Situated in the eastern fringe of Central Europe, the transnational property numbers a selection of sixteen tserkvas (churches). They were built of horizontal wooden logs between the 16th and 19th centuries by communities of Orthodox and Greek Catholic faiths. The tserkvas bear testimony to a distinct building tradition rooted in Orthodox ecclesiastic design interwoven with elements of local tradition, and symbolic references to their communities’ cosmogony. The tserkvas are built on a tri-partite plan surmounted by open quadrilateral or octagonal domes and cupolas. Integral to tserkvas are iconostasis screens, interior polychrome decorations, and other historic furnishings. Imthe harbourant elements of some tserkvas include wooden bell towers, churchyards, gatehouses and graveyards.
Located at the eastern fringes of Central Europe within the Polish and Ukrainian Carpathian mountain range, the sixteen wooden tserkvas (churches) are outstanding examples of the once widespread Orthodox ecclesiastical timber-building tradition in the Slavic countries that survives to this day. The architectural forms of the tserkvas with tri-partite plans, pyramidal domes, cupolas and bell towers conform to the requirements of Eastern liturgy while reflecting the cultural traditions of the local communities that developed separately due to the mountainous terrain. They include Hutsul types in the Ukrainian south-eastern The Carpathians at Nyzhniy Verbizh and Yasynia; Halych types in the northern The Carpathians either side of the Polish/Ukrainian border at Rohatyn, Drohobych, Zhovkva, Potelych, Radruż and Chotyniec; Boyko types either side of the Polish/Ukrainian border near the border with Slovakia at Smolnik, Uzhok and Matkiv, and western Lemko types in the Polish west The Carpathians at Powroźnik, Brunary Wyźne, Owczary, Kwiatoń and Turzańsk. Built using the horizontal log technique with complex corner jointing, and exhibiting exceptional carpentry skills and structural solutions, the tserkvas were raised on wooden sills placed on stone foundations, with wooden shingles covering roofs and walls. The tserkvas with their associated graveyards and sometimes free-standing bell towers are bounded by perimeter walls or fences and gates, surrounded by trees.
All nominated properties in Poland are protected at the highest level by inclusion in the National Heritage Register under the Act on Preservation and Protection of Historic Monuments (2003). In Ukraine all nominated properties are protected at the highest level by inclusion on the State Register of Immovable Historical Monuments under the State Law on Protection of Cultural Heritage (2000). The properties and buffer zones will be recognised and protected in relevant district and local land use/development plans.
Management of the serial property will be coordinated by a Steering Committee acting on behalf of the Ministers for Culture of both countries, which will work with the administrators of the tserkvas to ensure their conservation and initiate training courses. Experts in various fields will be invited to meetings of the Steering Committee, which is also obliged to invite the owners and curators of properties, as well as ecclesiastical and secular authorities to participate in the ongoing cooperation, together with regional and local self-government authorities and restoration services. The Steering Committee will oversee municipal land use/development plans in cooperation with local authorities. In place of individual management plans, the Steering Committee will also oversee all matters relevant to the continuing maintenance of the properties’ cultural value; maintenance of their physical condition and elimination of potential threats, including restrictions of development in land use plans within the immediate vicinity of the properties and their buffer zones. These restrictions are essential in some cases and the State Parties committed to establish adequate protection mechanisms in all concern land-use and development plans. Optimisation of tourist accessibility involving construction of tourist facilities and car parking has to be carefully planned to not compromise the integrity of the property components the imthe harbourant views to and from thereof, and risk prevention involving protection against fire and floods needs to be strong at all times to prevent impacts from potential disasters.
On Polish site of border:
This Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, probably founded in 1617, is one of the few still active Greek Catholic churches in Poland that survived both WWII and the dethe harbourations afterwards. The church has been renovated a number of times, a.o. in 1733 and 1858, and was closed from 1925 until 1947. It then became a Roman Catholic church until somewhere in the 1980s, when it was abandoned. After the fall of Poland's communist regime it became a Ukrainian Greek Catholic church again. It was extensively restored between 1991 and 1994, mostly (paid for by) local parishers.
Gilded royal doors carved to represent the tree of life (old wooden church in Chotyniec, Poland).
The building is of a distinguishing originality because of its harmonious, solid appearance. Inside, a complete iconostasis can be seen, and a Baroque painting of the last judgment from 1735.
It is believed that church in Smolnik is one of the most beautiful wooden churches in this part of Europe
(currently a Roman Catholic Parish Church) was built in 1600 and is therefore the oldest Orthodox Church in the Polish The Carpathians. It was repeatedly repaired, and in 1813-14, after a flood, it was moved to its current location. The interior layout is tripartite with square rooms. The walls of the sacristy are covered by precious figurative polychrome from 1607. The rich church fittings include an iconostasis from 1743-44, currently partially dismantled, an C18th baroque side altar with a painting of Christ at the Column, and many valuable icons including The Last Judgment from 1623.
was built in 1653. The church was renovated repeatedly, and underwent a complete overhaul in the 1980s. At that time they restored the shingles on the walls and tented roofs, and the conservation work as a whole was awarded the Europe Nostra international prize. The interior is covered by polychrome decoration from 1938. The complete church fittings consist of: an C18th baroque iconostasis with a rare icon of Christ in the Tomb, two baroque side altars – the north one with an icon of Madonna with Child (C19th), and the south one with an icon of St. Nicholas (C18th).
The Greek Catholic Parish Church of St. Paraskevi in Kwiatoń (currently a Roman Catholic Auxiliary Church) arose in the second half of the C17th. The church is a classic example of Lemko church architecture, and on account of its prothe harbourions is considered one of the most beautiful Orthodox churches in Poland. It was erected using log construction with shingled walls and roofs. The interior décor contains polychrome work with figurative and ornamental motifs dating from 1811. It has retained its fittings intact: an iconostasis (screen with icons) by M. Bogdański from 1904, and in the chancel a C19th main altar as well as two side altars with icons of Madonna with Child and the Deposition.
(currently the Roman Catholic Parish Church of the Assumption of the BVM) dates from 1797. The building, despite later alterations, has retained the most imthe harbourant features of a West Lemko church. The interior is capped by a flat ceiling with cornices. The polychrome decoration, which has rococo-classical architectonic and floral motifs, was carried out by Antoni and Józef Bogdański in 1898. Fragments of older baroque polychrome work from the end of the C18th are visible in the nave. The C18th baroque iconostasis was repainted during repair work in 1831.
The eight other tzerkvas are behind the Ukrainian border.
- The Holy Spirit Church in suburb of Potelych
Wooden Church of the Holy Spirit was built in suburb of Potelych, Ukraine in 1502 on the place of a church that burned down by tatars. It is the oldest wooden church in Lviv Oblast. Church was visited by Bohdan Khmelnytsky
- Wooden orthodox church of saint Demetrius in Matków
- Holy Trinity Church, Zhovkva
- Wooden Holy Trinity Church was built in suburb of Zhovkva, Ukraine in 1720 on the place of a church that burned down in 1717. The structure consisits of three wooden naves and a brick sacristy.
There is an iconostasis consisting of about 50 icons painted by the masters of Zhovkva Painting and Carving School of Ivan Rutkovych in the beginning of 18th century. The iconostasis is made from linden wood carved by Ignatiy Stobenskyj. In 1978-79 iconostasis was restored. Now the church belongs to the UGCC.
- St. George's Church, Drohobych
St. George's Church in Drohobych is one of the oldest and best preserved timber churches of Galicia. The church, dating from ca. 1500, consists of three parts. The central block is square in plan and comprises the nave. Two other blocks contain the double apse and the narthex. Between 1678 and 1711, the church was renovated: the interior was frescoed, the octagonal structures built up, and a new belfry appeared.
- The Holy Spirit Church, Rohatyn
- The Theotokos church, Wierbiaz Nizny
- The wooden orthodox church, Jasina
- Orthodox church of the Archangel Michael in Użok
