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Maramureș or Marmaroshchyna ( ro, Maramureș ; uk, Мармарощина, Marmaroshchyna; hu, Máramaros) is a geographical, historical and cultural region in northern
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and western
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
. It is situated in the northeastern
Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretche ...
, along parts of the upper Tisza River drainage basin; it covers the Maramureș Depression and the surrounding Carpathian mountains. Alternatively, the term ''Maramureș'' is also used for the Maramureș County of Romania, which contains the southern section of the historical region.


Name in other languages

Alternative names for Maramureș include uk, Мармарощина (''Marmaroshchyna''), rue, Мараморош (''Maramoroš''), russian: Мармарош (''Marmarosh''), hu, Máramaros, german: Maramuresch or Marmarosch and la, Marmatia.


Geography

Maramureș is a valley enclosed by mountains Oaș, Gutâi, Țibleș and Rodnei (northern section of the Inner Eastern Carpathians) to the west and south, Maramureș Mountains and central section of the Outer Eastern Carpathians to the east and north. The valley is drained through a narrow opening, the Khust Gate, at Khust. Several dozen small mountain rivers and creeks flow into the river
Tisa The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...
. It is forested and not easily accessible. The limits of the region are between the parallels of 47°33' N and 47°02' N and the meridians of 23°15' E and 25°03' E. Maramureș represents one of the largest depressions in the Carpathians, covering an area of about 10,000 km². Its length from Khust to Prislop Pass is about 150 km and width from North to South is up to 80 km. The main mountain passes linking Maramureș with the neighboring regions are high and in the past were hardly accessible in the winter. Prislop Pass (1,416 m high) links the region in the east towards Moldavia, Dealul Ștefăniței (1,254 m) in the south towards Transylvania, Pintea Pass (987 m) towards Baia Mare, and Fărgău (587 m) in the west towards Oaș Country, while Frasini Pass ( Yasinia; 931 m) links the region in the north to
Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...
. The mountains surrounding this region occupy more than half of the area. A few peaks reach above 2,000 m, such as Pietrosul (2,303 m) in the Rodnei Mountains to the south and Hovârla (2,061 m) in Muntele Negru (Cernahora) to the north. The heavy forested mountains sustain many protected species of plants, such as
yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ...
(''Taxus baccata''), larch (''Larix decidua''), Swiss pine (''Pinus cembra''), edelweiss (''Leontopodium alpinum''); and animals, such as
lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, ...
(''Lynx lynx''),
chamois The chamois (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of goat-antelope native to mountains in Europe, from west to east, including the Alps, the Dinarides, the Tatra and the Carpathian Mountains, the Balkan Mountains, the R ...
(''Rupicapra rupicapra''),
alpine marmot The alpine marmot (''Marmota marmota'') is a large ground-dwelling squirrel, from the genus of marmots. It is found in high numbers in mountainous areas of central and southern Europe, at heights between in the Alps, Carpathians, Tatras and No ...
(''Marmota marmota''),
golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird ...
(''Aquila chrysaetos''), and
capercaillie ''Tetrao'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily known as capercaillies. They are some of the largest living grouse. Taxonomy The genus ''Tetrao'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of hi ...
(''Tetrao urogallus''). The last wisent from present-day Romania territory, a symbol of Maramureș, was hunted to extinction in 1852. Lostriţa, a local variety of salmon, still live in the mountain rivers. Several protected areas have been created in Maramureș.
Rodna Mountains National Park The Rodna Mountains National Park ( ro, Parcul Național Munții Rodnei) is a protected area (national park category II IUCN) situated in Romania, in the administrative territory of counties Bistrița-Năsăud, Maramureș, and Suceava. Location T ...
was designated in 1990,
Maramureș Mountains Natural Park The Maramureș Mountains Natural Park ( ro, Parcul Natural Munții Maramureșului) is a protected area ( natural park category V IUCN) situated in Romania, in the north part in the Maramureș County. In ancient times, this area was settled by
Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...
,
Dacians The Dacians (; la, Daci ; grc-gre, Δάκοι, Δάοι, Δάκαι) were the ancient Indo-European inhabitants of the cultural region of Dacia, located in the area near the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea. They are often consi ...
,
Sarmatians The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic peoples of classical antiquity who dominated the Pontic steppe from about the 3rd century BC to the 4th cen ...
,
Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...
and Akatziri. In the first century BC, it was part of the Dacian Kingdom under
Burebista Burebista ( grc, Βυρεβίστας, Βοιρεβίστας) was the king of the Getae and Dacian tribes from 82/61BC to 45/44BC. He was the first king who successfully unified the tribes of the Dacian kingdom, which comprised the area loca ...
, while in the early Middle Ages, it was ruled by the
Hunnic Empire The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...
, the Kingdom of the Gepids, the Kingdom of the Avars, the White Croatia,
Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and  ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...
and even the
Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas o ...
. The territory was part of the
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coronation of the Hungarian monarch, c ...
from the 11th century and was nominally divided between the Gyepű border region, comitatus of Szatmár and comitatus of Borsova. Later, the whole region was included into the comitatus of Máramaros. Initially, the
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania ** Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
inhabitants of the region were allowed to preserve their political organization, the Voivodeship of Maramureș, divided into many small autonomous areas. The King long struggled to convince the
Voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...
s to accept the title of
Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...
, with the implied losing independence in political and financial matters. During the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, the people in many mountain villages, where each family by definition had a considerable domain, were called ''nameşi'', meaning free peasants taking pride in their family. The origin of the word is disputed: in the Kingdom of Hungary, free people possessing land were called in Hungarian. In
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania ** Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
means extended family, but this name's root is better explained as deriving from the Greek verb , meaning to divide something (mainly land) into parts and give it to (people with the right to use it, either to rent it or use it for free; singular ). The region was reorganized to
Máramaros County Máramaros County (german: Komitat Maramuresch; hu, Máramaros vármegye; la, Comitatus Maramarosiensis; ro, Comitatul Maramureș; rue, Комітат Марамарош; uk, Kомітат Мармарош; ) was an administrative county (c ...
in the 14th century. In the 16th century, the Kingdom of Hungary was invaded and all but destroyed by the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
, and the area came under administration of the semi-independent Ottoman Principality of Transylvania. Later (in the late 17th century) it came under the administration of the
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
(which became the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
in 1804). During Habsburg administration, the region was initially part of the lands of the Habsburg Principality of Transylvania, but was later (in 1732) transferred to the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was transformed into the dual monarchy of
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
and the region was included in the Transleithanian or Hungarian part of the Monarchy. After the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, the region was divided between Romania and the
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
n region of Carpathian Ruthenia, with the border following that of the short-lived Hutsul Republic. In March 1939
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
annexed Carpathian Ruthenia and in August 1940 annexed the region of
Northern Transylvania Northern Transylvania ( ro, Transilvania de Nord, hu, Észak-Erdély) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of ...
, which included southern Maramureș, from Romania; the territories remained under Hungarian control until 1944. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, the southern section returned to Romania and is now part of Maramureș County; the northern section was incorporated into the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
as part of the
Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
and is now part of Zakarpattia Oblast of independent
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
.


People

In the southern area, the majority of the population are
Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym '' Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Romania ...
. There are also some
Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and  ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...
,
Rusyns Rusyns (), also known as Carpatho-Rusyns (), or Rusnaks (), are an East Slavic ethnic group from the Eastern Carpathians in Central Europe. They speak Rusyn, an East Slavic language variety, treated variously as either a distinct lang ...
,
Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...
, Zipser Germans,
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, and
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
. In the northern area, the majority are
Ruthenes Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in medieval sourc ...
, with smaller Romanian, Hungarian and German communities. In the northern area most people speak the Ruthene language, while in the southern area most speak Romanian, which is why the region was split into two parts. Since the 1940s there have been villages cut in two by the state border. There are some villages in the north (within Ukraine) that have a sizeable Romanian population, as well as some villages in Romania that have a sizeable Ukrainian population.


Gallery

File:Claie de fân Borșa.jpg, Pietrosul Mare,
Rodna Mountains National Park The Rodna Mountains National Park ( ro, Parcul Național Munții Rodnei) is a protected area (national park category II IUCN) situated in Romania, in the administrative territory of counties Bistrița-Năsăud, Maramureș, and Suceava. Location T ...
File:Valley, Pop Ivan, Maramures.jpg,
Maramureș Mountains Natural Park The Maramureș Mountains Natural Park ( ro, Parcul Natural Munții Maramureșului) is a protected area ( natural park category V IUCN) situated in Romania, in the north part in the Maramureș County.Baia Mare Baia Mare ( , ; hu, Nagybánya; german: Frauenbach or Groß-Neustadt; la, Rivulus Dominarum) is a municipality along the Săsar River, in northwestern Romania; it is the capital of Maramureș County. The city lies in the region of Maramur ...
File:Muzeul Etnografic3.jpg, Ethnographic Museum of the Oaș Country File:RO MM Mănăstirea Bârsana.JPG, Bârsana Orthodox Monastery File:Romania Rohia Monastery Wooden Church.jpg, Rohia Orthodox Monastery File:Săcel 437290, Romania - panoramio (4).jpg, Săcel File:SzaploncaFotoThalerTamas2.jpg, Merry Cemetery in Săpânța File:Baia Mare, Romania - panoramio (15).jpg, Village Museum in Baia Mare File:Curtea Veche Sighet.JPG, The Curtea Veche in Sighet File:Máramarossziget, Börtön múzeum.JPG, Memorial of the Victims of Communism File:Nagybánya, a Piac tér a Felsőbányai út felől - panoramio.jpg,
Baia Mare Baia Mare ( , ; hu, Nagybánya; german: Frauenbach or Groß-Neustadt; la, Rivulus Dominarum) is a municipality along the Săsar River, in northwestern Romania; it is the capital of Maramureș County. The city lies in the region of Maramur ...
File:Bastionul Măcelarilor (Turnul de muniţii) - Baia Mare.jpg, Bastion of Baia Mare File:Casa Degenfeld din Baia Mare 01.jpg, Degenfeld House in Baia Mare File:Cascada cailor.jpg, Horses Waterfall File:Quartz-Rhodochrosite-mun05-146b.jpg, Quartz Rhodochrosite from Cavnic Mine File:Fluorite-Quartz-215546.jpg, Fluorite Quartz from Boldut Mine File:Mocănița de pe Valea Vaserului.JPG, Mocăniță Railway File:Raul Iza la Rozavlea.JPG, Iza River


See also

*
Wooden churches of Maramureș The wooden churches of Maramureș in the Maramureș region of northern Transylvania are a group of almost one hundred Orthodox churches, and occasionally Greek-Catholic ones, of different architectural solutions from different periods and areas. Th ...
* Northern Maramureș * Hutsul Republic


Further reading

*''Atlas and Gazetteer of Historic Hungary'' 1914, Talma Kiadó
''Sighetul Marmatiei'', Culture and Tourism 2007
Teofil Ivanciuc


References


External links


Things to do when visiting Maramureș


{{DEFAULTSORT:Maramures Divided regions Historical regions in Romania Historical regions in Ukraine