Site Description

The wooden churches from the proposed area are characterized by the discreet juxtaposition with the villages’ houses: borrowing the houses’ dimensions and materials, but differing through the privileged location, the landscape outline, the interior space, the mural paintings and the construction technique. The courtyard, the church and the graveyard form a spatial-symbolic entity showing both spiritual values and archetypal materials; thus the value is not just individual, but also of a group and context. The ensemble consists of a group of churches from Southern Transylvania and Northern Oltenia, with a critical conservation state: 80% are abandoned and some of the ones which are still active have become cemetery churches and are infrequently used. The list is not complete, being permanently changed according to the current needs.
The churches are founded by wealthy villagers and built by craftsmen, with ancient construction techniques; the structure, the cladding and the roofing are exclusively built in wood. They are spread in the countryside, within a hilly or mountain landscape, being characterized by small dimensions, simple volumes dominated by tall roofs, with wide gutters. Their plan, unchanged throughout time, consists of the main necessary spaces for the religious ritual: the narthex, the nave and the altar.
The churches’ uniqueness is also due to the interior painting of the walls, the vault and the iconostasis. The ensemble sums approximately 2000 sqm of wood painting, realized either on lime plastering or ‘al fresco’. In Oltenia area, the exterior of some of the churches is also painted.