# Wooden Church of Plopiș [Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Maramureș](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/maramures) › [Maramureș County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/maramures) › [Plopiș](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/locality/plopis) > An oak church built by the village's 49 families at the end of the 18th century, with a slender tower of almost 47 m and a trefoil vault unique among wooden churches, part of a UNESCO World Heritage site. [UNESCO World Heritage](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/unesco-heritage) **At a glance:** Monasteries and churches in Plopiș, Maramureș County. Ticket: Free. Information verified on 7 October 2026. ## Key facts - **Opening hours:** The church has no published visiting hours. Maramureș County Council lists a contact person in the village for visits; otherwise, ask at the parish house. - **Ticket:** Free - **Best season:** May – October — patronal feast on 8 November - **Address:** on the hill in the village, in the middle of the old cemetery, Plopiș, Maramureș County - **Coordinates:** 47.59165, 23.77103 - **Phone:** +40 757 333 731 - **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Archangels_Michael_and_Gabriel,_Plopi%C8%99 - **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16735815 - **Categories:** [Monasteries and churches](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/manastiri-si-biserici) ## About Wooden Church of Plopiș On a hilltop plateau in the village of Plopiș, in the Chioar Land on the Cavnic valley, stands one of the eight wooden churches of Maramureș County inscribed in 1999 on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the "Wooden Churches of Maramureș" site. Dedicated to the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, it was built from oak beams by the village community, then just 49 families, about 200 people. The villagers, known throughout the region as makers of dowry chests, began work in 1798 and finished the building in 1805; once painted, the church was consecrated on 12 November 1811. The consecration record was found in the base of the altar table, together with 49 coins, one from each family. The church is an almost identical twin of the one in Șurdești, on the other side of the valley: their plan, shapes and decoration are so alike that both are attributed to the same master carpenter. Only 17 m long and 7 m wide, it has very balanced proportions, unusually high walls and a bell tower that rises, spire included, to about 47 m. Between 2018 and 2021 it was fully restored, both building and paintings, with European funds, and it was reconsecrated on 29 May 2021. The village now also has a new masonry church, built nearby, and it is the birthplace of Archbishop Justinian Chira, who has a memorial house here. ### What you can see Outside, the beams are girded halfway up by a rounded, rope-like belt, and beneath the eaves runs a frieze of blind arches and dovetail dentils with an almost Romanesque feel. The porch on the west side has a fretwork parapet and scalloped arches on wooden posts. The tower has an open, projecting bell chamber and a tall spire flanked by four turrets, a sign that the village had a council of elders with the right to pass judgement. Inside, the nave is covered by a vault with a trefoil cross-section, the only one of its kind in a wooden church in Maramureș and Transylvania. The paintings, made in 1811 by Ștefan the Painter of Șișești, survive on the vault and the iconostasis: the Holy Trinity, scenes from the Apocalypse, the Passion of Christ, the Creation of Man and the Expulsion from Paradise. ### Good to know The church has no fixed visiting hours and no ticket; parish services are now held mostly in the new church. If you find the door locked, ask in the village or at the parish house. ## Don't miss - The trefoil vault of the nave, the only one of its kind in a wooden church in Maramureș and Transylvania. - Ștefan the Painter's 1811 paintings, with the Holy Trinity and the Apocalypse scenes on the vault. - The tower of about 47 m, with its open bell chamber and the four turrets around the spire. - The rounded belt and the frieze of blind arches running around the oak walls. - The twin church of Șurdești, on the other side of the Cavnic valley, worth seeing on the same day. ## Good to know before you go ### Getting there **By car:** from Baia Mare take the DN18 to Baia Sprie, then the DJ184 towards Șișești and the county roads DJ182C and DJ182G to Plopiș, ~25 km in all (~35 minutes). The church is about 2 km off the main valley road, and the church in Șurdești is very close. Cluj-Napoca is ~130 km away (~2 hours 30 minutes). **Public transport:** the nearest railway station is Baia Mare, ~22 km away; from there the easiest option is a taxi or a hire car. ### Fees & discounts Admission is free: the parish does not charge for visiting the church. ### Rules This is a consecrated Orthodox church still used for services: dress modestly (shoulders and knees covered) and keep quiet inside, especially during services. ## Details - **Construction period:** 1798–1805 - **Founder:** the village's 49 families - **Dedication:** Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel - **Denomination:** Orthodox - **Architectural style:** Maramureș style ## Frequently asked questions about Wooden Church of Plopiș **How much is a ticket to Wooden Church of Plopiș?** Admission to Wooden Church of Plopiș is free. Admission is free: the parish does not charge for visiting the church. **How do I get to Wooden Church of Plopiș?** Wooden Church of Plopiș is located at on the hill in the village, in the middle of the old cemetery, Plopiș, Maramureș County. By car: from Baia Mare take the DN18 to Baia Sprie, then the DJ184 towards Șișești and the county roads DJ182C and DJ182G to Plopiș, ~25 km in all (~35 minutes). The church is about 2 km off the main valley road, and the church in Șurdești is very close. Cluj-Napoca is ~130 km away (~2 hours 30 minutes). Public transport: the nearest railway station is Baia Mare, ~22 km away; from there the easiest option is a taxi or a hire car. **When is the best time to visit Wooden Church of Plopiș?** The best season for Wooden Church of Plopiș: May – October (patronal feast on 8 November). ## Nearby attractions - [Wooden Church of Șurdești](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-de-lemn-surdesti) — Monasteries and churches · Șurdești, MM · UNESCO World Heritage · 1 km The oak-built Greek Catholic church of Șurdești village, with a 54-metre tower and a total height of 72 metres, one of the tallest old timber buildings in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage monument. - [Lake Mogoșa](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-mogosa) — Lakes · Baia Sprie, MM · Free · 1 – 1½ hours · 12 km A 4-hectare reservoir at 731 m in the forests of the Gutâi Mountains above the town of Baia Sprie, with a lakeside path, terrace, beach and kayaks for hire in summer, 18 km from Baia Mare. - [Gutâi Pass](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/pasul-gutai) — Scenic roads · Maramureș County · Free · 1 – 1½ hours · 16 km The pass where the DN18 climbs in hairpins from Baia Sprie to 987 m between the Igniș and Gutâi Mountains, then drops towards Mara and the Maramureș Land, an hour from Baia Mare. - [Rogoz Wooden Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-de-lemn-rogoz) — Monasteries and churches · Rogoz, MM · UNESCO World Heritage · 23 km The Church of the Holy Archangels in Rogoz, built in 1663 and part of the Maramureș UNESCO site, has an asymmetric roof over the 'table of the ancestors', horse-head eaves brackets and paintings from 1785. - [Budești Josani Wooden Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-de-lemn-budesti-josani) — Monasteries and churches · Budești, MM · UNESCO World Heritage · 26 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. - [Desești Wooden Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-de-lemn-desesti) — Monasteries and churches · Desești, MM · UNESCO World Heritage · 28 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. --- Full page: https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-de-lemn-plopis Other languages: Română: https://peplaiuri.ro/biserica-de-lemn-plopis.md · Deutsch: https://peplaiuri.ro/de/biserica-de-lemn-plopis.md · Italiano: https://peplaiuri.ro/it/biserica-de-lemn-plopis.md Last updated: 7 October 2026 Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania