# Merry Cemetery

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

> The cemetery in Săpânța with over 800 oak crosses painted blue, showing naive scenes from the lives of those buried there and witty epitaphs in verse; begun in 1935 by the craftsman Stan Ioan Pătraș.

[Top 20 in Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/top-20)

**At a glance:** Monuments and historic sites in Săpânța, Maramureș County. Opening hours: daily 08:00 – 20:00. Ticket: 10 lei. The visit takes ½ – 1 hours. Information verified on 23 September 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** daily 08:00 – 20:00 — Hours as published on the parish's official website, valid all year including weekends; in winter it effectively closes with the daylight. There are services in the church on Sunday mornings and at funerals.
- **Ticket:** 10 lei — 5 lei children aged 7–14
- **Visit duration:** ½ – 1 hours — 2 hours with the museum
- **With kids:** Yes — the stories on the crosses grip them
- **Parking:** Yes, paid — ~5 lei, 100 m from the gate
- **Best season:** All year round — mornings, before the coaches
- **Address:** Strada Cimitirul Vesel 517, in the village centre, 100 m from the DN19, Săpânța, Maramureș County
- **Coordinates:** 47.9714, 23.6947
- **Phone:** +40 758 312 783
- **Website:** https://cimitirulvesel-sapanta.com/
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merry_Cemetery
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q965491
- **Categories:** [Monuments and historic sites](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/monumente-si-situri-istorice), [Villages and traditions](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/sate-si-traditii)

## About Merry Cemetery

The Merry Cemetery is the churchyard of Săpânța, a village near Sighetu Marmației, where death is told with humour. Over 800 oak crosses, all painted the same deep blue, each carry a brightly coloured relief showing the person buried there doing what they did all their life: weaving, ploughing, chopping wood, milking sheep, sitting in the tavern, driving a lorry or, on the back of the cross, at the moment that brought their end. Beneath the picture, an epitaph in verse, written in the first person and in the local dialect, says briefly who they were, what they loved and how they died, often with an irony that makes you smile in the middle of a graveyard.

It all began with Stan Ioan Pătraș (1908–1977), a carpenter and wood carver from the village, who carved the first cross of this kind in 1935 at the priest's suggestion. For 40 years he made hundreds of crosses on his own, with his own verses, and by the 1960s the whole cemetery was his. After his death his apprentice Dumitru Pop Tincu (1955–2022) carried the tradition on for another 45 years in the workshop at Pătraș's house; today his successors do the work. Crosses are still made to order for villagers, two to three weeks each, so the cemetery is alive and growing.

The ensemble is a listed historic monument and one of the most visited attractions in Maramureș, drawing coaches from all over Europe. Since 2009 the village has held a summer festival, "The Long Road to the Merry Cemetery".

### What you can see

You enter through a Maramureș wooden gate and lose yourself among the rows of crosses: it is worth reading the epitaphs, not just photographing the colours. The oldest, by Pătraș himself, stand near the church; his own cross, which he carved for himself, is right by the entrance, on the left. In the middle is the church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, built in 1882–1886, recently renovated and now itself covered on the outside in coloured mosaic in the style of the crosses, with a gilded interior.

100 m away, on the lane behind, is the Stan Ioan Pătraș memorial house, with his workshop, tools and works, including the portraits of the Ceaușescu family commissioned in the 1970s. 5 km away, towards the forest, rises Săpânța-Peri Monastery, with a 78 m wooden tower, the tallest in the world.

### Good to know

The epitaphs are only in Romanian, in old dialect; foreign visitors need someone to translate them. The cemetery is still in use: keep clear of funerals and services and do not climb on graves for photos. Early morning gives the best light on the blue and the coaches have not yet arrived.

## Don't miss

- Stan Ioan Pătraș's own cross, carved by himself, by the entrance on the left.
- The epitaphs in verse, read at leisure: the story of a life and a death, told in the first person.
- The crosses with trades: the weaver, the ploughman, the innkeeper, the lorry driver, the shepherd with his flock.
- The church of the Nativity of the Mother of God in the middle of the cemetery, with its coloured mosaic facade and gilded interior.
- The workshop at the Stan Ioan Pătraș memorial house, where crosses are still carved today, 100 m from the cemetery.

## Good to know before you go

### Getting there

**By car:** Săpânța lies on the DN19, 18 km west of Sighetu Marmației towards Negrești-Oaș; the cemetery is in the village centre, 100 m from the main road, signposted. From Baia Mare it is ~85 km (DN18 over the Gutâi Pass to Sighet, then DN19, ~1h45), from Satu Mare ~75 km (DN19 via Negrești-Oaș and the Huta Pass, ~1h30), from Cluj-Napoca ~200 km (~3h30). It combines well with Săpânța-Peri Monastery (5 km) and the Sighet Memorial.

**Public transport:** train to Sighetu Marmației (connections from Cluj and Timișoara, changing at Salva or Satu Mare), then the Sighet – Săpânța – Negrești-Oaș minibus, ~30 minutes, several times a day on weekdays; it stops in the village centre.

### Where to park

The car park next to the cemetery, among the souvenir stalls, cost ~5 lei according to recent reports; in summer, around midday when the coaches arrive, it fills up and people park along the lane. Early in the morning there is plenty of room.

### Fees & discounts

Ticket (parish's official website): adults 10 lei; children 7–14 5 lei; under 7 free. Some older guides mention a 5 lei photo fee, which no longer appears on the official website. The Stan Ioan Pătraș memorial house is visited separately, ~5 lei; Săpânța-Peri Monastery is free. Bring cash: cards do not always work at the ticket desk or the stalls.

### Rules

It is a working cemetery and a churchyard: keep quiet, no food, no climbing on graves or crosses for photos, and do not touch the freshly painted reliefs. Modest dress if you enter the church; during services and funerals the church is not open to visitors and the ceremony must not be photographed. No dogs. Drones only with the parish's permission.

### Facilities

Toilets at the cemetery (paid) · stalls with souvenirs, textiles and miniature crosses at the gate · guesthouses and restaurants serving Maramureș food in the village · paved paths, pushchair-accessible along the main rows · good mobile signal · Stan Ioan Pătraș memorial house 100 m away, summer hours 10:00–18:00 (check, it has been closed for restoration)

## Details

- **Local character:** painted crosses
- **Crafts:** wood carving, wood painting
- **Historical period:** since 1935

## Frequently asked questions about Merry Cemetery

**How much is a ticket to Merry Cemetery?**

A ticket to Merry Cemetery costs 10 lei (5 lei children aged 7–14). Ticket (parish's official website): adults 10 lei; children 7–14 5 lei; under 7 free. Some older guides mention a 5 lei photo fee, which no longer appears on the official website. The Stan Ioan Pătraș memorial house is visited separately, ~5 lei; Săpânța-Peri Monastery is free. Bring cash: cards do not always work at the ticket desk or the stalls.

**What are the opening hours of Merry Cemetery?**

Opening hours at Merry Cemetery: daily 08:00 – 20:00. Hours as published on the parish's official website, valid all year including weekends; in winter it effectively closes with the daylight. There are services in the church on Sunday mornings and at funerals.

**How long does a visit to Merry Cemetery take?**

A visit to Merry Cemetery takes about ½ – 1 hours (2 hours with the museum).

**Can you visit Merry Cemetery with kids?**

Yes, Merry Cemetery is suitable for children (the stories on the crosses grip them).

**Where can I park at Merry Cemetery?**

There is paid parking at Merry Cemetery (~5 lei, 100 m from the gate). The car park next to the cemetery, among the souvenir stalls, cost ~5 lei according to recent reports; in summer, around midday when the coaches arrive, it fills up and people park along the lane. Early in the morning there is plenty of room.

**How do I get to Merry Cemetery?**

Merry Cemetery is located at Strada Cimitirul Vesel 517, in the village centre, 100 m from the DN19, Săpânța, Maramureș County. By car: Săpânța lies on the DN19, 18 km west of Sighetu Marmației towards Negrești-Oaș; the cemetery is in the village centre, 100 m from the main road, signposted. From Baia Mare it is ~85 km (DN18 over the Gutâi Pass to Sighet, then DN19, ~1h45), from Satu Mare ~75 km (DN19 via Negrești-Oaș and the Huta Pass, ~1h30), from Cluj-Napoca ~200 km (~3h30). It combines well with Săpânța-Peri Monastery (5 km) and the Sighet Memorial. Public transport: train to Sighetu Marmației (connections from Cluj and Timișoara, changing at Salva or Satu Mare), then the Sighet – Săpânța – Negrești-Oaș minibus, ~30 minutes, several times a day on weekdays; it stops in the village centre.

**When is the best time to visit Merry Cemetery?**

The best season for Merry Cemetery: All year round (mornings, before the coaches).

## Nearby attractions

- [Sighet Memorial](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/memorialul-sighet) — Museums and memorial houses · Sighetu Marmației, MM · 25 lei · 2 – 2½ hours · Top 100 · 20 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.
- [Desești Wooden Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-de-lemn-desesti) — Monasteries and churches · Desești, MM · UNESCO World Heritage · 32 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.
- [Ocna Șugatag](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/ocna-sugatag) — Resorts and thermal baths · Ocna Șugatag, MM · Free · 2½ – 3 hours · 36 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.
- [Gutâi Pass](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/pasul-gutai) — Scenic roads · Maramureș County · Free · 1 – 1½ hours · 40 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.
- [Bârsana Wooden Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-de-lemn-barsana) — Monasteries and churches · Bârsana, MM · 30 min · UNESCO World Heritage · 41 km
  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.
- [Budești Josani Wooden Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-de-lemn-budesti-josani) — Monasteries and churches · Budești, MM · UNESCO World Heritage · 42 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.

---

Full page: https://peplaiuri.ro/en/cimitirul-vesel
Other languages: Română: https://peplaiuri.ro/cimitirul-vesel.md · Deutsch: https://peplaiuri.ro/de/cimitirul-vesel.md · Italiano: https://peplaiuri.ro/it/cimitirul-vesel.md
Last updated: 23 September 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania