After some recent bike trips in the countryside near where I live, I discovered that it is dotted with quite a few old wooden churches, and because I love history in general, I kind of took to heart the idea of learning as much as I can about these churches and all their discreet symbolism.
Wooden churches in Romania are most of what is left of a wonderfully complex woodworking craft which was very common in the rural areas until the 20th century and also had a lot of local variation and cultural significance.
Because most of the wooden houses have disappeared or are in museums, the wooden churches are almost the last evidence of that woodworking culture that are still in use.
So, in order to better understand what all the murals and wood carving means, I started to search for books and other sources that can get me up to speed.
source
Examples of mural art and carvings found in wooden churches
So far I've found these two books, the larger one is written both in romanian and english.
After I will get my history geek on and study as much as I can, the plan is to do several day long bike trips and visit them by region, for example, visit most of the wooden churches in Salaj county. And although it sounds easy enough, most of these churches are not open during the weekdays, so it will definitely require some logistical magic :)
In an upcoming post I will discuss the basic architecture and design of these wooden churches.
But in the meantime, here are some documentaries you can watch if you want to learn more:
The first video is free to watch and the second is a trailer for the full documentary, both have english subtitles. You can watch the full version of the second documentary here for a few dollars. I have bought the DVD version myself and I was very impressed how well it is filmed and how well the music gets you in the mood.
I hope I have sparked your interest for this topic. Until next time :)
My name is Adrian a.k.a "The nearsighted traveler". I'm a running enthusiast who loves to spend time enjoying nature. I write mostly about running, the places I explore and the interesting stuff I learn here on steemit.
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