The Civic Academy Foundation took over the ruins of the former prison in Sighet in 1994 with the intention of transforming it into a memorial. The rehabilitation works on the building lasted until 2000. Each cell was transformed into a museum room. Objects, photographs, and documents were placed, creating the ambiance and documentation of a museum hall.
Address: 4 Corneliu Coposu Street, Hours: Closed Mondays, Tuesday-Sunday: 09:30-16:30.
Sighetu Marmației
Sighetul Marmației was first documented in 1326 and was granted town status in 1352. Until 1919, Sighet was the seat of Maramureș County, as well as during the interwar period. It is the second-largest urban center in the county in terms of size and importance after the county seat, Baia Mare. The official website of the city mentions that the origin of the city’s name is the Thracian-Dacian word “zeget,” meaning fortress. On Solovan Hill, at the foot of which the city is located, there are the ruins of a Dacian fortress. The current name of the city (composite) was recorded as such in 1742 – Szigethi in Marmatia.
Memorial of the Victims of Communism
Monument of the Procession of the Sacrificed
A group statue created by sculptor Aurel Vlad, eighteen human silhouettes walking towards a wall that closes their horizon – just as communism had restricted the lives of millions of people, led by the hand of a headless character, the guardian. The statues depict not only human isolation and suffering but also solidarity in the ambiance of the most inhumane conditions determined by the hatred of the system and disdain for the political or intellectual elite, and many who were imprisoned in the communist penitentiaries of Romania. The original wooden version was unveiled in 1997 in a cell inside the museum. In 1998, the bronze version of the 18 human silhouettes was placed in the inner courtyard of the former prison. Over time, it has become the symbolic image of the Memorial of the Victims of Communism and Resistance.
Memorial of the Victims of Communism
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Cemetery of the Poor
The Cemetery of the Poor served throughout the 20th century as a burial place for the poor and homeless, at the expense of the municipality. After 1940, those executed by the Horthy troops were buried here. Between 1950 and 1954, during the communist period, political prisoners of the Sighet extermination prison were buried here, either individually or in mass graves. Among them are Iuliu Maniu, Daniel Ciugureanu, Constantin I. C. Brătianu, Gheorghe Brătianu, and many others. Today, this place is included in the Memorial of the Victims of Communism as an architectural ensemble dedicated to the memory of political prisoners who died or were executed in communist prisons, camps, and deportations, as well as the memory of partisans killed in battles with the Securitate. Its development began after 1997 when the Memorial of the Victims of Communism and Resistance was declared a “national interest ensemble.” The country’s map is made up of conifers.
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Maramureș Village Museum
Address: 1 Muzeului Street – Hours: Tuesday-Sunday: 10-18.
It was inaugurated on May 30, 1981, on the occasion of the International Museum Day. Professor and historian Mihai Dăncuș (1942-2020), former director of the Maramureș Museum, made a major contribution to its establishment. The village museum comprises over 30 preserved households, some fully furnished with original pieces, grouped into the main subzones of historical Maramureș. In addition to Romanian households, a Ukrainian, a Hungarian dwelling, and two Jewish houses (one of which houses a village synagogue) have been reconstructed.
Foto © Instagram: Ziabucuria
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Maramureș Traditional Architecture Museum
Part of the Maramureș Village Museum.
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday: 10-18.
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Wooden Church, 16th century
Originally from Oncești, the wooden church built in the 16th century was brought to the Maramureș Village Museum in Sighetu Marmației in 1974 and is currently the main attraction of the open-air museum. The church is situated on a promontory dominating the entire village recreated within the museum and towards which all the roads that traverse it converge. This wooden church is the oldest construction in the museum; some logs have been dendrochronologically dated between 1572 and 1614. Only a few fragments of the wall painting have been preserved. The royal doors represent the Annunciation in the upper part, and in the four lower compartments, the evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John appear.
Maramureș Village Museum
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Ethnographic Museum of Maramureș
Address: 1 Bogdan Vodă Street
Closed Mondays, Tuesday-Sunday: 09-16.
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Natural Sciences Museum
Liberty Square, No. 15
Monday-Friday: 09-15
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History and Archaeology Museum
Liberty Square, No. 15
Monday-Friday: 09-15
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Astra Palace
It was built in record time between 1912 and 1913, at the initiative of the Transylvanian Association for Romanian Literature and Culture. Named ASTRA, the palace honored the Transylvanian Association for Romanian Literature and Culture. In 1938, the Council of Ministers, led by Prime Minister Armand Călinescu and Minister of Culture Octavian Goga, decided to donate the property “for eternity” to the Orthodox Episcopate of Maramureș. The palace was used by the Episcopate for only two years, until 1940. It was reopened on July 10, 2022, under the name Cultural-Pastoral Center “Saint Hierarch Joseph the Confessor.”
Historical building
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Reduta Palace
The current Mara cinema, Reduta Palace was built in 1889, the adopted style being an eclectic classicizing one. In the 19th century, it was the headquarters of the Military Club and the Military Casino, and since 1971 it also houses the Ethnographic Museum of Maramureș.
Historical building
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County Palace
At the end of the 17th century, during the reorganization of Maramureș County, there was a need for a building to serve as the general assembly for the county’s representatives. Thus, the prefecture of Maramureș County was initially erected in the years 1690-1691. It contains architectural elements of the Baroque and eclectic styles. In the festive hall, the county representatives’ assemblies were held, while the other rooms were intended for administrative offices. Over time, the building has been visited by several personalities, including Emperor Joseph II, Emperor Wilhelm II, Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria in 1852, during a visit to Maramureș, and among kings: King Ferdinand, King Carol II, King Michael. The building underwent several transformations; in 1948, after the abolition of Maramureș County (interwar period) and the relocation of the county seat to Baia Mare, the building was converted into an industrial high school. During the communist period, to erase the history of this place, the authorities transformed it not into a museum or administrative residence, but into a tavern and self-service restaurants. Subsequently, following a restoration project (considered today as uninspired), both its structure and purpose were modified, becoming a commercial complex.
Historical building
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Reformed Church, 14th-15th centuries
The oldest building in the city, which over the centuries has undergone several modifications even in structure and style. Between the 14th and 15th centuries, the sanctuary and the bell tower were built in the Gothic style. During that period, the church was surrounded by a fortified enclosure. It was damaged by the earthquake of 1844. After restoration, it was again affected by the fire in 1859. The faithful decided to build a new church and preserved only the lower part of the bell tower. The current church was completed in 1892. The church tower, the oldest structure in Sighet, still preserves today 15 meters of the old structure. In front of the Reformed church are two obelisks erected in 1887.
Ioan Mihaly de Apșa street
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Roman Catholic Church, 1806
The foundation stone of the Roman Catholic church, dedicated to St. Carol de Borrromeo, was laid in 1736 by the order of Piarist monks, being built from a single nave with a tower, in Baroque style. In 1775, the new building of the Piarist school, with 188 students, (the current Museum of History and Archeology), and the boarding school – the complex of buildings flanking the church – were inaugurated. Of the original furniture, only the pulpit, the pews and the four paintings of the side altars remained. Above the main entrance is a sundial.
Liberty Square
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Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 1808
Bogdan Vodă street
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Romanian Orthodox Church, 1890
Dragoș Vodă street
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``Laurențiu Ulici`` Municipal Library
One of the oldest cultural institutions that has operated continuously in Sighetu Marmației is the library that continues the activity started within the “Dragoșiana” society (1867) and which now holds a valuable library document fund exceeding 100,000 copies. Alongside this, the city also has a number of school libraries and bookstores that cover the community’s book needs.
Bogdan Vodă street, no. 118
L-V: 08-16
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School of Music and Fine Arts
Mihai Eminescu street no. 6
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``Ioan Mihalyi de Apşa`` Memorial House
Located in the historic center of Sighetu Marmației, the “Ioan Mihalyi de Apşa” Memorial House was purchased by the Mihalyi family in 1880 and expanded in 1882 to its current form. With an area of 250 square meters, it preserves, in a period atmosphere, much of the material and spiritual life universe in which the jurist and historian Dr. acad. Ioan Mihalyi de Apșa lived.
Ioan Mihalyi de Apșa street no. 19
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Elie Wiesel Memorial House
The memorial house where Elie Wiesel was born and lived until the age of 15, when he was deported with his family to Auschwitz, is located on Dragoș Vodă Street, corner with Tudor Vladimirescu Street, also serving as the Museum of Jewish Culture in Maramureș, in an area that was part of one of Sighet’s Jewish neighborhoods. Elie Wiesel, Nobel Prize winner: If we talk about the history of the Jews of Sighet, we cannot forget the famous writer Elie Wiesel, winner of the Nobel Prize. Wiesel was deported to Auschwitz, but miraculously survived.
Tudor Vladimirescu street, no. 1
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Jewish Cemetery
The Jewish Cemetery is one of the 52 Jewish cemeteries existing in Historical Maramureș. In this cemetery, there are tombstones about 500 years old.
The Soap Monument is a monument located inside the Jewish cemetery, inscribed in modern Hebrew. It contains a crypt where soap taken by the surviving Jews from Auschwitz is kept.
Elie Wiesel, Nobel Prize winner: If we talk about the history of the Jews of Sighet, we cannot forget the famous writer Elie Wiesel, winner of the Nobel Prize. Wiesel was deported to Auschwitz, but miraculously survived.
Corneliu Coposu street, no. 4
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The Romanian Soldier Monument
1 Decembrie 1918 square
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Cemetery of Red Army soldiers
Rodnei street, no. 3
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The Soap Monument
The Soap Monument is a monument located inside the Jewish cemetery, inscribed in modern Hebrew. It contains a crypt where soap taken by the surviving Jews from Auschwitz is kept.
Corneliu Coposu street, no. 4
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Great Synagogue
The Hasidic synagogue in Sighetu Marmației is a Jewish place of worship in Sighetu Marmației, owned by the ultra-Orthodox Satmar Hasidic dynasty, under the great rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum. The construction of this building began on May 21, 2017, when it was inaugurated by several rabbis from Satmar Hasidism, led by Admor Aaron Teitelbaum. The building is located near the Holocaust Monument (Soap), which was erected on the site where the Great Synagogue, destroyed in 1944, once stood.
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The Nail (The Place Where the Map Hangs on the Nail)
“Welcome to Sighetu Marmației. Because it is said that here is where the map hangs on the nail, well, this is the said nail.”
In Sighetu Marmației, an unusual monument or “urban furniture,” as specified by the mayor, was installed right in the city center, meant to amuse tourists: a nearly two-meter tall nail marking the symbolic spot “where the map hangs on the nail.” It is located on Corneliu Coposu Street, near the Sighetu Marmației City Hall or the Maramureș Ethnographic Museum, and in the vicinity lies the Memorial of the Victims of Communism and of the Resistance.
Corneliu Coposu street, no. 1
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Historic Bridge Over the Tisa River
Sighetul Marmației (România)
Solotvino (Ucraina)
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Solovan Hill Cave
Solovan Hill Cave is a protected area of 1.2 hectares at the southern extremity of the city of Sighetu Marmației, bordered by the Iza River and its two tributaries, the Șugău River and the Spinului Valley. The natural area represents the relief formed by conglomerates, clays, sandstones, and marls, with gentle slopes of Solovan Hill, on top of which lies a cave carved in Oligocene sandstones by waters from precipitation, specifically a gallery of 30 meters.
Valea Cufundoasă street
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Teplița Lake
Located near Sighetu Marmației, Teplița Lake is an artificial lake formed by excavation, covering an area of 4.4 hectares, in the vicinity of the Tisza River. In the past, the recreational lake was equipped with boats, a restaurant on an island, pedal boats, and bridges connecting the land to the islands. Unfortunately, it was left to decay… but there would be a reason! The waters of the lake never freeze, “Teplița” in Slavic meaning thermal water. But there would be another cause, as the waters of the lake would be slightly irradiated, hence recording high temperatures even in winter. Which wouldn’t be a surprise, considering that upstream on the Tisza River, uranium deposits were discovered and exploited!
Tepliței street no. 74
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Iza River
The Iza River originates from the Rodna Mountains (see: the Blue Spring of Iza) and flows into the Tisa River, near Sighetu Marmației.
The Iza River springs from under the peak of Bătrâna in the Rodna Mountains at an altitude of 1380 meters, runs along the Maramureș Depression for a length of 83 kilometers, and flows into the Tisza River west of Sighetu Marmației.
Its main tributaries are: Mara united with Cosăul, Baicu, Botiza, Slătioara (on the right), and Ronișoara (on the left).
The main localities crossed are: Săcel, Săliștea de Sus, Dragomirești, Bogdan Vodă, Rozavlea, Strâmtura, Bârsana, Nănești, Oncești, Vadu Izei, Sighetu Marmației.
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Near Sighetu Marmației
The Treasure from Sarasău
Discovered in 1847 on a field belonging to the Man family’s estate, several thousand gold objects (approximately 4,500, weighing over 9.5 kg in total) were found. Several settlements dating back to the Bronze Age have been identified over time in the territory of the mentioned locality. A small part of the collection was acquired in 1848 by the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest. The majority of the treasure is located at the National Museum of Romanian History, in the so-called “Ioan Mihalyi de Apșa Collection” – the first systematic researcher of Maramureș prehistory, author of the Maramureș Diplomas. He acquired a part of the treasure through successive inheritances. Based on existing documentary sources, we know that one of the discoverers of the treasure was László Man (vicecount), who left a part of the jewelry inheritance to his daughter, Iulia Man, married to Gavrilă Mihályi, who in turn passed them on to his son, Ioan Mihályi de Apșa. – Source
In picture: The Noble Man Family (of Șieu) House, currently the Cultural Center of Sarașău. About Iosif Man de Șieu, the supreme count of Maramureș in 1860, read in this article.
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The Pipaș Collection Museum, Tisa
Nicolae and Maria Pipaș began collecting objects from childhood. Today, the Pipaș family museum house hosts a vast and impressive collection of old objects, with special value: coins from different periods, stamps, ceramics, wooden and glass icons, photographs, postcards, candelabras, religious objects, lace, embroidery, paintings, sculptures, antique furniture, household utensils, carpets dyed in natural colors. Most objects were purchased from Maramureș communes. Church Street, Tisa Village.
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Mohelca Cave, Crăciunești
