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Tree of Life, the wooden churches of Maramures.

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The Maramures region of northwestern Romania is made up of rolling hills dotted with farms.

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The traditional way of life in this region has changed little since medieval times.

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The Norwegian spruce plays an important part in this way of life.

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Churches are built in a way to retain the original shape of the trees.

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Eight of the region's wooden churches are inscribed as World Heritage.

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Not a single nail was used during their construction.

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Spruce trees are precious and the churches made from them are considered to be a body of Christ.

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Sunday morning in church a mass begins.

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The church floor is made of oak and the walls and roof are made of spruce.

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People here believe in the Greek Catholic faith, a united form of the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox religions.

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Villagers built this church in the middle of the 18th century.

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Its walls and ceilings are covered with religious pictures painted by travelling painters of the Maramures region.

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Babies in this village are baptized in spruce built churches and are nursed in cradles made of spruce.

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The Maramures region has based its culture on wood for a long time.

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Most of the walls of the houses and their gates are also made of the timber.

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Here is a carved wooden gate post made of spruce.

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Spruce trees are also believed to keep evil spirits away.

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Spruce in this region is seen as the tree of life and covers all aspects of people's lives.

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Graves are also made of spruce.

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These brightly decorated tombs are unique to the region.

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They are decorated with paintings depicting the lives, occupations and hobbies of the deceased.

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This woman worked hard. Her tombstone says she raised two fine sons that are just like spruce trees.

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From the cradle to the grave, spruce trees which grow tall even on poor land are a spiritual pillar for the people of the Maramures region.

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For more information, visit www.fema.gov