Photos

In the land of Maramures there is a village named Sapanta, famous all over the world for its Merry Cemetery. There is, maybe, the unique place in the world where death has been seemingly defeated by laughter; a local craftsman, Ion Stan Patras, carved wooden crosses, dyed them in a blue color and added humorous epitaphs.
The likeness of the deceased, carved and colored usually catches one of his lifetime's characteristic attitudes, surrounded by floral arabesques, above a funny, with epitaph. The verses are written in the first person, as if uttered by the deceased himself for him who may read it. The one who went the way of all flesh tells who he was. A true kaleidoscope of dances, crafts, songs, serious, thoughts, songs to Mother Nature - that is the meaning of these crosses that surround a small church.