The Monastery of Barsana , officially called Monastery of the Holy Apostles in Barsana , is a monastery of the Romanian Orthodox Church located in the homonymous commune, Valea Izei – Izei Valley, Maramureș district, north of the historic region of Transylvania.Romania.
The first written mentions of the existence of a monastery in Barsana date from 1390.a document concerning the properties of the family of the Voivod Dragoș Voda a fork in a road is mentioned, where one side leads to the village of Barsana and the other to the monastery the same document also refers to the monastery valley and Mount Popii.
The old wooden church, the Church of the Presentation of Our Lady in the Temple, also known as the Wooden Church of Barsana, was built in 1720, in a place called Parul Calugarului (“Monk’s Hair”), by a noble priest Ioan Ștefanca, with the help of their children and other villagers, to thank them for their protection during the previous year’s plague outbreak.
The church was later transferred to the Iza valley around 1739, to the place where there was a cemetery built after the war with the Tatars of 1717. The monastery was extinct in 1791 and in 1806 the church was transferred to the village, where is found, for a cemetery for the victims of the plague of 1742. The interior was painted again in 1806 by Hodor Toader and Ion Plohod, with Baroque and Rococo influences.
The church of Bârsana Monastery is one of the tallest wooden churches in Romania, with a height of 57m. Also in Barsana there is a second church that is part of the UNESCO world heritage.
Access : Coordinates: 47.793333, 24.091944 / Access to Barsana Monastery: At 22 kilometers southeast of Sighetul Marmatiei, at kilometer 17 of County Road 186. In front of the monastery there is a large parking lot where you can leave your car.
Highlights :
- The church is built of bars assembled in “blockbau” system (horizontal bar construction technique) and has a rectangular plan, with a two-level porch on the west and apse. of the polygonal altar, in retreat.
- The monastic ensemble was built of wood and consists of the specific gate of Maramures, the bell tower, the church (57 m high), the summer altar, the monks ‘cells, the chapel (built on several levels), the foremen’ s house and the house workshop) artists. The Museum inside the monastery was recently built.
- The church was designed in the following dimensions: 22.57 meters long, 12.20 meters wide and 57 meters high, being among the tallest wooden constructions in Europe.
Activities : sightseeing / photo opportunities – Architecture Photography / Scenic Driving- Auto Touring / Good place to glance history!!
Go next : Barsana village. / Sighet Marmatiei , a town near the Iza River, in northwestern Romania / The Merry Cemetery is a specially designed cemetery in Săpânța Municipality.
