In Maramureș you can still observe the traditional, still functioning mechanical structures. By using such old devices, villagers managed to sustain their existence by themselves. Here are some of the places where such installations still exist:
Sârbi
fulling mills, whirlpools, thrasher, mill, brandy distilleries
Budești
whirlpools, mills, brandy distilleries
Sat Șugatag
whirlpools, mill, brandy distilleries
Văleni
mill, whirlpool
Chiuzbaia
whirlpools
Ask information and directions regarding the installations you desire to see, from the pension where you are staying.
What these installations actually are
All of them run on water, without a drop of electricity. In their own way, they are the village's first "factories" — built of wood, maintained by the community and used in turn, by a custom everyone knows.
- The whirlpool (vâltoare) — a large wooden funnel in which falling water swirls and washes or felts heavy woollen textiles: blankets, rugs and carpets. No washing machine can match the result.
- The fulling mill (piuă) — heavy wooden hammers, lifted by a water wheel, that pound woollen cloth until it thickens into felted cloth, the material traditional coats and trousers are made from.
- The mill — the millstone that grinds maize and wheat, also turned by water.
- The distillery (horincie) — the still in which horincă, the Maramureș plum brandy, is made.
- The thresher (batoză) — the machine used to thresh cereals, separating the grain from the ear.
How to visit them
These are private households, not museums with posted opening hours. The simplest thing is to ask at the guesthouse where you are staying: your hosts know who has an installation running at that time and can let them know you are coming. Go politely, ask before taking photos and leave a kind word — for these people the installation is not an attraction, but a working tool.
The best time is autumn, when grain is milled, blankets are washed and horincă is distilled — that is when you see them at work, not just standing idle.