Sighet (and Sapanta) in Pictures
This past Thursday and Friday, I got to take some time off work to travel up to Sighetu Marmatiei (informally known as Sighet) to visit the Memorial to the Victims of Communism and to the Resistance, which is the only museum in Romania dedicated to the history of the communist period. All of the other history museums that I have seen in Romania conveniently stop when they reach WWII. Sighet is right on the border with Ukraine in the region of Maramures, and it is fourteen hours by train from Bucharest. Maramures is known for it breathtaking landscapes, its wooden churches, and the traditional Romanian peasant culture that is preserved there to a large extent. While I was in Maramures, I also visited the village of Sapanta, home of the Merry Cemetery and one of the famous wooden churches.
The Sighet Memorial Museum is housed in a former political prison, which was used by the Communists to imprison interwar Romania's intellectual and political elites. Many of them were tortured and died in prison before their arbitrary sentences were up.
All of the exhibits are in former cells. This is the cell where the leader of the National Peasant Party Iuliu Maniu died.
An exhibit on the destruction of Bucharest's historical district in the 1980s.
An exhibit on the Ceausescu cult of personality.
The museum ends with an underground chapel for reflection.
The chapel is surrounded by the names of victims of communist repression carved in stone, not unlike the Vietnam memorial.
A statue depicting political prisoners, designed by a Romanian artist for the museum.
Cimitrul Vesel or "The Merry Cemetery" is full of colorful grave markers like these. Each of them contains a picture of the deceased, often depicting how he or she died or a scene from his or her life.
The grave markers also contain epitaphs, written in first person, poking fun at the deceased's way of life or manner of death. Unfortunately, my Romanian isn't quite good enough to get most of the jokes. I took lots of pictures though, and I plan to ask my Romanian friends to help translate.
Here's the grave marker of a young girl who died in a car accident. The pictures and epitaphs are all on a blue background, representing hope and the sky to which the souls of the dead ascend.
Before visiting this church, I would have said that the wooden churches of Maramures weren't really all that exciting. But I was wrong. I don't think my pictures do them justice, but they are magnificent.
On my way to the wooden church, I met this Romanian family. They invited me in to see their handiwork (the father and son are blacksmiths) and to have some lunch. Unfortunately, I think the food that I ate there gave me food poisoning, which made for a very uncomfortable train ride home.
Here's me sitting in their summer kitchen/woodshed holding a puppy. My poisonous lunch is on the table beside me.
At some point during my long stay in the train bathroom, I noticed the Rom-lish on this sign and decided that I needed a picture of it.
The Sighet Memorial Museum is housed in a former political prison, which was used by the Communists to imprison interwar Romania's intellectual and political elites. Many of them were tortured and died in prison before their arbitrary sentences were up.
All of the exhibits are in former cells. This is the cell where the leader of the National Peasant Party Iuliu Maniu died.
An exhibit on the destruction of Bucharest's historical district in the 1980s.
An exhibit on the Ceausescu cult of personality.
The museum ends with an underground chapel for reflection.
The chapel is surrounded by the names of victims of communist repression carved in stone, not unlike the Vietnam memorial.
A statue depicting political prisoners, designed by a Romanian artist for the museum.
Cimitrul Vesel or "The Merry Cemetery" is full of colorful grave markers like these. Each of them contains a picture of the deceased, often depicting how he or she died or a scene from his or her life.
The grave markers also contain epitaphs, written in first person, poking fun at the deceased's way of life or manner of death. Unfortunately, my Romanian isn't quite good enough to get most of the jokes. I took lots of pictures though, and I plan to ask my Romanian friends to help translate.
Here's the grave marker of a young girl who died in a car accident. The pictures and epitaphs are all on a blue background, representing hope and the sky to which the souls of the dead ascend.
Before visiting this church, I would have said that the wooden churches of Maramures weren't really all that exciting. But I was wrong. I don't think my pictures do them justice, but they are magnificent.
On my way to the wooden church, I met this Romanian family. They invited me in to see their handiwork (the father and son are blacksmiths) and to have some lunch. Unfortunately, I think the food that I ate there gave me food poisoning, which made for a very uncomfortable train ride home.
Here's me sitting in their summer kitchen/woodshed holding a puppy. My poisonous lunch is on the table beside me.
At some point during my long stay in the train bathroom, I noticed the Rom-lish on this sign and decided that I needed a picture of it.
posted by Erin Kay at 7:56 AM
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