Sat Sugatag Church
Travel Maramures
Maramures Wooden Churches
Maramures Traditions
Maramures Festivals
Year built: 1753
Location: Sat Şugatag is in the valley of the Mara River, 46 km northeast of Baia Mare and 20 km south of Sighetu Marmaţiei, following the national road DN 18.
Summary: Among the wooden churches of Maramureş, the church of St. Parasceva is one of the most monumental ones. The rectangular church plan is covered with a tall roof with double eaves.
he polygonal chancel has a roof with just single eaves. The heavy roof is supported by carved consoles, formed by the crossing ends of the uppermost beams of the walls. The church is an example of the peak of wooden architecture, built in the most creative period of this phenomenon.
There is no porch, and the entrance to the church is on the west façade. The doorframe is massive, made up of several frames, one inside the other. The frames are delimited by twisted rope decorations of different widths, and by bands of incised triangles and wolf’s fangs. A twisted rope starts from both sides of the door, and goes around the whole church at the level of the eye.
Inside, there are some preserved fragments of the original mural painting from 1753, but most of the paintings are from a later period.
The pronaos is a taller space than usually, and it is covered by a flat ceiling. On the west wall is the rendition of The Last Judgment.
The naos has a tall barrel vault, with a 19th century depiction of God The Father Holding the Globe in His Hand.
In the chancel, there used to be an inscription with the year 1812. The scenes, though, were painted in the beginning of the 20th century. Here the style is more rigid than in the other parts of the church, and the scenes are painted straight on the wooden beams, which is an indication of a late date of application.
