The Merry Cemetery

One of the most unique and fascinating places in Romania. The Merry Cemetery (Cimitirul Vesel) in Săpânța is famous for its brightly painted wooden crosses, each decorated with humorous poems, life stories, and illustrations of the person buried there. Unlike traditional cemeteries, this one celebrates life with color and irony. The tradition began in the 1930s thanks to local artisan Stan Ioan Pătraș, who hand-carved the first crosses and created the distinctive blue color now known as “Săpânța blue.” His style became a symbol of the village and later of the entire Maramureș region. Walking through the cemetery feels like reading a collective biography of the village, touching, funny, and surprisingly uplifting. A truly special cultural landmark and absolutely worth visiting.

One of the most beautiful and I would even say fun cemeteries I have ever scene. My hats off to the artist who decided to start doing this - and indeed his own colorful marker is right against the church (on the far side from the entrance). On the backside of his marker is a fellow carving. . .a grave marker. It's just a delight to wander up and down the rows of grave markers looking and the themes of career and in many cases how they died. Sadly Google translate does not do justice to what I am told are fun and whimsical poems but the carved paintings are enough. Free bathrooms available within the cemetery/ church grounds.

A simply unbelievable cemetery in Northern Romania, on the Ukraine border. We stayed overnight at a hotel, which we will review another time. Needless to say, the visit was amazing, lots of beautiful painted wooden grave”stones”. Inside the church was a sight to behold. We came here in November and it wasn’t busy, it was perfect.

The Merry Cemetery, known locally as the Happy Cemetery, is one of Romania’s most unique and fascinating sites. I wouldn’t call it “happy” in the usual sense, as cemeteries are never truly happy places, but many of the tombs feature humorous, ironic, or even poetic inscriptions that tell the story of the person buried there, sometimes highlighting their quirks, habits, or how they lived and died. Some of the epitaphs are surprisingly witty, offering a glimpse into the local culture and way of seeing life and death. The cemetery became famous thanks to Stan Ioan Patras, a local craftsman and sculptor who started carving the first of the colorful wooden crosses in the 1930s. He painted them in bright colors and added folk motifs and naive-style paintings depicting scenes from the deceased’s life, from daily work to memorable moments. Over the decades, this tradition has continued, making the cemetery an extraordinary open-air art gallery. The name “Happy Cemetery” comes from this vivid use of color and the lighthearted storytelling of the inscriptions, which together celebrate life rather than mourn death. Visitors often find themselves smiling while reading the epitaphs and admiring the creativity of each cross. If you have the chance to visit the area, I highly recommend stopping by, it’s a place unlike any other in Romania, combining history, art, and folklore in a truly unforgettable way.

My overall rating would be around 3.5 stars. As a Romanian, this was my first time visiting the "Cimitirul Vesel" (Merry Cemetery), a place I had wanted to see for quite a while. During a 3-day trip to Borșa, we decided to make a detour to Săpânța to finally check it off the list. While I’m glad I went, I have to admit I was a bit underwhelmed. The village itself feels a bit somber, and there's not much else to do in the area. We spent the night, but in hindsight, we could’ve just driven onward if I hadn’t been too tired — it’s more of a short stop or day-trip destination. As for the cemetery, I was expecting it to be more humorous and lively in tone, but it didn’t quite match that image. That said, it is undoubtedly a one-of-a-kind place in the world, and still worth visiting if you’re in the region. Maybe we didn’t explore everything it has to offer, so I do encourage you to see it for yourself and form your own impression.

The whether was raining but cemetery is still being the merry one. Beautiful church with masterpieces on the walls and outside. Never seen smth like this before.

Taken aback by the stalls and touristy area surrounding it. Somehow thought it would be gentler, quieter. In serene setting. Not so. Still very interesting. Oldest grave I could find was 1953. Oldest looking was 1967.

UNESCO heritage site and truly impressive place where you can read the life stories in a form of epitaphs on these handcrafted tombs. The church, tombs and nearby mountains send some sort of calmness and beauty which can’t be described in words