Why this ride
From Deseşti it runs 100 km to Deseşti; allow about 2 h 26 of riding. On the way it passes Wooden Churches of Maramureş, Church of the Holy Parasceve and back through Wooden Churches of Maramureş. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Church of the Holy Paraskeva and Church of the Holy Parasceve
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 100 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 26
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Romania Maramures Wooden Churches Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 23 km this is Romania Maramures Wooden Churches Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 23 km
- Named road
- Romania Maramures Wooden Churches Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Church of the Holy Paraskeva
In 1780 a painter named Radu Munteanu covered the inside of the wooden church at Desești with scenes that still shock and delight: a Last Judgment in which sinners are marched off to a hell full of grinning devils, alongside saints, prophets and lively village figures. The church, dedicated to the Holy Paraskeva and built in 1770 from oak logs, rises above the village with a tall, slender tower and a steep double roof of shingles. It is one of the eight wooden churches of Maramureș inscribed by UNESCO in 1999, and its paintings are among the best preserved of them all.
Read the complete Church of the Holy Paraskeva write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of the Holy Paraskeva is where the day begins. Next is Wooden Churches of Maramureş.
2. Wooden Churches of Maramureş
Maramureș is a region in the far north of Romania, along the Ukrainian border, where traditions have survived more strongly than almost anywhere else in Europe. Its villages are known for their carved wooden gates, their haystacks and their wooden churches, eight of which form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bârsana, in the valley of the Iza river, has one of them, a church built in the eighteenth century, with a tall slender spire and a steep shingled roof.
Read the complete Wooden Churches of Maramureş write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wooden Churches of Maramureş comes up about 23 km into the recorded legs. Next is Church of the Holy Parasceve.
3. Church of the Holy Parasceve
Maramureș is one of the few corners of Europe where wood is still the language of the sacred, and the church of Saint Parascheva at Poienile Izei is a good place to learn it. It stands on a small rise above the Izei valley, a dark timber church with a steep, double-tiered shingled roof and a slender spire, built in the early seventeenth century and moved to its present spot later. Inside, the walls and ceiling carry painted scenes from the eighteenth century, and the one that always gets quoted is a vivid Last Judgment in which sinners get remarkably specific punishments.
Read the complete Church of the Holy Parasceve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 49 km into the recorded legs you reach Church of the Holy Parasceve. Next is back through Wooden Churches of Maramureş.
4. back through Wooden Churches of Maramureş
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Wooden Churches of Maramureş write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Wooden Churches of Maramureş, late in the day. Next is Church of the Holy Paraskeva.
5. Church of the Holy Paraskeva
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Church of the Holy Paraskeva write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Church of the Holy Paraskeva. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Church of the Holy Paraskeva to Wooden Churches of Maramureş
Church of the Holy Paraskeva → Wooden Churches of Maramureş is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Wooden Churches of Maramureş to Church of the Holy Parasceve
Wooden Churches of Maramureş → Church of the Holy Parasceve is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of the Holy Parasceve to back through Wooden Churches of Maramureş
Church of the Holy Parasceve → back through Wooden Churches of Maramureş is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Wooden Churches of Maramureş to Church of the Holy Paraskeva
back through Wooden Churches of Maramureş → Church of the Holy Paraskeva is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.