On the Philatelic Circuit of the UNESCO Churches from Maramureș

Maramureş region is often replaced by "the land of wooden churches" syntagm. Traveling through the villages from this region, it is easy to notice that most of the settlements have their wooden church, created by the local craftsmen. Eight of them were included in the UNESCO World Heritage, in 1999, and can be visited in Bârsana, Budeşti, Deseşti, Ieud, Plopiş, Poienile Izei, Rogoz, and Şurdeşti. Remaining in the same context, of the thematic field visit, to come to the aid of those who walk for the first time in these lands and inevitably need specialized information, a philatelic-tourist itinerary was proposed. Through this paper, the intention was to bring into discussion a series of philatelic effects (postage stamps, first-day covers - FDCs, illustrated postcards, maximum postcards, special and commemorative envelopes, etc), and to emphasize, in more detail, the cultural heritage associated with the religious buildings considered. Based on the observations made on the rich philatelic material identified (over 50 philatelic mentions), through various platforms with philatelic content (such as Colnect, Delcampe, eBay, Okazii, PickClick, Romfilatelia, StampWorld, wopa-plus, etc.) or benevolent collectors, a philatelic route could be made on the eight tourist objectives considered. It was also possible to highlight the role of ambassador that the thematic philately has in the promotion of cultural (ecumenical) heritage, as well as the visibility that UNESCO objectives have at national and international level.