The Merry Cemetery (Romanian: Cimitirul Veselpronounced[tʃimiˈtirulˈvesel]) is a cemetery in the village of Săpânța, Maramureș County, Romania. It is famous for its brightly coloured tombstones with naïve paintings describing, in an original and poetic manner, the people who are buried there in addition to scenes from their lives. The Merry Cemetery became an open-air museum and a national tourist attraction. It has been listed as one of the Seven Wonders of Romania by Imperator Travel.[1]
Merry Cemetery and its churchMerry Cemetery (video)The workshop at Stan Ioan Pătraș's house where the tombstones of Merry Cemetery were created
The unusual feature of this cemetery is that it diverges from the prevalent belief, culturally shared within European societies, that views death as something indelibly solemn. Connections with the local Dacian culture have been made, whose philosophical tenets presumably vouched for the immortality of the soul and the belief that death was a moment filled with joy and anticipation for a better life (see also Zalmoxianism).
A collection of the epitaphs from the Merry Cemetery exists in a 2017 volume called Crucile de la Săpânța, compiled by author Roxana Mihalcea,[2] as well as in a photography book titled The Merry Cemetery of Sapanta by Peter Kayafas.[3]
The cemetery's origins are linked with the name of Stan Ioan Pătraș, a local artist who sculpted the first tombstone crosses. In 1935, Pătraș carved the first epitaph and, as of the 1960s, more than 800 of such oak wood crosses came into sight. The inscription on his tombstone cross says:
Sub această cruce grea Zace biata soacră-mea Trei zile de mai trăia Zăceam eu și cetea ea. Voi care treceți pă aici Incercați să n-o treziți Că acasă dacă vine Iarăi cu gura pă mine Da așa eu m-oi purta Că-napoi n-a înturna Stai aicea dragă soacră-mea
Under this heavy cross Lies my poor mother-in-law Three more days should she have lived I would lie, and she would read (this cross). You, who here are passing by Not to wake her up please try Cause' if she comes back home She'll scold me more. But I will surely behave So she'll not return from grave. Stay here, my dear mother-in-law!
^"Cele 7 minuni ale României – la final!" (in Romanian). July 20, 2012.
^Mihalcea, Roxana (2017). Crucile de la Săpânța: o colecție de epitafuri din veselul cimitir maramureșan. București: ALL. ISBN978-606-587-515-9. OCLC 1031115821.
^"The Merry Cemetery of Sapanta". Purple Martin Press. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Merry Cemetery in Săpânța, Maramureș.
merry, cemetery, romanian, cimitirul, vesel, pronounced, tʃimiˈtirul, ˈvesel, cemetery, village, săpânța, maramureș, county, romania, famous, brightly, coloured, tombstones, with, naïve, paintings, describing, original, poetic, manner, people, buried, there, a. The Merry Cemetery Romanian Cimitirul Vesel pronounced tʃimiˈtirul ˈvesel is a cemetery in the village of Săpanța Maramureș County Romania It is famous for its brightly coloured tombstones with naive paintings describing in an original and poetic manner the people who are buried there in addition to scenes from their lives The Merry Cemetery became an open air museum and a national tourist attraction It has been listed as one of the Seven Wonders of Romania by Imperator Travel 1 Merry Cemetery and its church source source source source source source source source Merry Cemetery video The workshop at Stan Ioan Pătraș s house where the tombstones of Merry Cemetery were createdThe unusual feature of this cemetery is that it diverges from the prevalent belief culturally shared within European societies that views death as something indelibly solemn Connections with the local Dacian culture have been made whose philosophical tenets presumably vouched for the immortality of the soul and the belief that death was a moment filled with joy and anticipation for a better life see also Zalmoxianism A collection of the epitaphs from the Merry Cemetery exists in a 2017 volume called Crucile de la Săpanța compiled by author Roxana Mihalcea 2 as well as in a photography book titled The Merry Cemetery of Sapanta by Peter Kayafas 3 Contents 1 The founder 2 Funny epitaphs 3 Gallery 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksThe founder editThe cemetery s origins are linked with the name of Stan Ioan Pătraș a local artist who sculpted the first tombstone crosses In 1935 Pătraș carved the first epitaph and as of the 1960s more than 800 of such oak wood crosses came into sight The inscription on his tombstone cross says Romanian De cu tinăr copilașIo am fost Stan Ion PătrașSă mă ascultaț oameni buniCe voi spune nu s minciuniCite zile am trăitRău la nime n am doritDar bine cit am pututOrișicine mia cerutVai săraca lumea meaCă greu am trăit in ea English Since I was a little boyI was known as Stan Ion PătrasListen to me good peopleThere are no lies in what I am going to sayAll along my lifeI meant no harm to anyoneBut did good as much as I couldTo anyone who askedOh my poor WorldBecause It was hard living in itFunny epitaphs editRomanian Sub această cruce greaZace biata soacră meaTrei zile de mai trăiaZăceam eu și cetea ea Voi care treceți pă aiciIncercați să n o trezițiCă acasă dacă vineIarăi cu gura pă mineDa așa eu m oi purtaCă napoi n a inturnaStai aicea dragă soacră mea English Under this heavy crossLies my poor mother in lawThree more days should she have livedI would lie and she would read this cross You who here are passing byNot to wake her up please tryCause if she comes back homeShe ll scold me more But I will surely behaveSo she ll not return from grave Stay here my dear mother in law Gallery edit nbsp The Merry Cemetery crosses in pale blue color nbsp The tombstone of Stan Ioan Pătras 1908 1977 the creator of Merry Cemetery nbsp Short description of the life of a villager carved on the cross nbsp Profile of the Orthodox Church located near the Merry Cemetery nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp source source source source source source Merry Cemetery crossesSee also editTourism in Romania Seven Wonders of RomaniaReferences edit Cele 7 minuni ale Romaniei la final in Romanian July 20 2012 Mihalcea Roxana 2017 Crucile de la Săpanța o colecție de epitafuri din veselul cimitir maramureșan București ALL ISBN 978 606 587 515 9 OCLC 1031115821 The Merry Cemetery of Sapanta Purple Martin Press Retrieved 17 June 2020 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Merry Cemetery in Săpanța Maramureș Merry Cemetery at Find a Grave nbsp Photos of the Merry Cemetery The Merry Cemetery of Sapanta on Purple Martin Press Brandon s Photos of the Merry Cemetery More epitaphs and photos in Romanian 47 58 17 N 23 41 44 E 47 97139 N 23 69556 E 47 97139 23 69556 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Merry Cemetery amp oldid 1181354134, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
