Tour Guide, Bucharest, Romania
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The Church from the Hill (UNESCO World Heritage Site) was built in 1364 in the village of Ieud, Maramures district, Romania, and it is the oldest wooden church of Maramures. They say that before this church there was a monastery dating from the 11th-12th century, which was demolished in 1889 and was placed near the present day setting of the village of Ieud, in the so-called place "La Crucisoare". At the beginning of the 14th century prince Balcu, Dragos Voda's grandson, built himself a castle of wood on a hiil near the river, around which he founded the present village and in 1364, the population, with the help of the prince, built near the castle a wooden church called until nowadays "The Church from the Hill". In ancient times, Ieud was a Wallachian land. the people of Ieud looked after the church until 1419, when king Sigismund suspended their title. From this year the church was taken care of by the noble families of Ieud, who took part in the peasant war led by gheorghe Doja in 1514. After this, king Sigismund confiscated their fortunes. The church is built in a Maramures style of fir-tree wood, having very small windows. the painting of the church is beautiful and interesting, made in a primitive Byzantine style, which dates from 1782, carried out by the painter Alexandru Pohenalschi of maramures. the ladder, which has the age of the church, is very interesting, being made of only one piece of wood. the oldest book, "Codicele de la Ieud", dated in 1391-1392, contains the oldest Romanian text written by the clerks from the old monastery "Sfintii trei Ierarhi", where ran a school with three coaching profile: priests, psalm readers and clerks. this is preserved in the garret of the church. It is the only copy in our country and it is to be found in Academy library of Romania. being weakened by time, the old building of the church has been restored by the Direction of Historical Monuments from Bucharest in 1958. Between 1985-1986, the priest Alexandru Brici has restored the church's roof. the Ministry of Culture has restored the roof and the floor of the church in 1998 and the restoration of the picture continues to this day, being started in 1999.