Dăbâceni - Coama Pietrar 1 and Church of Saint Nicholas

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Dăbâceni - Coama Pietrar 1

   The Someș is the river of northern Transylvania, gathering its waters in the mountains and winding west through a broad, green valley towards Hungary. Around Rus and Ileanda, in the northeast of Sălaj county, the valley narrows between wooded hills, and the villages cling to the slopes above the river. Dăbâceni and the ridge called Coama Pietrar lie in this landscape, one of many recorded archaeological sites in the area, and like most of them it is more about the setting than about visible remains.

   Read the complete Dăbâceni - Coama Pietrar 1 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Dăbâceni - Coama Pietrar 1 is where the day begins. Next is Perisor - Corobana.

2. 2. Perisor - Corobana

   Țara Năsăudului, the Land of Năsăud, is a hilly corner of Bistrița-Năsăud county in northern Romania, and it has a strong sense of its own identity. In the eighteenth century the Habsburgs organised the villages here into a military frontier district, with a Romanian border regiment that defended the empire's eastern edge in return for freedom from serfdom. The people of the area were proud of that status, and the schools and institutions founded with the regiment's funds helped create a remarkable tradition of learning. Two of Romania's best-loved writers grew up nearby: the poet George Coșbuc, born in the village that now bears his name, and the novelist Liviu Rebreanu, whose books describe the lives of Transylvanian peasants.

   Read the complete Perisor - Corobana write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Perisor - Corobana comes up about 82 km into the recorded legs. Next is Church of Saint Nicholas.

3. 3. Church of Saint Nicholas

   Budești is one of the old villages of the Cosău valley in Maramureș, the far northern corner of Romania, where traditional life has survived longer than almost anywhere else in Europe. Its wooden church of St Nicholas, built in the seventeenth century, is a masterpiece of the local carpentry tradition: a dark timber body with a tall, steep shingled roof and a slender spire that seems to pierce the sky. Inside, the walls are covered with painted scenes from the Bible, and among the church's treasures is a coat of chain mail said to have belonged to Pintea the Brave, a legendary outlaw hero of the region. The church is one of eight in the UNESCO listing of the Wooden Churches of Maramureș.

   Read the complete Church of Saint Nicholas write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 190 km into the recorded legs you reach Church of Saint Nicholas. Next is back through Perisor - Corobana.

4. 4. back through Perisor - Corobana

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Perisor - Corobana write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Perisor - Corobana, late in the day. Next is Dăbâceni - Coama Pietrar 1.

5. 5. Dăbâceni - Coama Pietrar 1

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Dăbâceni - Coama Pietrar 1 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Dăbâceni - Coama Pietrar 1. That is the ride.