The Wooden Churches of Southern Lesser Poland

Six village churches carry the joint listing: Binarowa, Blizne, Debno, Haczow, Lipnica Murowana and Sekowa. All are built of horizontal logs jointed at the corners, roofed in shingles and put up by carpenters rather than masons, the oldest of them raised in the mid-fifteenth century - Haczow, which tradition dates as far back as the 1380s. Haczow is among the largest Gothic timber churches anywhere. Debno, in the Podhale foothills below the Tatras, keeps painted decoration in tempera across almost every interior surface, laid on directly over the wood in patterns that look woven. The buildings are small, low and dim, and most are still used by their parishes on Sundays.

What to look for

• Debno - stencilled tempera patterns covering the ceiling, walls and beams in the Podhale foothills.
• Haczow - one of the largest timber Gothic churches in Europe, with medieval wall paintings.
• The shingled roofs - overlapping wooden shingles and free-standing belfries in the churchyards.
• The log joints - notched corners and hewn beams left visible inside and out.

When to go

May to September, when caretakers keep more regular hours and the interiors get enough daylight to see the painting. Sunday mornings are for services rather than visits. Some churches post a phone number rather than opening hours, so a Polish-speaking companion or a booked guide saves time. Autumn light on the shingles is excellent.

Good to know

They are far apart on small roads and seeing three in a day is a full day of driving. Access depends on someone with a key, and that person may be out. The interiors are very dark, photography is often forbidden and flash always is. Anyone not interested in church interiors will find that one is enough.

Nearby

The Beskid foothills, the spa town of Krynica and the wooden tserkvas of the Carpathians.

Key facts