30 Now a popular tourist attraction, the Merry Cemetery serves as a beautiful way to keep the village of Săpânța alive, transforming it into a notable tourist attraction. Cherished memories of the past are celebrated in this cemetery, providing a link between this world and the next. It feels odd to call a cemetery “merry,” but this one really is. The last time I visited the Merry Cemetery was seven years ago, together with my children, and it is among my favorite places in Romania. I do not think there have been many changes since then, especially in terms of its uniqueness. Even though the epitaphs are written in Romanian, there are also pictures accompanying them, so one might get an idea of the deceased’s life. Being already an important tourist point, the Merry Cemetery has a visitation schedule (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily) and a modest entrance fee of about $2. TRAVEL
For more information in English, please access this website: http://en.sapantamaramures.ro/about/.
Merry Cemetery epitaph of a tenant whose death was caused by alcohol.
Maramureș, the county in which Săpânța village is located, is almost by definition a genuine sanctuary of Romanian spirituality. In this region, the fables, fairy tales, and traditional stories told by the fireplace become reality. I would argue that this area is the most traditional part of Romania, where even today, all the old customs and traditional beliefs are still held dear.
The Author
Melline Galani is a Romanian enthusiast, born and raised in the capital city of Bucharest, who is currently living in Gwangju. She likes new challenges, learning interesting things, and is incurably optimistic. The Merry Cemetery’s church. (Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash)
2020�4��(April).indd 30
▲
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
April 2020
This place reflects one of Romania’s greatest sayings, a face haz de necaz (to make fun of a painful situation), which in translation loses its rhyme and true meaning. The main idea is that if we lose someone close, we comfort ourselves by remembering the good or funny things about the deceased. We try to cherish their memory by celebrating the lives they had lived.
3/27/2020 2:43:06 PM
