Tags
art, blue, celebration, church, grave, humour, joy, Maramures, Merry Cemetery, Patras, photography, religion, Romania, Sapanta
With a touch of irony our last stop in Romania was the cemetery at Săpânţa; but no ordinary cemetery is this. Overlooked by the church, blanketed in wooden scaffolding during our visit, it is a place not of sadness and mourning but a celebration of lives lived and, continuing the belief of the ancient Dacian culture, where death is merely the beginning of a new life for the immortal soul. 
Covered in flowers and set against a backdrop of wooded hillsides Cimitirul Vesel, the Merry Cemetery, is a blaze of colour with a forest of sky blue crosses carved with portraits of the deceased, scenes of their life and amusing or satirical epitaphs. 
It all began in 1935 with the work of the local folk artist, Stan Ioan Pătraş, a sculptor, painter and poet who, in wanting to create a place of celebration, ended up creating a most unusual tourist attraction and a boon to the local economy. Before his death in 1977 Pătraş also created his own grave carvings which mark the site of his burial near the front of the church. There are now more than 800 memorials and his apprentice, Dumitru Pop Tincu, maintains the old as well as producing the new. 
The entire life of the village is preserved here and, with inscriptions written in the first person, the collective memory and the unflinching life stories told from beyond the grave, create a truly fascinating place. Unable to translate the text we explored this three dimensional picture book creating stories of our own.
(All images are copyright to Noeline Smith)
I couldn’t help noticing the angel in the red boots and knickers with the two guys looking on somewhat lasciviously.. Hmm, I wonder what the story is there.. Fascinating place and much more like the sort of cemetery I’d prefer to visit. Smashing post Noeline.
Interesting one isn’t it? The girl in the red skirt and the angel with the red boots are both sides of the same cross. I’ve spent ages trying to translate her story but haven’t done very well
It seems she had a hard time at home with her parents (or maybe thought she did?) and ran away. Presumably the ‘booted angel’ shows the kind of life she fell into then. The bits I have managed to translate are quite sad – not a happy tale methinks …..
Doesn’t sound good does it.. as you say not a happy tale by the looks of things.
Oh! Noeline! If only all cemeteries were like this – I am heartened and inspired to know that one exists!!! Do you think Hanging Langford……?
Errr – perhaps not – it would take too many people to agree!
You seek out some fascinating places! This is an excellent post. The marriage of words and images gives a ‘warming’ introduction to the people and the place. It must be a happy place to be – even in the cenetery!!
The joys of travel – and finding the unusual irresistible! I always find cemeteries interesting anyway, there is so much of people’s lives to be found there. It’s probably just as well I can’t speak Romanian or I would have been there all day!
What a fantastic idea, I think it should be adopted in more places.
It would certainly make visiting a happier experience!
How cheerful, and predominance of blue gives a strong ethnic identity to the place. I love that collage of images. Encourages me to google Sapanta to see where it’s located….
Apparently the blue was intended to represent the heavens; how lovely that there are only blue skies!
If you haven’t already done so, Săpânţa is in the north west (ish) corner of Romania and, along with the rest of Romania that we saw, well worth a visit.