The Wooden Churches of the Carpathians

Eight wooden churches in Slovakia carry World Heritage listing together, and what makes the group remarkable is its variety: they were built by Roman Catholic, Protestant and Greek Catholic communities between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, in a mountainous region where timber was the obvious material and stone was not, and each tradition shaped the same material differently. The Greek Catholic churches of the east, at Bodružal, Ladomirová and Ruská Bystrá, are dark shingled buildings with three onion-topped towers stepping up in height, their interiors filled with painted iconostases. The Protestant articular churches, such as Hronsek and Kežmarok, were built under a rule that forbade stone, nails and a street-facing door, and their builders responded with vast timber halls seating thousands. Hervartov's Catholic church is the oldest of all, dating from the late fifteenth century.

What you actually see

• Bodružal and Ladomirová - the three-towered Greek Catholic churches of the northeast.
• The painted iconostases - the icon screens filling the eastern churches.
• Hronsek and Kežmarok - the great Protestant timber halls built under restriction.
• Hervartov - the oldest of the group, from the late fifteenth century.

When to go

May to September is the season, when custodians are around and the mountain roads are easy; several churches are locked and opened by a keyholder in the village, so arriving mid-morning to late afternoon on a weekday works best. Sunday services take priority over visits.

Honest expectations

The eight are scattered across a wide area of the north and east, so seeing more than two or three in a day is unrealistic and a car is essential. Many are locked, with a phone number on the door for the custodian, and turning up outside their hours means seeing only the outside. Interiors are dark and photography is often restricted. These are working churches in small villages, not museums.

Nearby

Bardejov's old town and its spa are close to the eastern group; the High Tatras rise to the west.