Cultural projects
This cultural inheritance is currently in competition with new trends, fashions and styles coming mainly from the Western European countries challenging tradition. For the people of Maramureş it is important not to lose this tradition as a part of their identity, individuality and character, so as to remain attractive for themselves and for others.
The work of our foundation focuses on the places where traditions still manifest themselves, such as in crafts, art, festivals and customs. We support and promote activities in these areas by making their value visible to society by selected projects. Thereby we aim at avoiding tourist folklore.
Poarta Maramureșeană
The wooden portals of Maramureş are the predominant element of the village architecture. They were elaborately created for individual homes over the centuries and are still a symbol and pride of the residents. We have approached this issue and in cooperation with experts we have designed and created a new portal for the entrance to Botiza, based on old motifs. The ingenious craftsmanship is the result of months of work of carving masters and their helpers.
Finally this huge portal was erected in cooperation and with the help of the local administration and the mayor. At Easter 2014 it was festively inaugurated and today this portal welcomes anyone coming to Botiza.
Traditional carving for children
For indigenous children and the children of our guests, our woods experts Vasile Trifoi and Ioan Roib run a course of traditional woodcarving. Playfully and with lots of fun the children learn about the meaning of the old symbols and carve them on self-built coffers. Finally each child takes a small “treasure chest” home and explains the ancient symbols of Maramureş to its friends.
