A treasure of gold discovered in Coruia in 1814 can be admired at the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna

I have already written about some of the beauties that Coruia (Săcălășeni commune) has.

It is about the historical monument wooden Church dedicated to “The Conception of Saint Ana”, which dates back to the 18th century. This falls under the category of Historical Monuments of Major Importance, category A. The church has a rare and unique patron saint at the national level – “The Conception of St. Ana”.

Also, behind the church there is an oak tree that is hundreds of years old, which is also a point of attraction for those who visit Șara Chioarului. It is a monument of nature, being protected by law.

Today we present you other new and interesting information regarding this Maramures locality. A hoard of gold found here hundreds of years ago is kept at the Naturhistorisches Museum (Natural History Museum) in Vienna. Surely few Maramure residents know this.

More information about this treasure has been published in the brochure “New aspects from Șara Chioarului. The Church of Coruia”, which was launched in December 2023. Below is the full text on this topic:

“The history of the church cannot be fully understood without a few words about the village of Coruia.

To look as deeply as possible into history, we turn to archaeological research through the monumental work of the archaeologist Kacso Carol, known as one of the best specialists in the research of the Bronze Age in the north and northwest of Romania: the Archaeological Repertory of Maramureș County.

Here we see that the village of Coruia appears on the map of discoveries from the Bronze Age as a settlement that left behind a treasure of gold (discovered in 1814 in poorly documented conditions) and ceramic fragments of pots with black color on the outside and red color on the inside (discovered in 2003 in the place called Carrarea Morii) (Kacso, 2011, 84/478). Unfortunately, the Baia Mare County Museum of History and Archeology still keeps in its warehouses only the Late Bronze ceramic fragments found in 2003. The gold treasure can be seen at the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna.

For the medieval period, we learn from documentary sources that the first record of the village dates back to 1405 where Karulja appears as a Romanian village on the territory of the Stone Citadel, and that in 1566 the Urbariul Cetății Chioar notes the village of Carullia as belonging to the Voivodeship of Luca of Remetea (Temian, 2016, 54).

Returning to archaeology, we find the village of Coruia also on the map of discoveries from the medieval era with two monetary hoards (from chance discoveries in 1882 and in 1998) with bronze coins (Kacso, 2011, 85/88/478). The treasure discovered in 1882 is also in the Viennese collections, and the one discovered in 1998 is in the warehouses of the County Museum of History and Archeology in Baia Mare (…)”.

Through Diana Denisa Țicală, daughter of the village and employee of the County Center for the Preservation and Promotion of Traditional Culture “Liviu Borlan” Maramureș, we learn the experience of two ladies from Coruia – Arch. Oksana Florescu and Prof. Valeria Bancoș – who visited Vienna and implicitly this museum between November 30 and December 3, 2023:

“We decided together with Mrs. Prof. Valeria Bancoș to visit Vienna for 3 days, to enrich ourselves with the fresh images of a famous European capital, to see what a city looks like prepared for the holidays, to visit some museums and the opera. I had an older desire to look at the gold hoard discovered at Coruia and preserved in one of the Viennese museums. I had the information that it is in the collection of the Naturhistorisches Muzeum.

I entered the museum full of curiosity and impatience. For 3 hours we visited all the rooms, admiring everything that nature has given us on the whole globe, remarkable exposition, but our objective did not want to be seen. Fatigue was felt, but also hopelessness.

The teacher’s perseverance, the native desire to see what belonged to the village where he was born, with the last hope I entered the last rooms where various objects resulting from archaeological discoveries were exhibited. There I saw several treasures from the territory of Transylvania. I admired them, took photos and left with the conviction that one of them was from Coruia. At home, after taking the photos, Mrs. Valeria also noticed that the first of the exhibits belonged to the village of Coruia, dating from the Late Bronze Age. All Coru residents who go to Vienna should include in their schedule a visit to this museum and certainly to the treasury!”.

The photos below are also taken by these ladies.

Lavinia-Codruța HERMAN

Read also

Coruia owns a natural monument: the hundred-year-old oak is a symbol of the community

The patron saint of the wooden church in Coruia was celebrated; On this occasion, the brochure “New aspects of Chioarului Country” was launched. Church from Coruia”