Romania’s cultural heritage includes over 1,400 wooden churches constructed before 1918, according to a report by PressOne, supported by the National Historic Cultural Tourism Program “Attractive Romania.”

These wooden churches are almost evenly distributed throughout the country, although the figures might suggest otherwise:

650 in Transylvania, Banat, Crișana, and Maramureș
~500 in Muntenia, Oltenia, and Dobruja
300 in Moldavia

The number in Moldavia seems small, but historical Moldavia also includes Northern Bukovina, Bessarabia, Budjak, and the Hertsa region. Early 20th-century documentation by Ion Halippa, later continued by the Bishop of Hotin in 1920, indicates that over 700 wooden churches existed, with 185 meeting the criteria for inclusion in Romania’s national heritage.

Eight of these churches have been part of the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1999. They are located in Budești Josani, Desești, Bârsana, Poienile Izei, Ieud, Șurdești, Plopiș, and Rogoz.

Romania’s wooden churches form a large, cohesive, and distinct group within humanity’s cultural and historical heritage.

According to the source, until the early 20th century, Romanians created and expressed themselves predominantly in a wood-based civilization of remarkable richness, variety, and refinement, with wooden churches reaching their peak of expression.

It is an ancestral heritage that specialists say dates back to the Daco-Getae. Beyond language, this artistic and craftsmanship expression in wood is another mark of Romanian unity.

Most were built following a hostile edict against Orthodox Christians

Paradoxically, a hostile edict against Orthodox Christians in Transylvania resulted in a more extensive heritage of wooden churches.

In 1279, King Ladislaus IV of Hungary prohibited the construction of stone Orthodox churches throughout the Kingdom of Hungary. Orthodox stone churches were built in Transylvania only after 1918.

The “Attractive Romania” web application offers tourists 12 proposed routes, including the Wooden Churches Route, featuring 53 sites.

Among these is the wooden church in Bălușeni, Botoșani County, highlighted by PressOne in the cited article. Built around 1600 in a completely different location from its current site, the church remains standing even after being relocated twice.

Photo: Basilica.ro / Raluca Emanuela Ene