Maramureș | |
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| Country |  Romania Ukraine |
| Largest city | Baia Mare |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Maramureș (Romanian:Maramureșpronounced[maraˈmureʃ]ⓘ;Rusyn:Мараморош;Ukrainian:Мармарощина,romanized: Marmaroshchyna;Hungarian:Máramaros[ˈmaːrɒmɒroʃ]) is a geographical, historical and cultural region in northernRomania and westernUkraine. It is situated in the northeasternCarpathians, along parts of the upperTisza River drainage basin; it covers the Maramureș Depression and the surrounding Carpathian mountains.
Alternatively, the termMaramureș is also used for theMaramureș County of Romania, which contains the southern section of the historical region.
Alternative names for Maramureș includeUkrainian:Мармарощина (Marmaroshchyna),Rusyn:Мараморош (Maramoroš),Russian:Мармарош (Marmarosh),Hungarian:Máramaros,German:Maramuresch or Marmarosch andLatin:Marmatia. In Yiddish it is מאַרמאַראָש.
Maramureș is a valley enclosed by the Oaș, Gutâi, Țibleș and Rodnei mountains (the northern section of theInner Eastern Carpathians) to the west and south, theMaramureș Mountains and the central section of theOuter Eastern Carpathians to the east and north. The valley is drained through a narrow opening, the Khust Gate, atKhust. Several dozen small mountain rivers and creeks flow into the riverTisa. It is forested and not easily accessible.
The limits of the region are between the parallels of 47°33' N and 47°02' N and the meridians of 23°15' E and 25°03' E. Maramureș represents one of the largest depressions in the Carpathians, covering an area of about 10,000 km2.
Its length fromKhust toPrislop Pass is about 150 km and width from North to South is up to 80 km.
The main mountain passes linking Maramureș with the neighboring regions are high and in the past were hardly accessible in the winter. The Prislop Pass (1,416 m high) links the east of the region with Moldavia, Dealul Ștefăniței (1,254 m) links the south to Transylvania, the Pintea Pass (987 m) towards Baia Mare, Fărgău (587 m) in the west links the region to Oaș Country, while Frasini Pass (Yasinia; 931 m) links the north of the region toGalicia.
The mountains surrounding this region occupy more than half of the area. A few peaks reach above 2,000 m, such as Pietrosul (2,303 m) in theRodna Mountains to the south and Hovârla (2,061 m) in Muntele Negru (Cernahora) to the north.
The heavy forested mountains sustain many protected species of plants, such asyew (Taxus baccata),larch (Larix decidua),Swiss pine (Pinus cembra),edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum); and animals, such aslynx (Lynx lynx),chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra),alpine marmot (Marmota marmota),golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), andcapercaillie (Tetrao urogallus).
The lastwisent from present-day Romania territory, a symbol of Maramureș, was hunted to extinction in 1852. Lostrița, a local variety of salmon, still live in the mountain rivers.
Several protected areas have been created in Maramureș. TheRodna Mountains National Park was designated in 1990, theMaramureș Mountains Natural Park in 2004, and there are many other caves, gorges, cliff formations, and lakes which are officially-protected areas.
In ancient times, this area was settled byCelts,Dacians,Sarmatians,Germanic peoples andAkatziri. In the first century BC, it was part of theDacian Kingdom underBurebista, while in the early Middle Ages, it was ruled by theHunnic Empire, theKingdom of the Gepids, theKingdom of the Avars, theWhite Croatia,Hungarians and even theKievan Rus'.
The territory was part of theKingdom of Hungary from the 11th century and was nominally divided between theGyepű border region,comitatus ofSzatmár and comitatus ofBorsova. Initially, theRomanian inhabitants of the region were allowed to preserve their political organization, theVoivodeship of Maramureș, divided into many small autonomous areas. The King long struggled[citation needed] to convince theVoivodes to accept the title ofCount, with the implied loss of independence in political and financial matters. During theMiddle Ages, the people in many mountain villages, where each family by definition had a considerable domain, were callednameși, meaning free peasants taking pride in their family. The origin of the word is disputed: in the Kingdom of Hungary, free people possessing land were callednemes inHungarian. InRomanianneam means extended family, but this name's root is better explained[citation needed] as deriving from theGreek verbνέμωnémō, meaning to divide something (mainly land) into parts and give it toνοµεῖςnomeîs (people with the right to use it, either to rent it or use it for free; singularνομεύςnomeús). The region was reorganized toMáramaros County in the 14th century.
In the 16th century, the Kingdom of Hungary was invaded by theOttoman Empire, and the area came under administration of the semi-independent OttomanPrincipality of Transylvania. Later (in the late 17th century) it came under the administration of theHabsburg monarchy (which became theAustrian Empire in 1804). During Habsburg administration, the region was initially part of thePartium lands of theHabsburg Principality of Transylvania, but was later (in 1732) transferred to theHabsburg Kingdom of Hungary. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was transformed into the dual monarchy ofAustria-Hungary and the region was included in theTransleithanian orHungarian part of the Monarchy.
After theFirst World War, the region was divided between Romania and theCzechoslovak region ofCarpathian Ruthenia, with the border following that of the short-livedHutsul Republic.[1] In March 1939Hungary annexed Carpathian Ruthenia and in August 1940 annexed the region ofNorthern Transylvania, which included southern Maramureș, from Romania; the territories remained under Hungarian control until 1944. AfterWorld War II, the southern section returned to Romania and is now part ofMaramureș County; thenorthern section was incorporated into theSoviet Union as part of theUkrainian SSR and is now part ofZakarpattia Oblast of independentUkraine.
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In thesouthern area, the majority of the population areRomanians. There are also someHungarians,Rusyns,Ukrainians,Zipser Germans,Jews, andRoma. In thenorthern area, the majority areUkrainians, with smaller Romanian, Hungarian and German communities.
In the northern area most people speakHutsul dialect ofUkrainian language, while in the southern area most speak Romanian, which is why the region was split into two parts.[2][citation needed] Since the 1940s there have been villages cut in two by the state border. There are some villages in the north (within Ukraine) that have a sizeable Romanian population, as well as some villages in Romania that have a sizeable Ukrainian and/or Rusyn population.
Southern Maramureș Maramureșul de Sud (Romanian) | |
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 Coat of arms | |
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| Country | Romania |
| Largest city | Baia Mare |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Banat (1918–)a |
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Dobruja (1878–) |
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Moldavia (1859–)b |
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Transylvania (1918–)ag | |
Wallachia (1859–)b | |
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