Merry Cemetery

Merry Cemetery
Merry cemetery tombstones

The Merry Cemetery (Romanian: Cimitirul Vesel pronounced [t͡ʃimiˈtirul ˈvesel]) is a cemetery in the village of Săpânţa, Maramureş county, Romania. It is famous for its colourful tombstones with naïve paintings describing, in an original and poetic manner, the persons that are buried there as well as scenes from their lives. The Merry Cemetery became an open-air museum and a national tourist attraction.

The unusual feature of this cemetery is that it diverges from the prevalent belief, culturally shared within European societies – a belief that views death as something indelibly solemn. Connections with the local Dacian culture have been made, a culture whose philosophical tenets presumably vouched for the immortality of the soul and the belief that death was a moment filled with joy and anticipation for a better life (see also Zalmoxianism).

Contents

The founder

The cemetery's origins are linked with the name of Stan Ioan Pătraş, a local artist who sculpted the first tombstone crosses. In 1935, Pătraş carved the first epitaph and, as of 1960s, more than 800 of such oak wood crosses came into sight. The inscription on his tombstone cross says:

Romanian

De cu tînăr copilaş
Io am fost Stan Ion Pătraş
Să mă ascultaţ oameni buni
Ce voi spune nu-s minciuni

Cîte zile am trăit
Rău la nime n-am dorit
Dar bine cît-am putut
Orişicine mia cerut

Vai săraca lumea mea
Că greu am trăit în ea

English

Since I was a little boy
I was known as Stan Ioan Pătraş
Listen to me, fellows
There are no lies in what I am going to say

All along my life
I meant no harm to anyone
But did good as much as I could
To anyone who asked

Oh, my poor World
Because It was hard living in it

Funny epitaphs

Romanian

... Să vă mai spun una bună
Mi-o plăcut ţuica de prună
Cu prietenii la birt
Uitam şi de ce-am venit

English

...Now I will tell you a good one
I kind of liked the plum ţuica
With my friends at the pub
I used to forget what I came for

Gallery

See also

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cemetery — For other uses, see Cemetery (disambiguation). Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery in Newport, Rhode Island …   Wikipedia

  • Merry Hill, North Carolina — Merry Hill is a rural area that is composed of mostly farm land. Within the town there are two schools, John P. Law Elementary School (Public), and Lawrence Academy (Private). John P. Law Elementary School was shut down in 2006 due to a diversity …   Wikipedia

  • Merry Widows of Joe Cain — Cain s Merry Widows paying a visit to Joe Cain s house on Augusta Street in 2007 The Mardi Gras mystic society of Cain’s Merry Widows (a women’s mystic society) was founded in 1974 in Mobile, Alabama, home of the first Mardi Gras in America… …   Wikipedia

  • Săpânţa — (IPA pronunciation in Romanian: /səpɨntsa/; old spelling Săpînţa ; Hungarian: Szaplonca , Slovak: Sapunka , Yiddish: Spinka or Shpinka ) is a commune in Maramureş County in northern Romania, 15 kilometers northwest of Sighet and just south of the …   Wikipedia

  • List of cemeteries — This list of cemeteries compiles notable cemeteries, mausoleums and other places people are buried, worldwide. Reasons for notability include their design, their history and their interments.Argentina*La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires burial… …   Wikipedia

  • Tourism in Romania — focuses on the country s natural landscapes and its rich history. The number of tourists is growing every year and tourism is becoming an increasingly important source for Romania s GDP with 6 7 million people now visiting yearly. Romania s… …   Wikipedia

  • Stan Ioan Pătraş — (1908 mdash;1977) was a Romanian wood sculptor, the creator of the tombstones in the Merry Cemetery in Săpânţa, Maramureş County.His creations fit harmoniously within the local popular arts and in the old Romanian tradition.BiographyStan Ioan… …   Wikipedia

  • Shaun Davey — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Davey. Shaun Davey, né en 1948 à Belfast, est un compositeur irlandais. Sommaire 1 La jeunesse 2 La musique symphonique folk …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Romania — This article is about the modern country. For other uses, see Romania (disambiguation). Romania România …   Wikipedia

  • Maramureş County — }; float:right; border:none; > *Suceava County to the East. *Satu Mare County to the West. *Ukraine to the North Ivano Frankivsk Oblast and Zakarpattia Oblast. *Sălaj County, Cluj County and Bistriţa Năsăud County to the South.EconomyMaramureş is …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”