Just outside Baia Mare, where the city gives way to the hills, the countryside of northern Romania begins to show the tradition that made this region famous: churches built entirely of wood, with steep shingled roofs and tall, needle-like spires. Many of them are dedicated to the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, and this dedication is common across the region, from small village churches to some of the eight Wooden Churches of Maramureș listed by UNESCO in 1999. Surdești and Plopiș, both within a short ride of Baia Mare, are among the finest of those, with spires that seem far too tall for the buildings beneath them.
These churches were built by Orthodox and later Greek Catholic communities from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, partly because stone churches were long restricted for Romanians in Habsburg and Hungarian Transylvania, and partly because the forests offered abundant oak and fir. The craftsmen built without nails, using wooden joints, and decorated the interiors with paintings of saints, biblical scenes and the Last Judgement, often in a vivid, naïve style. Many are still in use, and visiting usually means finding the person with the key in the village.
Baia Mare, a city of over a hundred thousand people eight kilometres away, has its own story. Its name means big mine, and gold, silver and other metals were mined here for centuries; the old town centre, with Stephen's Tower and the square, has been restored. The mining legacy also includes serious pollution, notably a cyanide spill in 2000 that contaminated rivers far downstream.
For riders, Baia Mare is a gateway to Maramureș. The DN18 climbs north over the Gutâi pass, with a series of tight hairpins through forest, to the Mara valley and Sighetu Marmației, and the roads beyond lead to the villages of the Iza and Mara valleys, with their carved wooden gates, and to Săpânța, famous for its Merry Cemetery, where the crosses are painted with humorous scenes and verses about the deceased. Road surfaces are mixed, and farm traffic is common, so ride with care.
Fuel and services are easy in Baia Mare. In the villages, look for local specialties like plum brandy, called horincă in Maramureș, homemade cheeses and honey. Sunday morning, when the villagers attend church in their traditional dress, is a special time to visit.