Hoteni: Wooden Church, Tăurile and Tânjaua de pe Mara

Hoteni is home to the wooden church “Sfinții Arhangheli Mihail și Gavril,” dated to 1790 and brought to Hoteni at the end of the 19th century from Slatina, north of the Tisza. It continues to be used regularly for religious services, with Orthodox and Greek Catholic services taking place alternately. The date 1790 and the later transfer to Hoteni refer to two different points in its history. Its current use for religious services is not attributed to a single denomination: Orthodox and Greek Catholic services alternate in the church.

Culture

The tradition of Tânjaua de pe Mara is also preserved in Hoteni as a spring festival. At Tânjaua de pe Mara, the villager who was the first to plough in spring is honored. For more than forty years, Tânjaua de pe Mara has continued through a public performance of regional folk songs and dances. At Tânjaua de pe Mara, carts pulled by a yoke are decorated with green birch branches, ribbons and colorful cloths. Tânjaua Hotenarilor is considered a traditional public event in Hoteni. The agricultural occasion, the honoring of the villager who ploughed first and the public performance all belong to the same traditional festival tradition. Music, dance and the carts decorated with birch branches, ribbons and colorful cloths shape its visible elements.

Nature

The Tăurile, also known as Tinoavele plutitoare de la Hoteni, form a protected natural area of local interest in the territory of Hoteni. The “Valea Cosăului (Breb): Tăurile și Tinovul Hoteni” excursion route runs from Hoteni via Breb to the Tăurile of Hoteni and Tinovul Hoteni, and then back to Breb. Attractions along the route include the flora typical of wetlands and peat bogs in the Tăurile and Tinovul Hoteni. The circular route to the Tăurile and Tinovul Hoteni is approximately 2 km long and takes about one hour. Thus, the described route connects several named landscape features in a clearly defined circular course. In addition to the place and landscape names, the approximate distance and approximate duration are also part of the route description; the flora points to the character of wetlands and peat bogs.

The hiking trail from the church in Hoteni to the Tăurile Hoteni is marked with a red cross. This marking supplements the named route with another described section between the church and the Tăurile Hoteni.

Transport

Buses from Baia Mare to Ocna Șugatag travel via Hoteni. The bus connection identifies Hoteni as a place on the route between Baia Mare and Ocna Șugatag, thereby supplementing the information about the local cultural and landscape destinations with a specific transport note.

Further destinations: Firiza, Coruia, Săliștea de Sus, Ieud, Ruscova, Desești, Moisei, Coltău

To the higher-level travel overview: Maramureş.