Săpânța (; , Hungarian pronunciation: ; ; or ''Spinka''; Rusyn: ''Сопунка'', Rusyn Latin: ''Sopunka'';) is a commune of 3,365 inhabitants situated in

Maramureș County Maramureș County () is a county (județ) in Romania, in the Maramureș region. The county seat is Baia Mare. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian it is known as ''Máramaros megye'', in Ukrainian language, Ukrainian as Мараморо́щ ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, northwest of Sighetu Marmației at the northern foothills of the Gutâi Mountains and at the confluence of the Săpânța and

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa (see below) is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. It was once called "the most Hungarian river" because it used to flow entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national bo ...

rivers, less than one kilometer south of the border with

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. It is composed of a single village, Săpânța. Săpânța is located in the northwestern part of

, due north of the county seat, Baia Mare. To the west it borders

Țara Oașului Țara Oașului, lit. 'Oaș Country' in Romanian language, Romanian () is an cultural area, ethnocultural and historical region of Romania located in the north-east part of Satu Mare County, from both Satu Mare and Baia Mare. The total area is abo ...

, in

Satu Mare County Satu Mare County (, , ) is a county (Counties of Romania, județ) of Romania, on the border with Hungary and Ukraine. The capital city is Satu Mare. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as ''Szatmár megye'', in German language, Ge ...

, and to the north, across the river

, is

. The river Săpânța flows into the Tisza here. The locality is crossed by

national road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

DN19, which starts in

Oradea Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...

, goes through

Satu Mare Satu Mare (; ; ; or ) is a city with a population of 102,400 (2011). It is the capital of Satu Mare County, Romania, as well as the centre of the Satu Mare metropolitan area. It lies in the region of Maramureș, broadly part of Transylvania ...

, and ends in Sighetu Marmației. The commune is known for its " Merry Cemetery", one of the Seven Wonders of Romania. The Săpânța-Peri Monastery church is the world's tallest wooden church building, at .

Etymology and history

The name Zapancha (today's Săpânța) was mentioned for the first time in the year

1373 Year 1373 ( MCCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * March 24 – The Treaty of Santarém is signed between Ferdinand I of Portugal and Henry II of Castile, ending the ...

in direct connection with a property conflict between the local noblemen and the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

and Hungarian settlers brought by the Hungarian Kingdom. In that diploma, the border between the territory granted to the colonists (which forms the border of Câmpulung la Tisa) and the border of Săpânța was established. The conflict lasted longer and is mentioned in several other diplomas from Maramures written by historian Ioan Mihalyi de Apsa in

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

. A document from 1404 mentions a mill set in motion by the waters of the Săpânta River, which historian Tit Bud specifies to have had two wheels and belonged to the Saint Archangel Michael Monastery in Peri (today on the territory of

). Săpânța is a very old settlement established in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. From the documents of the time, it appears that the inhabitants of the commune settled on the current territory at the beginning of the

13th century The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 (represented by the Roman numerals MCCI) through December 31, 1300 (MCCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, which stretched ...

. Originary from other places with dense population, they came to the land of

Maramureș ( ; ; ; ) is a geographical, historical and cultural region in northern Romania and western Ukraine. It is situated in the northeastern Carpathians, along parts of the upper Tisza River drainage basin; it covers the Maramureș Depression and the ...

to found a human settlement not with the purpose of colonization, but exercise their rights granted by the Holy Roman governors to deforest targeted areas and transform them into arable land. The workmen, being physically gifted people, managed to incorporate large areas into their commune, much larger in extent than any of the neighboring communes.

Demography

According to the 1930 population and housing census, 3,727 inhabitants were registered, of which 2,668

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

, 998

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, 22 Gypsies, 18

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

and 13

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

. In terms of denomination, the population consisted of 2,577 Greek Catholics, 999

Mosaics A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

, 88 Adventists and 29 Orthodox. In the 2002 population and housing census, from a total of 3,267 inhabitants, 3,240 were

, 2

, 17 Gypsies and 8

. By denomination there were 2,936 Orthodox, 257 Seventh-day Adventists, 65 Greek Catholics, 3 Pentecostals, one

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and one Reformed Catholic. According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census, the population of Săpânta commune amounts to 3,031 inhabitants, an increase compared to the 2011 Population Census, when 2,903 inhabitants were registered. Most of the inhabitants are Romanian (96.21%), and for 3.7% the ethnicity is unknown. From a confessional point of view, the majority of the inhabitants belong to the Romanian Orthodox Church (83.8%), with minorities of Adventists (7.03%) and Greek Catholics (4.85%), and for 3.86% the affiliation is unknown confessionally.

Local Jewish community

Before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, an important Jewish community lived in Săpânta. In 1920 there were 1,023

in Săpânța, which was the original home of the Spinka dynasty of Hasidic Rebbes. This is where the Spinka Hasidic dynasty was born. In World War II, the Jews of the village were deported (including

Isaac Hirsch Weiss Isaac (Isaak) Hirsch Weiss, also Eisik Hirsch Weiss () (9 February 1815 – 1 June 1905), was an Jews of Austria, Austrian Talmudist and historian of literature born at Velké Meziříčí, Groß Meseritsch, Habsburg Moravia. After having recei ...

) by the Horthy authorities to Auschwitz, where most were killed. The survivors were persecuted by the Romanian communist authorities, emigrating to Israel or the US and re-founding the dynasty.

Politics and administration

The commune of Săpânta is administered by a mayor and a local council composed of 13 councilors. The mayor, Ion Braicu, from the Social Democratic Party (PSD), has been in office since 2020. Starting with the local elections in 2020, the local council has the following composition by political parties: In June 2024, Gheorghe Stan from the National Liberal Party (PNL) has been elected as the new mayor of the commune. He is due to take over the mayor's office in September 2024.

Public attractions

The biggest public attraction of the commune is the Merry Cemetery famous for its brightly coloured tombstones with naïve paintings describing, in an original and poetic manner, the people who are buried there in addition to scenes from their lives. The Merry Cemetery became an open-air museum and a national tourist attraction. It has been listed as one of the Seven Wonders of Romania by ''Imperator Travel''. The unusual feature of this cemetery is that it diverges from the prevalent belief, culturally shared within European societies, that views death as something indelibly solemn. A collection of the epitaphs from the Merry Cemetery exists in a 2017 volume called ''Crucile de la Săpânța'', compiled by author Roxana Mihalcea, as well as in a photography book titled The ''Merry Cemetery of Sapanta'' by Peter Kayafas.

Natives

* Stan Ioan Pătraș (1908–1977), wood sculptor, the creator of the tombstones in the Merry Cemetery * (born 1948), folk singer

Gallery

File:1479285 6008ana324466yutyu6rtu56uy5ey64e556404 84515328 n-2.jpg, Merry Cemetery, unique in Europe File:Biserica cimitirul Vesel Sapanta.jpg, Church at the Merry

Cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

File:Mănăstirea Săpânța.jpg, Săpânța-Peri Monastery church, the tallest wooden church in the world. File:Szaplonca2FotoThalerTamas416.JPG, The Jewish cemetery File:Clopote in cimitirul Sapanta.JPG, Functional church bells in the Merry Cemetery.

References

External links

Sapanta - cu gluma pe moarte calcand
18.11.2005, ''Gândul''

18 August 2007, Adrian Bucurescu, ''România liberă''
Săpânța - o destinatie surpriză
13–10–2012, ''InfoEST''

*http://www.sapantamaramures.ro/atractii-turistice/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Sapanta Communes in Maramureș County Localities in Romanian Maramureș Jewish communities in Romania