# Bârsana Wooden Church

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Maramureș](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/maramures) › [Maramureș County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/maramures) › [Bârsana](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/locality/barsana)

> Bârsana's old wooden church, dating from 1711, stands on Jbâr Hill in an orchard full of crosses; inside is Toader Hodor's Baroque painting of 1806. A UNESCO site.

[UNESCO World Heritage](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/unesco-heritage)

**At a glance:** Monasteries and churches in Bârsana, Maramureș County. The visit takes 30 min. Information verified on 7 October 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** The parish does not publish visiting hours and the church is not open all the time; ask at the Bârsana Orthodox parish or at the information centre next to the church. The feast day is 21 November.
- **Visit duration:** 30 min — the church and the orchard of crosses
- **With kids:** Yes — climb up stone steps
- **Best season:** May – October — the orchard is green in summer
- **Address:** Strada Susani, on Jbâr Hill, north of the village centre, Bârsana, Maramureș County
- **Coordinates:** 47.82054, 24.05439
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Presentation_of_the_Virgin_in_the_Temple
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5118024
- **Categories:** [Monasteries and churches](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/manastiri-si-biserici), [Monuments and historic sites](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/monumente-si-situri-istorice)

## About Bârsana Wooden Church

The Church of the Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple is the old wooden church of Bârsana, one of the eight wooden churches of Maramureș inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999 as the "Wooden Churches of Maramureș". The Diocese of Maramureș and Sătmar dates it to 1711, as does Wikipedia; other sources give 1720. It was built by the priest Ioan Ștefanca, together with his sons and other villagers, in thanks for the village having escaped the plague, and it belongs to the story of Bârsana's old monastery, the seat of the last Orthodox bishop of Maramureș until 1739.

The church has been moved twice, each time into the middle of a cemetery: first to the Iza Valley, to the burial ground of those killed fighting the Tatars in 1717, then, towards the end of the 18th century, to Jbâr Hill, where victims of the plague had been buried. It is built of interlocking logs, with a polygonal altar apse, a pointed bell tower above the narthex and a roof with double eaves. On the west side it has a two-storey porch with arches on carved posts.

### What you can see

In 1806 the painter Toader Hodor of Vișeu de Mijloc painted the interior on canvas stretched over the timber walls, with Baroque and Rococo motifs that were unusual in Maramureș. In the nave, scenes from Genesis and from the Passion are meant to be read side by side, and the vault shows the prophet Elijah rising to heaven in a chariot drawn by winged horses. The altar has the Coronation of the Virgin, and the iconostasis, with deacons' doors cut to the outlines of the archangels, belongs to the same scheme. Outside, the church stands in an orchard of old crosses, at the top of a climb up stone steps.

### Good to know

Don't confuse it with Bârsana Monastery, the new complex by the DJ186 built after 1993: they are two different places, about 4 km apart. The old church has no visiting hours published by the parish and is not open all the time.

## Don't miss

- Elijah rising to heaven in a chariot drawn by winged horses, on the nave vault.
- The scenes from Genesis and the Passion painted side by side on the nave walls by Toader Hodor in 1806.
- The Baroque iconostasis, with deacons' doors cut to the outlines of the archangels Michael and Gabriel.
- The two-storey west porch, with arches on carved posts and openwork parapets.

## Good to know before you go

### Getting there

**By car:** Bârsana lies on the DJ186 in the Iza Valley, ~20 km from Sighetu Marmației (~25 minutes). Baia Mare is ~80 km away over the Gutâi Pass (~1 hour 45 minutes). From the village centre the church is signposted, ~700 m to the north, up on the hill; the last stretch is on foot, up stone steps. Bârsana Monastery is ~4 km away, and the wooden churches of Ieud and Poienile Izei are further along the same valley.

**Public transport:** the nearest railway and bus stations are in Sighetu Marmației, from where minibuses run along the Iza Valley; check the timetable before you go.

### Rules

This is a place of worship: dress modestly and keep quiet in the church and the surrounding cemetery. Ask whoever opens the church for you before taking photos inside.

### Facilities

tourist information centre next to the church

## Details

- **Construction period:** 1711
- **Founder:** the priest Ioan Ștefanca
- **Dedication:** Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple
- **Denomination:** Orthodox
- **Architectural style:** Maramureș
- **Pilgrim accommodation:** No
- **Historical period:** 18th century

## Frequently asked questions about Bârsana Wooden Church

**How long does a visit to Bârsana Wooden Church take?**

A visit to Bârsana Wooden Church takes about 30 min (the church and the orchard of crosses).

**Can you visit Bârsana Wooden Church with kids?**

Yes, Bârsana Wooden Church is suitable for children (climb up stone steps).

**How do I get to Bârsana Wooden Church?**

Bârsana Wooden Church is located at Strada Susani, on Jbâr Hill, north of the village centre, Bârsana, Maramureș County. By car: Bârsana lies on the DJ186 in the Iza Valley, ~20 km from Sighetu Marmației (~25 minutes). Baia Mare is ~80 km away over the Gutâi Pass (~1 hour 45 minutes). From the village centre the church is signposted, ~700 m to the north, up on the hill; the last stretch is on foot, up stone steps. Bârsana Monastery is ~4 km away, and the wooden churches of Ieud and Poienile Izei are further along the same valley. Public transport: the nearest railway and bus stations are in Sighetu Marmației, from where minibuses run along the Iza Valley; check the timetable before you go.

**When is the best time to visit Bârsana Wooden Church?**

The best season for Bârsana Wooden Church: May – October (the orchard is green in summer).

## Nearby attractions

- [Ocna Șugatag](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/ocna-sugatag) — Resorts and thermal baths · Ocna Șugatag, MM · Free · 2½ – 3 hours · 13 km
  A spa resort in Maramureș with salt lakes that formed on the surface above old salt mines, including Lake Gavril, 30 m deep; salt-water bathing happens in the pools of the local complexes.
- [Budești Josani Wooden Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-de-lemn-budesti-josani) — Monasteries and churches · Budești, MM · UNESCO World Heritage · 17 km
  The 1643 Church of Saint Nicholas in the Cosău Valley, with a slender tower framed by four small turrets, paintings by Alexandru Ponehalschi and the chain mail attributed to the outlaw Pintea the Brave. A UNESCO site.
- [Wooden Church of Poienile Izei](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-de-lemn-poienile-izei) — Monasteries and churches · Poienile Izei, MM · UNESCO World Heritage · 18 km
  An early 17th-century wooden church in the village cemetery, with the best-known depiction of Hell in Maramureș: devils, torments and village sins, painted in 1793–1794.
- [Desești Wooden Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-de-lemn-desesti) — Monasteries and churches · Desești, MM · UNESCO World Heritage · 20 km
  A wooden church from 1770 dedicated to Saint Paraskeva, painted in 1780 by Radu Munteanu with a crowded Last Judgement; one of the eight Maramureș churches on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
- [Sighet Memorial](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/memorialul-sighet) — Museums and memorial houses · Sighetu Marmației, MM · 25 lei · 2 – 2½ hours · Top 100 · 22 km
  The former Sighet prison, where the political elite of interwar Romania died, turned by Ana Blandiana and Romulus Rusan into the first museum of communism in Eastern Europe; over 50 cells made into exhibition rooms.
- [Ieud Hill Wooden Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-de-lemn-ieud-deal) — Monasteries and churches · Ieud, MM · UNESCO World Heritage · 27 km
  The Church of the Nativity of the Virgin on Ieud's rocky hillside, built in 1611–1621, painted inside by Alexandru Ponehalschi and the place where the Ieud Codex was found. A UNESCO site.

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Last updated: 7 October 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania