The Wooden Church of Rozavlea

The wooden church of „Sfinții Arhangheli Mihail și Gavriil" in Rozavlea, Maramureș County, dates from 1717 and is one of the most representative monuments of religious wooden architecture in the Valea Izei. The commune of Rozavlea is one of the old settlements of historic Maramureș, documented as early as 1353. According to tradition, the church was brought from another locality in Maramureș and erected on the site of an older wooden church destroyed by Tatars. The building is constructed from fir wood by anonymous craftsmen, in the distinctive Maramureș style, characterised by a tall, slender tower and the harmonious proportions of the church body. The interior painting was executed on wood, with the exception of the altar painting, which was done on canvas; the painting work was begun by Ioan Plohod from Dragomirești and his son in 1810 and completed in 1826. The church was restored in 1981 and 2008, and the restoration of the paintings continued after 2010. The church is listed as a historical monument under the code MM-II-a-A-04621. The church is well worth visiting as part of a circuit along the Valea Izei, which brings together several Maramureș wooden churches, some inscribed on the UNESCO heritage list, offering a coherent picture of the traditional religious architecture of the area.