Church & monasteryMaramureș & Bukovina

Church of the Holy Archangels in Rogoz, a UNESCO wooden church

The Church of the Holy Archangels in Rogoz is one of the eight wooden churches of Maramureș on the UNESCO World Heritage list. It stands in the village of Rogoz in the Lăpuș valley, northern Transylvania, and is worth the detour for its shingled roof, slender tower and bright interior murals of 1785.

This UNESCO church was not built where it stands: it was taken apart and moved to Rogoz in 1883, and a small round window above the altar lets the sun in for only 30 minutes in early August.

WhereRogoz, Lăpuș valley (Țara Lăpușului), Maramureș County, northern Transylvania, Romania

TypeWooden Orthodox church, 17th century, UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999

Best forWooden architecture, 18th-century church painting and a quiet village visit

Getting thereIn the village of Rogoz near Târgu Lăpuș; the nearest other place on this site is Budești Josani church, about 28 km away

The history of the Church of the Holy Archangels in Rogoz

The church belongs to the Lăpuș valley, a hill country in the west of historic Maramureș that Romanians call Țara Lăpușului. Local tradition dates the building to 1663, a date made credible by an undated inscription at the entrance that recalls the Tatar raid of 1661, the years of captivity when many people were carried off. The villagers themselves are said to have raised the church, on the spot of an older one that had been lost in that raid. The builders worked in the old way: squared timbers laid on a base of stone blocks and pebbles and jointed together without metal nails.

Soon afterwards the church lived through another threat. A painted inscription inside records the frightening year 1717, when the Tatars came again, and the building survived it. In 1785 the interior was painted. An inscription beside the altar names the artists Radu Munteanu, from the village of Ungureni, and Nicolae Man, from Poiana Porcului, and says the work was done in the days of Emperor Joseph II and paid for by a parishioner, Man Grigorie, and his wife Ioana. A second inscription in the nave says the painters began on 10 June and finished on 11 September. The scenes are labelled in Cyrillic letters, which were still used in church writing at that time.

In 1834 the church was altered. A gallery was built at the west end of the nave and its parapet painted the same year, the windows of the nave were changed, and the ceiling of the porch area and the vault of the nave were painted again, by an artist whose name has not come down to us. The church was also moved. In 1883 it was brought from the village of Suciu de Sus, a few kilometres to the east, to the centre of Rogoz, where a church of St Paraskeva dating from 1701 already stood. In 1960–1961 the building went through a major renovation, and in December 1999 it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list together with seven other wooden churches of Maramureș.

The church has an uncommon plan: a polygonal porch entered from the south, a rectangular nave and a narrower, seven-sided altar apse. The roof is wide-eaved and slightly asymmetrical, so that it also shelters the outdoor table of the ancestors along the north wall. The rope motif, carved in the wood, runs along the south façade, around the doorway and on the beams inside. Above the porch rises the square bell tower with an open, projecting bell chamber, a tall pyramidal spire and small corner turrets. The sources say the timber is elm and that, according to tradition, it all came from two huge trees on a hill called Dealul Popii.

Curiosities about the wooden church in Rogoz

The church was moved in 1883 from Suciu de Sus to the centre of Rogoz, which is why its present site is not the one it was built for.
The altar has a small round window. According to the English-language sources, the sun’s rays enter through it for about 30 minutes between 1 and 15 August.
The whole structure is made of jointed timber without metal nails and rests on a base of stone blocks and pebbles.
Tradition says all the elm wood came from just two huge trees from the hill called Dealul Popii.
The roof is deliberately asymmetrical, about 1.20 m off the axis, to cover the long table of the ancestors (“masa moșilor”) along the north façade.
The beams of the eaves rest on brackets carved in the shape of horses’ heads, and the edges of the beams under the eaves are notched.

Tours near Church of the Holy Archangels, Rogoz

Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:

Private Maramures Walking Tours

★ 5 (29 reviews) · 4 h

See details ›

The Best of Maramures in One Day

★ 5 (17 reviews) · 7 h

See details ›

Maramures in a nutshell

★ 5 (15 reviews) · 9 h

See details ›

Maramures Guided Tour

★ 5 (7 reviews) · 6 h

See details ›

Visiting the wooden church in Rogoz: what to see

Outside, look for the wide shingled eaves, the carved rope motif around the pointed doorway and the horse-head brackets.
The tower is the best-known feature: a square bell chamber with open arches on posts, topped by a tall pyramidal roof and four corner turrets.
Inside, the walls and vault are covered with the 1785 paintings by Radu Munteanu and Nicolae Man, drawn with thick, even lines and bright colours. Some scenes are fragmentary.
The village lies in the Lăpuș valley, away from the busiest part of Maramureș. Budești Josani church is about 28 km away, and the churches of Ieud and Desești about 33–34 km.
Whether the interior is open on a given day is not stated in the sources, so check the current opening hours before you go.

Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.

Map: where Church of the Holy Archangels, Rogoz is

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors

Photos of Church of the Holy Archangels, Rogoz

Questions

Where is the Church of the Holy Archangels in Rogoz?

It stands in the village of Rogoz in the Lăpuș valley, in Maramureș County, northern Transylvania. The Lăpuș area lies somewhat apart from the historic Maramureș valleys.

Is the Rogoz wooden church a UNESCO site?

Yes. It is one of eight wooden churches of Maramureș inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in December 1999.

When was the church in Rogoz built?

Tradition dates it to 1663, supported by an entrance inscription that recalls the Tatar raid of 1661. Sources disagree slightly on the exact year, so treat it as about the mid-17th century.

Was the church moved?

Yes. In 1883 it was brought from Suciu de Sus to the centre of Rogoz. The interior paintings were made earlier, in 1785.

Who painted the murals inside?

Radu Munteanu from Ungureni and Nicolae Man from Poiana Porcului painted them in 1785, according to inscriptions in Cyrillic letters.

What can you see near the Rogoz church?

Other wooden churches are within reach: Budești Josani about 28 km away, and Ieud and Desești at about 33–34 km.