Merry Cemetery

Merry cemetery tombstones

The Merry Cemetery (Romanian: Cimitirul Vesel pronounced [t͡ʃimiˈtirul ˈvesel]) is a cemetery in the village of Săpânţa, Maramureş county, Romania. It is famous for its colourful tombstones with naïve paintings describing, in an original and poetic manner, the persons that are buried there as well as scenes from their lives. The Merry Cemetery became an open-air museum and a national tourist attraction.

The unusual feature of this cemetery is that it diverges from the prevalent belief, culturally shared within European societies – a belief that views death as something indelibly solemn. Connections with the local Dacian culture have been made, a culture 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).

The founder

The cemetery's origins are linked with the name of Stan Ioan Pătraş, a local artist who sculpted the first tombstone crosses. In 1935, Pătraş carved the first epitaph and, as of 1960s, more than 800 of such oak wood crosses came into sight. The inscription on his tombstone cross says:

Romanian De cu tînăr copilaş Io am fost Stan Ion Pătraş Să mă ascultaţ oameni buni Ce voi spune nu-s minciuni Cîte zile am trăit Rău la nime n-am dorit Dar bine cît-am putut Orişicine mia cerut Vai săraca lumea mea Că greu am trăit în ea

English Since I was a little boy I was known as Stan Ioan Pătraş Listen to me, fellows There are no lies in what I am going to say All along my life I meant no harm to anyone But did good as much as I could To anyone who asked Oh, my poor World Because It was hard living in it

Funny epitaphs

Romanian ... Să vă mai spun una bună Mi-o plăcut ţuica de prună Cu prietenii la birt Uitam şi de ce-am venit

English ...Now I will tell you a good one I kind of liked the plum ţuica With my friends at the pub I used to forget what I came for

Gallery

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  The Merry Cemetery crosses in pale blue color

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  The tombstone of Stan Ioan Pătraş (1908 - 1977), the Merry Cemetery creator

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  The church behind the Merry Cemetery

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  The gate decorated according to the ritual of Maramureş

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  Short description of the life of a villager carved on the cross

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  Profile of the Orthodox Church located near the Merry Cemetery

See also

• Tourism in Romania

External links

• Photos of the Merry Cemetery
• Brandon's Photos of the Merry Cemetery
• More about Maramureş and the Merry Cemetery
• New York Times Article: In Merry Cemetery, Romanians' lives in carvings and verse
• More epitaphs and photos (in Romanian)