We now had a full day in Maramures. We kicked it off in the morning with a visit to the Merry Cemetery in Săpânța – famous for its wooden crosses telling and depicting scenes of the dead person’s life … in many cases quiet hilarious.

Our next stop was less hilarious; we made it to Sighet prison – today the Memorial to the Victims of Communism and to the Resistance. During communist rule this prison was part of the overall scheme to get rid of any potential opposition in Romania; Sighet prison held some of the regime’s most feared opponents in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

From the prison we continued to a supermarket to get ready for a picnic lunch.
After lunch the sightseeing excursion continued – now heading to Budești to see its wooden church – Josani church, built from 1643 – a fine example of the many traditional wooden churches in this province – Unesco world heritage listed.

From this old church we continued to Bârsana to visit the local monastery. In contrast to what one might think, the buildings of the monastery go back to the 1990s only.