“Stan Ioan Pătraș” Memorial House

Stan Ioan Pătraș (1908 – 1977) was the one who established the Merry Cemetery in Sapanta (located 200 m from the museum). In 1935, he carved the first cross out of oak wood, which he then painted and to which he attributed a poetic message. From then until today, the Merry Cemetery has been populated with hundreds of such works that further carry the tradition initiated by Stan Ioan Pătraș. He died in 1977, but the custom was continued by Dumitru Pop Tincu, his apprentice. In 2021, Dumitru Pop died and left this craft to his son-in-law, Ioan Stan, also the great-grandson of Stan Ioan Pătraș.

The “Stan Ioan Pătraș” Memorial House is the house where the folk craftsman Stan Ioan Pătraș lived. It is a building specific to the Tisza Valley, having three rooms: a room in the middle, a room facing the street and one facing the garden, with a gable roof. The whole interior is furnished with traditional objects, some of them creations of the artist. Behind the memorial house is the old workshop of the craftsman Stan Ioan Pătraș. The porch of the house is supported by carved and colored wooden pillars, on which illustrations by local artists from Maramureș have been polished. The gate of the museum is also carved in wood.