Sighetu Marmaţiei: Memorials, Museums and History

If you are looking for a hotel in Sighetu Marmaţiei, the city’s different cultural landmarks can help you decide what to focus on during your trip. The Memorialul Victimelor Comunismului şi al Rezistenţei is in the historic centre; the “Muzeul Satului Maramureşean” is about three kilometres from the centre, on Dealul Doboieş. The subjects range from the history of communist repression to Romania’s folk architecture.

The Memorial and the history of the prison

The Memorialul victimelor comunismului şi al rezistenţei Sighet is recognised as a site of national interest. The complex includes the former Sighet prison, the Cearda cemetery and the surrounding grounds. The prison was built in 1897 by the Austro-Hungarian authorities. Between May 1950 and July 1955, it served as a high-security prison. On 5 and 6 May 1950, more than a hundred dignitaries from across Romania were brought there. These dates bring different phases in the history of the former prison into focus.

Ana Blandiana initiated the Memorial in 1992. Over the following decade, she developed it together with Romulus Rusan and a team of historians, architects, builders and designers. In 1998, the Council of Europe placed the Memorialul de la Sighet alongside the Auschwitz Memorial and the Peace Memorial in Normandy among the most important sites of remembrance across the continent. The project’s history and the prison’s history are distinct yet interconnected aspects of this place of remembrance.

Architecture and places of remembrance

The Memorial includes an underground chapel topped by an impluvium. The “Cortegiul Sacrificaților” is a group of 18 human figures created by sculptor Aurel Vlad. Nearby is the “Cimitirul Săracilor”, an architectural memorial complex to political prisoners who died or were executed in communist prisons and camps, or during deportations, as well as partisans killed in fighting with the Securitate.

The Reformed Church of Sighetu Marmaţiei offers a different perspective on history. Its present form was completed in 1892. One stone section of the main tower is older: it preserves a carved portal and a double window above it, both from the 13th century. The Casa Memorială Elie Wiesel is housed in Elie Wiesel’s birthplace, where he was born and lived until the age of 15.

Folk architecture and winter traditions

The “Muzeul Satului Maramureşean” is on Dealul Doboieş, at the exit towards Vadu Izei. It preserves important monuments of Romania’s folk architecture. Most can be reliably dated to the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries through inscriptions engraved or carved into the wood. The museum therefore offers an architectural focus distinct from the memorials and the medieval section of the Reformed Church.

The “MARMAȚIA” Festival of Winter Customs and Traditions is also part of the city’s cultural offering. It has been held annually for more than 50 years. The festival format includes performances of winter customs, Christmas carol concerts, exhibitions, symposia and a national conference on winter customs and traditions. The specific programme may vary from one edition to another.

Practical information for your visit

A free car park for visitors is located behind the Memorialul Victimelor Comunismului şi al Rezistenţei, on Gheorghe Șincai Street. Check parking options before your trip. To visit the “Sinagoga Sefarda”, enquire at the Jewish community centre. Grădina Morii Park is designated as a starting point for the route towards Dealul Cetății Solovan–Agriş. These different pointers can help you plan cultural visits and choose your hotel according to your interests, without combining the sites into a single itinerary.

Discover more destinations: Baia Mare, Vișeu De Jos, Coruia, Petrova, Sarasău, Staţiunea Borşa, Moisei, Săcălaşeni.

For the broader travel overview: Maramureş.