U.S. Ambassador to Romania Kathleen Kavalec announced a $95,000 grant for the restoration of a 16th-century wooden church at the Maramures Museum in Sighetu Marmatiei. The funds are part of the U.S. Embassy’s continuing support for Romanian cultural heritage throughout the country through the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP).

The grant will be used to repair and conserve the wooden church, and to secure and maintain exhibits that promote the region’s multicultural heritage. The wooden church has a rich history: it stands as a landmark of the peaceful coexistence between different ethnic communities in the Maramures area. The church was donated to the community of Oncesti by the Ruthenian community from Criciova, Transcarpathia, Ukraine, and has become a symbol of regional cooperation and multiculturalism against the backdrop of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

This is the second AFCP grant to the Maramures Museum. A 2021 grant helped restore the Elie Wiesel Memorial House, another important symbol of cultural and religious diversity highlighting the region’s rich Jewish heritage. To date, AFCP has donated more than $1.2 million USD to preserve Romanian national heritage throughout the country including $500,000 to restore a 14th century fortified church in Alma Vii village, in Sibiu County, $84,000 to repair fortified churches in the villages of Movile, Agarbiciu and Daia, in Sibiu and Mures Counties, and a nearly $130,000 grant to conserve the Former Hinech Neorim Orthodox Synagogue in Oradea, one of the most important and historically valuable synagogues in Oradea.

At the October 3 opening ceremony of the AFCP project in Sighetu Marmatiei, U.S. Ambassador Kathleen Kavalec was joined by Director of Maramures Museum, Mirela Barz, Mayor of Sighetu Marmatiei, Vasile Moldovan and Ukraine’s Ambassador to Romania, Ihor Prokopchuk.

„The U.S. Embassy remains committed to supporting and promoting the heritage of all Romanians. I am pleased to announce the funding for this project, which, through careful restoration of this beautiful church, also celebrates diversity and bolsters our shared sense of community,” Ambassador Kavalec said.

For more than 20 years, the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation has funded projects around the country, preserving Romania’s rich cultural heritage and highlighting the historical contributions of all its peoples, including Romanian, Jewish, Saxon, Hungarian, Ukrainian, and Roma communities.