 2.2 miles south of Sighetu Marmatiei Town Centre |
| Buti | three-star / midscale | Town Centre |
| Perla Sigheteana | three-star / midscale | one mile west of Town Centre |
| Camves Inn | three-star / midscale | 2.2 miles west of Town Centre |
| Konnak | three-star / midscale | one mile southwest of Town Centre |
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Tourist Information
Town of Sighetu Marmatiei Tourist Information Centre
Centrul de Informare Turistica
Address: Piata Libertatii 26, Sighetu Marmatiei
Phone: ((+4) 0371 347.133
Hours: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Maramures County Tourist Information Center
Centrul de Informare Turistica Maramures
E-mail
www.VisitMaramures.ro
Pharmacies & Hospitals
General emergency phone number: 112
Sighetu Marmatiei Hospital
Spitalul Municipal Sighetu Marmatiei
Address: Str. Avram Iancu 22
Tel: (+4) 0262 311.541
Sighetu Marmatiei Pharmacies open Non-Stop :
Duty Pharmacy
Phone: (+4) 0748 932.806
Sighetu Marmatiei - Local Authorities
Sighetu Marmatiei TownHall
Primaria Sighetu Marmatiei
Telephone: (+4) 0262 311.001
Sighetu Marmatiei Main Post Office
Address: Str. Bogdan Voda 2
Tel: (+4) 0262 311.115
Open: Mon. – Fri. 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Sat. 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Post offices display a postal horn symbol and the word Posta.
Telephoning Sighetu Marmatiei from Abroad
International Access Code +40 (country code) + 262 or 362 (area code) + six-digit telephone number
Maps
Map of Romania Historical Regions
Town of Sighetu Marmatiei interactive Street Map
Romania - Main Roads an Tourist Attractions Map
