Why this ride
130 km from Bârsana to Bârsana, about 2 h 48 of riding. The stops in between: Church of Saint Nicholas, Church of the Nativity of the Virgin and back through Church of Saint Nicholas. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Wooden Churches of Maramureş and Church of the Nativity of the Virgin
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 130 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 48
- 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 21 km this is Romania Maramures Wooden Churches Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 21 km
- Named road
- Romania Maramures Wooden Churches Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Church of Saint Nicholas.
2. 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
Church of Saint Nicholas comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Church of the Nativity of the Virgin.
3. Church of the Nativity of the Virgin
Ieud is a long village strung along a side valley of the Iza river in Maramureș, in Romania's far north, and it has not one but two wooden churches. The one on the hill, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, is one of the eight Wooden Churches of Maramureș listed by UNESCO, and it is one of the oldest, with a tall, slender bell tower and a double roof of wooden shingles that reaches almost to the ground. Inside, the walls are covered with eighteenth-century paintings on wood and cloth, with scenes from the Last Judgement in which the damned are dressed in the clothes of the local enemies of the time. The church is also known for the Ieud Codex, a manuscript found here, one of the oldest texts written in the Romanian language.
Read the complete Church of the Nativity of the Virgin write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 65 km into the recorded legs you reach Church of the Nativity of the Virgin. Next is back through Church of Saint Nicholas.
4. back through Church of Saint Nicholas
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Church of Saint Nicholas, late in the day. Next is Wooden Churches of Maramureş.
5. 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 at Wooden Churches of Maramureş. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Wooden Churches of Maramureş to Church of Saint Nicholas
Wooden Churches of Maramureş → Church of Saint Nicholas is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of Saint Nicholas to Church of the Nativity of the Virgin
Church of Saint Nicholas → Church of the Nativity of the Virgin is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Church of the Nativity of the Virgin to back through Church of Saint Nicholas
Church of the Nativity of the Virgin → back through Church of Saint Nicholas is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Church of Saint Nicholas to Wooden Churches of Maramureş
back through Church of Saint Nicholas → Wooden Churches of Maramureş is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.