Maramureș is the corner of Romania where the twentieth century arrived late and politely, and Bârsana is a fine place to see what it left alone. The village strings itself along the Izei valley under forested hills, with high carved wooden gates in front of the farmhouses, haystacks built round tall poles in the meadows, and women in headscarves going about their business as if no coach had ever stopped. Sighetu Marmației, the nearest real town, lies about fifteen kilometres to the north-west, and the Ukrainian border is not far beyond it.
The wooden churches are the reason for coming. Several of them in this district are on the UNESCO list, and the old church of Bârsana, dating from the early eighteenth century, is one of them, a dark, steep-roofed building with a shingled spire whose walls are painted inside with saints and sinners. Higher up the slope stands a much younger monastery, built in the 1990s in the same timber tradition, whose great wooden church is among the tallest of its kind in Europe. It is a strange and gentle sight to find a new building made with the old skills, in oak and shingle, and it gives you a sense that the tradition is alive rather than preserved.
The roads in the valley are narrow but mostly sound, running through villages where horse carts are still a common sight, so keep your speed down and stay alert for animals, children and carts coming round the bends. Potholes appear after winter. The valley is at its best in late spring, when the meadows are full of flowers, and again in September, when the hay is stacked and the mist hangs in the hollows. Summer afternoons bring thunderstorms, and the road gets slick fast.
Food here is simple and good. Ask for bulz, a hearty dish of polenta with cheese and sour cream, and a glass of țuică or pălincă, the local plum brandy, which is stronger than it looks. Fuel is available in Sighet or Vișeu de Sus, so fill the tank beforehand, and do not count on card machines in the village shops. Many families offer rooms in their own houses, and breakfast comes with homemade jam, cheese, and sometimes a lecture on the gate in the yard.