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.
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
