The church with the most vivid depiction of hell, and lots of other attractive frescoes
One of the oldest churches, probably from 1604. Every church has a depiction of hell, but here in Poienile Izei they have been specifically detailed with the images. Unfortunately, the care taker who let us in – after having made us wait for close to half an hour -, wanted to leave almost immediately again, and left us very little time to study the paintings. Hell scenes include graphic images of the punishments one can expect for sins: I found a source claiming that a liar is hanged by his tongue, a farmer who stole his neighbor’s land is plowed by two devils, a mother forced to swallow her aborted baby, and he who sleeps while the priest is preaching, is forced to lay on a burning bed and endure the devil’s violin. And lots of other unpleasantries. Great painting, though.
The other Maramures churches covered are Ieud, Botiza, Desesti and Budesti.