Sapanta the Merry Cemetery Maramures
The Merry Cemetery is a world-renowned cemetery, famous for its cheerful approach to death.
The cemetery consists of colorful painted wooden crosses that adorn the tombstones and the naive paintings which represent scenes from the life of the departed while also telling joyful stories with a touch of irony. It is the most famous touristic attraction located in Northern Romania and was ranked at the top of European cemeteries and the second in the world after "The Valley of The Kings".
Its uniqueness comes from the different approach it takes - whereas the popular belief is that death is a sad event, the cemetery tries to make death a natural part of life - a belief which comes mainly from the Dacians, who believed in eternal life and for which death was merely a passage to another world. Shown in art exhibitions across Europe, the crosses attract coachloads of visitors who marvel at the gentle humour of the epitaphs and the human warmth that created them.
