Baia Mare

Baia Mare, a city surrounded by the Rodnei, Maramures, Tibles and Gutai mountains of the Eastern Carpathians, is the principal centre of the Maramureș region. Baia Mare is rich in medieval monuments and palaces such as those in Piața Cetății, the Fortress Square, and Piața Libertății, the Liberty Square, the heart of the city where you’ll find the oldest building, dating back to 1440, and the Stephen’s Tower, the bell tower of the former Church of Saint Stephen, built in the 15th century in Gothic style, rising 50 metres high.

Next to Piața Izvoarelor, where Baia Mare’s market is held, stands the only surviving 15th-century medieval fortification, the Butchers’ Tower.

The Maramureș region is known throughout the world for its distinctive wooden churches constructed without nails, using only interlocking joints, with towers reaching up to 70 metres high. Eight of these churches have been designated by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. During your stay in Baia Mare, visit the wooden churches of Șurdești and Plopiș, a little further afield but well worth the journey. Don’t miss the Biserica din Lemn, a wooden church built in 1630, and the Biserica Sfânta Treime, the Church of the Holy Trinity, constructed between 1717 and 1720.

Not far from Baia Mare is the Merry Cemetery, where you’ll find intricately carved and painted oak crosses.

Baia Mare is approximately 600 kilometres from Bucharest.

Recommended hotels in Baia Mare