The Wooden Tserkvas of the Polish Carpathians

The listing covers sixteen eastern rite churches across Poland and Ukraine, of which eight stand on the Polish side: Radruz, Chotyniec, Smolnik, Turzansk, Powroznik, Owczary, Kwiaton and Brunary Wyzne. Each is built of logs in three parts along one axis, the sanctuary, the nave and the vestibule, with tiered shingled roofs and domes stepping up over them. Inside, a painted screen of icons closes off the sanctuary, and some keep their eighteenth century painting on the walls behind it. Most were built for Lemko and Boyko communities of the Carpathian foothills; several are now Roman Catholic parish churches, and all sit in small villages on the marked Wooden Architecture Route.

Highlights

• Smolnik - a plain three-part tserkva alone in a meadow above the San valley.
• Turzansk - five tiered domes over the roofline, one of the most photographed of the group.
• The iconostasis - the painted screen of icons dividing the sanctuary from the nave.
• The churchyards - carved stone crosses and old graves under lime trees.

When to go

May to September for open doors and passable side roads. Some churches open only around services or when a caretaker is called, and phone numbers on the door are the usual arrangement. Late September and early October give the best light on shingles and the foothill forests. Winter access to the remoter valleys can be difficult.

Before you go

These are remote, and the driving between them on narrow roads is the bulk of the day. Several are locked with no one about, and you may see only the outside. The interiors are dark and cramped. Facilities in the villages are minimal, so carry food and fuel. Anyone not drawn to church interiors will tire of them quickly.

Nearby

The Bieszczady mountains, the open-air museum at Sanok and the wooden churches of Lesser Poland.