Wooden Architecture by Lucian Stefan Mocanu

Wooden architecture – evolution of churches in Maramures

wooden churches in the Eastern Europe?

I agree with Baboş (2004, p.21) when he states that the Maramuresean churches are the result of the mixture between the specific architecture of the Carpathian Mountains and the Gothic architecture and traces of this type of architecture are far before the Middle Ages.

Yet, this assertion does not explain why this unique architecture is limited to a rather narrow space and why none of its specific elements are present outside Maramures.

Based on Baboş’s writings (2004), it is my personal opinion that the specificity of this architecture and is influenced by two historically documented facts: A. the Carpathian populations developed local settlements based on wood and carpentry for centuries Throughout history, architecture developed in different areas according to environment and cultural-crossing. Thus, in some regions, architecture seems to have evolved by itself but a wider and deeper examination of the matter always reveals that the space where it developed bears influences from other ethnic groups.

Typical Maramuresean church.

B. Slavonic migrations had influences in the surrounding regions, but less in Maramures.

In order to prove and explain the aforementioned facts, it is essential to begging by speaking about the populations that lived in the Eastern-Europe for centuries.

The wooden churches in Maramures, Romania, with their extremely tall and sharp steeples, are a perfect example of the previously mentioned fact. Their architecture has recently attracted a vivid and wide interest for their specificity in the region. Some observers consider this isolated traditional architecture as unique. For my essay, the question I will debate is: what exactly makes this architecture different than the architectural styles of other

Lucian Stefan Mocanu

The population around 500 B.C. in the area between The Carpathian Mountains, the Danube and the Black Sea was known as the ‘Dacians’ (V. Georgescu, 1984, p.3). In 113 A.D., their territory, Dacia, was conquered by the Roman Empire after a war led by Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus. He transformed Dacia in a Roman province and developed the region according to the Roman social and infrastructural standards. Between 271 and 275 A.D., Marcus Aurelius terminated the Roman domination over Dacia by moving the administration, army and colonized population South of Danube (The Balkan Peninsula) (V. Georgescu, 1984, p.8-15).

Lucian Stefan Mocanu

Gothic tower of three Maramuresean wooden churches.

In the many years that followed, part of the population came back to inhabit their ancestors’ lands. They were later named

struggle of the Ottomans to convert them (V. Georgescu, 1984, p.21).

Wooden church from Jupinesti, Arges (1742).

Wallachs (Vlachs), in about 9th century (V. Georgescu, 1984, p.13). Along this time, they developed traditions and architectural building techniques accustomed to their natural environment that led to a wooden type of settlements that are specific to Carpathian Mountains.

During the Middle Ages, the land formerly known as Dacia, finally achieved the genesis of the Romanian principalities (word for territorial organization): Moldavia, Wallachia and Transylvania (unified in 1918 as Romania). Each of these territories was greatly influenced by other cultures: Transylvania was under the rule of Hungarians, while Moldavia and Wallachia were both controlled by the Ottomans until 19th century (Boia, 2001, p.270). The administration of the principalities was modified according to their rulers, but it seems that the Orthodox religion was kept by the autochthone populations despite the

Lucian Stefan Mocanu

Architecture in Transylvania, and hence in Maramures (a county of this province), was influenced by the then powerful Hungarian state. In the early 12th century, Geza II, ruler of

and Czech Republic (Buxton, 1981, p.189).

However, unlike Maramures, the way architecture in these countries was influenced is also correlated to the migration of Slavs (Indo-European people) in the 6th century (V. Georgescu, 1984, p.13). In my opinion, the reason why religious architecture in the Eastern Europe seems to follow the same layout in plan is due to this Slav migration.

Apparently, Slav population did not influence too much the area of present Hungary and Romania, except a few administrative and territorial types of organization and the liturgy language.

Hungary decided to bring Saxon and Szekler communities along with the Teutonic Knights to defend the South border of Transylvania (V. Georgescu, 1984, p.24). This had a great impact on the architecture in that area, as most of the fortified settlements were built in Romanesque and Gothic style. Towns such as Brasov, Sibiu, and Cluj-Napoca were built in these styles of architecture.

This style of wooden architecture then spread North with the returning of the autochthon population (the Wallachs) into what is known Russian church at Belaya Sluda (1753).

nowadays as the territory of Ukraine, Slovakia

Church Surdesti, Maramures (1724).

Typical Ukrainian wooden church of 17th century.

Lucian Stefan Mocanu

Wooden churches from: Slovakia (left) and Ukraine (right).

Maramures, as the northern part of Transylvania and its architecture, was affected by the architecture of the surrounding towns.

However, the visual appearance of the Gothic architecture probably had a stronger impact in the development of the aesthetics that the craftsmen embedded in their buildings (Baboş, 2004, p.151).

Specific to the architecture of this area is that it depended on craftsmen, as there are no real architects behind the constructions. There are no traces about designers of the buildings, a fact that is common for the architecture of the Middle Ages (Kostof, 1995).

the whole Balkan-Carpathian area being related to religion. But there are many others which are specific to the branch of craftsmen that made the buildings (Baboş, 2004, p.15).

Above the Gothic influence, the environment is one of the reasons for churches with tall pitched roofs as the amount of snow in the winter is greater than in the other regions. The sloping roofs do not allow a thick layer of snow to get frozen on the roof and eventually collapse the structure (Baboş, 2004, p.129).

However, most of the wooden structures in the Carpathians are sloped roofs but those built in Maramures are taken to a higher level.

The peak period of wooden architecture in the Eastern Europe seems to be around 17th – 18th when the styles established unique characteristics (Baboş, 2004, p.10). The way these can be distinguished from other countries’ wooden architecture is through the pattern created by the construction elements.

Although throughout all of Easter Europe the principles are the same; the way the wood is crafted makes the difference. The shingles are different from a region to another due to the way the craftsmen forwarded the technique to the next generations. Most of the differences can be found at the entrance, on the columns of the porch. Some of the motifs are general for

Lucian Stefan Mocanu

Wooden jointings A. Russia; B.E. Romania; C. Trans-Carpathia; D. Croatia.

From one area to another, along Carpathian Mountains, the way shingles are cut is different. In the Soviet Trans-Carpathia, the shingles are thicker and the way of binding one another creates a pattern unlike the one in Maramures (Buxton, 1981, p.30-35). By the time, the Maramuresean craftsmen found new inventive solutions for binding wood as their architecture evolved and confronted them with new challenges (BaboĹ&#x;, 2004, p.101-102).

Wooden jointings A. Russia; B.E. Romania; C. Trans-Carpathia; D. Croatia.

In the north-eastern countries such Russia and Poland, timber is kept round without flattering it to a rectangular shape as Carpathian

Lucian Stefan Mocanu

Shingles A. Slovakia; B.C. Russia; D.Trans-Carpathia; E.F. Romania.

populations used to do. Simply, they cut the edges to form jointing for the intersecting parts. In the Trans-Carpathian area and Romania, the jointings are more complex and the timber is cut transversal to flatten the surface of the wall. The same technique is present in wooden architecture in Croatia (Buxton, 1981, p.22-25). The North to South migration of the Slavs passed Maramures and faded South. I relate the use of raw timber to the Slav carpentry as it overlaps their migration.

The Maramuresean architecture as we know now comes from about 17th century and some of the buildings are still well preserved. Due to the lately arriving new European architectural styles, the eastern architecture got behind comparing to the western one. This hybrid architecture is the result of the local architecture influenced by Saxon gothic architecture. The churches keep a simple plan formed by a narthex, nave and apse but the roof covers all the rooms and the tower merges with the roof above the first mentioned room (BaboĹ&#x;, 2004, p.145). Sometimes, there is a smaller roof for the sanctuary but this architecture is different than the one developed in the other Carpathian regions through the way the spaces are covered. In Ukraine, Slovakia and Czech Republic, the spaces have separate roofing, similar with the organization of the early built Russian wooden churches. Though, there is a tower rising above

Lucian Stefan Mocanu

the narthex, it is not that pitched and tall as the ones of the Maramuresean architecture.

The churches in Maramures are in fact a timber version of the Gothic churches for the people in the rural areas. Some are even influenced by Baroque through the tower form and decorations (Buxton, 1981, p.222).

these is trefoiled and peculiar comparing to the other regions. They are also different by the presence of domes for each interior space. The

Going back to the origins of the religious Romanian architecture, the styles from the three principalities share common characteristics. The religion from 14th century in Moldavia and Wallachia became Byzantine and the language of the liturgy became Slavonic (V. Georgescu, 1984, p.66-68). The organization of the plan for both Wallach churches and those in Transylvania are the same: usually the nave and narthex have the same width and the sanctuary is rounded instead of keeping a rectangular shape. Despite this similarity between those two, the Moldavian have a different shape as it is more related to Byzantine architecture. The plan of Lucian Stefan Mocanu

domes can be seen only from the inside as the roof covers all the space. For most of the churches the belfry is absent and usually, the roofing is simple (Buxton, 1981, p.258).

The roofing system and the shingles are different from region to region according to the preferences of the craftsmen. Usually, the wood used in Maramures is oak because it decays slower than fir and also it absorbs the moisture to a balanced level with the environment. Moreover, the material was abundant in the west side of the region (M. Georgescu, 2010).

The belfry gives a tremendous appearance to the building through the heights that can reach up to 54 meters. The problem of such tall structures was the stability as the tower sat on the celling of the narthex. The solution was to counteract the weight by diagonal timbers, concealed within the roof, running from points outside the tower to the uprights of the opposite side’ and then supported by the solid walls of the church (Baboş, 2004, p.148).

The opposite of the thin, tall belfries of Maramuresean churches are the ones in the Soviet Trans-Carpathia which have a simple structure due to the large surface of the base and the robust form of the tower (Buxton, 1981, p.141).

In the North Transylvania of the 17th - 18th century, the peak of wooden churches was represented by a Gothic aesthetics. Slender belfries merging from a pitched tall roof was the main characteristic of Maramuresean churches. The churches in other parts of the Carpathian Mountains are quite different. The

the belfry roof, the robust tower and the separated roofing for the inside spaces. The architecture in Wallachia and Moldavia had a different turn before 17th century as the wooden churches were replaced by masonry (Buxton, 1981, p.259-260).

Maramures still keeps traces of this style of wooden architecture, some of the constructions being well preserved. Eight such churches are considered unique and they are included in the UNESCO World Heritage program (Negrusa, et al., n.d.). Unlike the dispute regarding the pure authenticity of this Maramuresean architecture, the crafting of these churches is largely considered as unique. Nowadays, there are very few people that know the techniques.

Fortunately, though this style of architecture was developed to its final form about 17th century, it preserved through the Modern period and efforts are done to keep it lasting.

The context of history and the environment led to the creation of the wooden architecture in the Carpathian Area. The influences related to migration of populations at the early Middle Ages affected the way architecture developed by the cross of cultures. The Wallachs moved to Balkan Peninsula and got back to natal territories with new cultural habits from the region they lived in. The Slav population that passed through also influenced the autochthones. Hungarians brought the Saxons and Szeklers in the North of Transylvania. All those migrations were the context of creating styles of architecture with common characteristics but different aesthetics.

As a conclusion, the Maramuresean architecture is one of the examples of architecture which seems to be unique but, Vlachs migration and settlements. tracing down the influences, we are led to the idea that Spiro Kostof explained through his Ukrainian, Slovakian wooden churches in that book ‘A History of Architecture‘ that everything period were marked by baroque elements on

Lucian Stefan Mocanu

is a result of cultural context and natural environment. Therefore, the Maramuresean churches are unique and they clearly distinguish among other eastern wooden

churches by a few aesthetical elements. Yet, they are based on the same principles as all the other wooden churches in the Eastern Europe.

References: Baboş, A., 2004, Tracing a Sacred Building Tradition, [online] Available at: < http://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile &recordOId=21535&fileOId=619462> Boia, L., 2001, History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness, Budapest: Central European University Press Brumfield, W. C., 1993, A History of Russian Architecture, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Buxton, D., 1981, The Wooden Churches of Eastern Europe, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Georgescu, V., 1984, The Romanians: A History, Columbus: Ohio State University Press Georgescu, M., 2010, The Design of Wooden Churches Roof; an Empirical Solution Against Wind and Rain Damage, [online] Available at: <http://www.imsar.ro/MEC-APPL_2011_1/MEC-APPL_2011_56_1_a6_Georgescu.pdf> Negrusa, A., et al., n.d., Analysis of the Main Romanian Cultural Tourism Products, [online] Available at:< http://www.wseas.us/e-library/conferences/2009/rodos/CUHT/CUHT07.pdf> Illustrations: Sketches are the authors own work.

Bibliography: Kostof, S. 1995, A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals, New York: Oxford University Press Matveev, S., 2012, Conspecte Numismatice II, Chisinau: Catedra Arheologie şi Istorie Antică Nussbaum, N., 2000, German Gothic Church Architecture, New Haven and London: Yale University Press Zachwatowicz, J., 1967, Polish Architecture, Warsaw: Arkady

Lucian Stefan Mocanu

Lucian Stefan Mocanu