Halloween may be over, but this Merry Cemetery, that we came across in the village of Săpânța on our recent trip through the Maramureş county of Romania, is not about to get any less spooky.
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The cemetery features colourful tombstones inscribed with light-hearted poems about the deceased life and death. Unlike other cemeteries around the world that provoke a rather sombre feeling, the Merry Cemetery was created out of belief that death is a moment filled with joy and anticipation for a better life.
Established in 1935, the cemetery now features over 800 of these oak wood crosses and more are being added yearly.
Here is an example of just one of these inscriptions (thanks to Wikipedia)
| Romanian
Sub această cruce grea |
English
Under this heavy cross |
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