Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine

Situated on the eastern edge of Eastern Europe, the transnational property numbers a selection of 16 tserkvas –churches built of horizontal wooden logs between the 16th and 19th centuries by communities of the Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholic faiths.

Basic information
Region:
Małopolskie
City:
Chotybiec, Radruż, Smolnik, Turzańsk, Brunary Wyżne, Kwiatoń, Owczary, Powroźnik
Year added:
2013

They represent the cultural expression of four ethnographic groups and the formal, decorative and technical characteristics they developed over time. 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. They feature wooden bell towers, iconostasis screens, and interior polychrome decorations as well as churchyards, gatehouses and graveyards.

8 tserkvas on Polish territory:

  • Tserkva of St. Michael the Archangel in Brunary Wyzne
  • Tserkva of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chotyniec
  • Tserkva of St. Paraskevia in Kwiaton
  • Virgin Mary’s Care Tserkva in Owczary
  • St. James the Less Tserkva in Powroźnik
  • Tserkva of St. Paraskevia in Radruz
  • St. Michael the Archangel Tserkva in Smolnik
  • St. Michael the Archangel Tserkva in Turzańsk

8 tserkvas on Ukrainian territory:

  • Tserkva of Pentecost in Potylicz, Lviv region
  • Tserkva of St. Demetrius in Matkow
  • Tserkva of the Holy Trinity in Zolkiew,
  • Tserkva of St. George in Drohobych,
  • Holy Spirit Tserkva in Rohatyn, Ivano-Frankivsk District
  • Tserkva of the Birth of the Theotokos in Nizhny Werbiaz
  • Tserkvas of the Ascension in Jasin
  • Tserkvas of St. Archangel Michael in Uzok
Questionnaire