Rohia Monastery

Rohia Monastery is an Orthodox monastic complex located in the town of Târgu Lăpuș, Maramureș County, on Dealul Viei above Rohia village, in Țara Lăpușului. The monastery was founded in 1923 by the Orthodox priest Nicolae Gherman (1877-1959), parish priest of Rohia, in memory of his daughter Anuța, who died aged 10. The first church was built in 1923-1925 and consecrated on 15 August 1926. The complex houses the monastery church, dedicated to Saint Anne, built in 1996-2018 to plans by architect Dorel Cordoș, on the site of the first church, several monastic cells, a library and a museum. The monastery is closely associated with the writer and monk Nicolae Steinhardt, who settled here in 1979 as librarian, became a monk on 16 August 1980 and lived here until 1989, when he died in hospital in Baia Mare; he is buried at the monastery. The monastery lies about 5 km in a straight line south of the centre of Târgu Lăpuș and about 50 km from Baia Mare. The monastery operates as a pilgrimage site and can be visited throughout the year. It is well worth visiting for its documentary significance relating to the figure of Nicolae Steinhardt and for its notable monastic library.