The Church of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel (Biserica Sfinţii Arhangheli Mihail şi Gavril) is a wooden orthodox church in Plopiș, Maramureș County. It is one of the eight wooden churches of Maramureș that are together listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The wooden church of Plopiș (biserica de lemn din Plopiș) was built by a Greek-Catholic community of around 200 people who lived in the Cavnic River Valley, to replace an older church. Construction started in 1796 and on 12 November 1811, the church was consecrated in the presence of its 49 founding families. Later, 49 coins were found inside the church, which are believed to have been put there by each of the 49 families.
In 1901, the church underwent a restoration which might have slightly altered its appearance. After the prohibition of the Greek Catholic Church under the communist regime in 1948, the church became orthodox. Further restorations took place in 1961, 1990, and 2018.
The church stands out for its well-balanced proportions with a rectangular plan, a porch, and a polygonal altar apse. The structure has a length of 17 meters, a width of 7 meters, and a height of 47 meters, and is richly decorated from the outside. The architectural design has a lot of similarities with the nearby wooden church in Șurdești. What distinguishes the church from others are the four turrets on the corners of the central spire, which indicate that the village had its own council for judgment.
On the inside, you can see numerous beautiful colorful paintings on the walls, most of which are preserved works from 1811 by the painter Ștefan Zugravul from Șurdești.
