Discover 6 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Baia Mare (Romania). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Stephen's Tower, Assumption of Mary Cathedral, and Phoenix Copper Smelter. Also, be sure to include Lascăr Pană Sports Hall in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Baia Mare (Maramureș).
Table of Contents
Stephen's Tower
Also known as: Turnul Ștefan din Baia Mare
Tower in Baia Mare, Romania. Stephen's Tower is a tower located on Citadel Square in Baia Mare, Romania. Over 40 metres high and built in a neo-Gothic style, it is a symbol of the city.
Eventually used for strategic observation and detecting fires, Stephen's Tower was initially a bell tower for Saint Stephen's church, built in 1347-76 as the only double-naved church in mediaeval northwest Transylvania. The church, though not quite finished, was dedicated in 1387, when it was first mentioned as St. Stephen's. The bell tower was added in 1446 on the church's southwest side; it was begun during John Hunyadi's reign in honour of his 1442 victory over the Ottomans near the Ialomiţa River and completed in 1468 under his son Matthias Corvinus.
In the mid-16th century the tower and church were partly destroyed by powerful lightning. The tower was rebuilt in 1559-61; the church passed from Roman Catholic to Reformed control in 1588. In 1619 both structures underwent a thorough restoration: the tower received a new roof, high and sharp-pointed, in the shape of a square-based pyramid. In 1628 four mechanical clocks with moons, manufactured by a Prešov clockmaker, replaced the tower's bell. Another lightning-induced fire in 1647 devastated the church and tower. Yet another fire seriously damaged both structures when they were again hit by lightning in 1769. The tower was rebuilt the following year, when the gallery was raised a level and the roof redone in Baroque onion-dome style. The church was in ruins and repairs estimated to be very costly, so the authorities decided to demolish its remaining walls in 1847 using gunpowder; the former church site became a park in 1856, with Ferenc Schulz's 1870 plan for rebuilding it remaining unimplemented, and only the bell tower remained standing. This was destroyed by fire in 1869 and rebuilt in 1898-99 in neo-Gothic style, a form it preserves to this day.
The aged light green slate roof was damaged by a storm in 2007; repairs, finished the following year at a cost to the city of some €200,000, included its replacement with a copper roof. The tower is open to visitors.[1]
Address: Piața Cetății, Baia Mare
Assumption of Mary Cathedral
Also known as: Catedrala Adormirea Maicii Domnului din Baia Mare
The Assumption of Mary Cathedral is a Romanian Orthodox church in Baia Mare, Romania.
The cornerstone was laid in 1905, the building completed in 1911. In 1930, the church became the cathedral of the new Romanian Catholic Diocese of Maramureș. When the Greek-Catholic Church was outlawed by the communist regime in 1948, the cathedral became a Romanian Orthodox parish. It continues to be used as such, which has led to legal disputes.[2]
Phoenix Copper Smelter
Also known as: Turnul Combinatului din Baia Mare
The Cuprom Phoenix Copper Smelter is a smelter of sulfurous copper ores in Baia Mare, Romania.
Due to the toxic fumes causing acid rain, it has a 351.5 m (1,153 ft) chimney, built in 1995, making it the tallest artificial structure in Romania and the third tallest chimney in Europe.
The tower is no longer in use.[3]
Lascăr Pană Sports Hall
Lascăr Pană Sports Hall is an indoor arena in Baia Mare, Romania and is the home ground of sports clubs from Baia Mare.[4]
Muzeul de Mineralogie
Museum
Address: B-dul Traian nr.8, Baia Mare
Parcul Tineretului
Relax in park, Park
Address: Strada Dealul Florilor 1, Baia Mare