THE

MERRY
CEMETERY
Students:

Adriana Marin
Carmen-Elena Paladi
Main parts
Short presentation of the Merry
Cemetery

Who began the tradition

The legend

Conlusions
THE MERRY CEMETERY FROM
SAPANTA (MARAMURES)

Located on the banks of Tisa River,
the river that forms the border with
Ukraine, and surrounded by the
Carpathian Mountains, Sapanta is a
village with only 5000 inhabitants.

It is famous for a graveyard where
the crosses of the tombs are beautifully
coloured.

The naive paintings upon them
represent scenes from the life and
occupation of the persons that are
buried.
In 1935, Stan Ioan
Patras carved the first the
epitaph and so began the tradition
of the ingraving lyrics full of
humour on the crosses.

Today there are around 800
such interesting and misterious
crosses made from from oak wood.

The Merry Cemetery, how it is
called, became a true museum
in open air, a place where people
defide death in its face.

The begining
The Legend
The original character of the cemetery is first of all suggested by its
name: The Merry Cemetery.

This paradoxical name is due to the vivid colours of the crosses and the
amusing or satirical epitaphs carved on them.

It is said that this joyful attitude towards death is a legacy of the Dacians,
our ancestors, who believed in the immortality of the soul. They did not see
death as a tragic end, but as a chance to meet with the supreme god, Zalmoxis.
They had the habit of talking about death with laugther and joy,
because death was only a passage to a better life.
They cried when someone was born, cause they knew what a hard
life is expecting the newborn, but danced when one died.
Dacians strongly believed in life after death, which was the way
to pass to a new world, a better one.
Conclusions
The Merry Cemetery is one of a kind, that is
why tourists come all over the world to see it.

It shows the Romanian humor through satirical
epitaphs, vivid colours and amusing drawings.

By its nature this cemetery is part of the
universal cultural heritage, being under the
auspices of UNESCO