Another thing that strikes you when traveling through this area is the beautiful wooden churches. Built by the local villagers, every element from the foundation up is made of wood. The distinctive tower is usually twice as tall as the church is long, although in some cases it rises up to three times the length. The first I've pictured, from Barsana, is one of the tallest wooden structures in the world. Eight of the area churches are currently on the UNESCO World Heritage list, including the one in our village of Ieud. It was built in 1364 and considered to be the oldest wooden structure in Europe. It was also here that a document, dating from 1391, was found in the church attic and thought to be the first example of written Romanian.
