The Wooden Church at Surdesti

A land with an old Romanian cultural and artistic tradition, Tara Chioarului preserves a significant number of monuments from the domain of wooden religious architecture which are valuable proofs of the work of the native creators of folklore. The Greek-Catholic church from Surdesti is among these monuments. Surdesti is a locality situated on the road that streches from Baia Mare to Cavnic. The church is dated 1721, owning the wake of the St. Archangels. An artistic achievement of extreme dare, remarkable by the imposing dimensions of the tower, the church from Surdesti is known to be the highest wooden (oak) building in the world, the tower measuring 54 m, the total height, measured from the bottom, being 72 m.

The porch, situated on the western side, is unique in the land, being subsequently added and conceived with two rows of superposed archways. The archways have different openings, but they are identical in shape and decor; it is a creation of great artistic effect. The roof has double eaves and on the portion of wall between the eaves there is a second row of windows, identical in shape and size with the ones situated at the eye-level. The beauty of the monument is increased also by the presence of the broad belt of twisted rope. The interior is painted with biblical scenes from The Old Testament and The New Testament and the image-case bears the inscription of the year 1783, during the reign of Joseph II, the emperor, as well as the name of the author, "painter Stefan".