St. Paraskeva's Tserkva in Kwiatoń

St. Paraskeva's Church in Kwiatoń (say "KFYAH-tone") is a former Lemko Greek Catholic tserkva – a wooden church of the Eastern rite – in the Low Beskids of southern Poland. Experts regard it as the model example, and arguably the most beautiful, of the northwestern Lemko style. Since 2013 it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage property "Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine," and its stepped silhouette is one of the most photographed sights in the Polish Carpathians.

Where it is and how to get there

Kwiatoń lies in the Low Beskids (Beskid Niski) near the Slovak border, about 6 km from Uście Gorlickie, 28 km from Gorlice and roughly 150 km (93 miles) southeast of Kraków – around 2.5–3 hours by car via Nowy Sącz or Gorlice. The church stands a few dozen meters off the road from Uście Gorlickie to the spa village of Wysowa-Zdrój. A car is the easiest way to get here. No official parking information is published.

Who were the Lemkos?

The Lemkos are an East Slavic highland people who lived for centuries in these mountains, worshipping mostly in the Greek Catholic (Eastern-rite Catholic) church. According to National Geographic Traveler, the Kwiatoń tserkva was abandoned in 1933, when the whole village converted to Orthodoxy. In 1947, during the communist-era Operation Vistula, the Lemkos were forcibly resettled to western and northern Poland. Roman Catholics took over the building, and today it is a filial church of the parish in Uście Gorlickie, shared with Greek Catholics. Visiting it is also a way to understand a community that largely vanished from this landscape.

The UNESCO listing

Inscribed on June 21, 2013, the property groups 16 wooden tserkvas – eight in Poland and eight in Ukraine – built of horizontal logs between the 16th and 19th centuries by Orthodox and Greek Catholic communities. The Polish eight are Brunary Wyżne, Chotyniec, Kwiatoń, Owczary, Powroźnik, Radruż, Smolnik and Turzańsk. Poland now has 18 World Heritage Sites in total, the latest being the Modernist Center of Gdynia, added in July 2026.

History and architecture

The church was built in the second half of the 17th century; the year 1700 is often quoted. A date of 1743 found on a tower beam marks either the construction or a major repair of the tower, making it the oldest securely dated tower of any Lemko church.

The building follows the classic Lemko plan: three square sections in a row – sanctuary, nave and women's narthex – each with its own roof, rising step by step to the tall, slender tower over the narthex, which the regional tourist board calls the highest in the Lemko region. Look out for:

• wooden shingles covering both roofs and walls,
• twice-broken pyramid roofs topped with bulbous domes and false lanterns,
• a differently shaped cross on each roof,
• a log fence with two small gates crowned with onion domes that echo the church itself.

Inside, the iconostasis separating nave and sanctuary was made in 1904 by Michał Bogdański. Sources disagree on the wall paintings: the regional tourist board dates them to 1811, while other sources credit Bogdański in 1904 – the interior probably combines both phases. Painted columns and cornices imitate marble, the dome shows angels and the Transfiguration, and saints Olga and Volodymyr flank the iconostasis. The organ loft has a carved arcaded balustrade hung with processional banners, and a stone holy water font from 1750 stands beneath the tower.

Opening hours and tickets

As of October 2026, the regional tourist board (VisitMałopolska) lists guided visits on Wednesday 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Thursday–Saturday 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. (break 1:00–1:30 p.m.) and Sunday 12:00–5:00 p.m.; on Mondays and Tuesdays a guide is available by phone at +48 18 351 61 87 or +48 660 105 342. From October 1 to November 7 the church closes at 5:00 p.m. because of services. The listing gives no validity dates, so call ahead – especially in winter 2026/27, when mountain roads can be icy and the church is unheated. National Geographic Traveler reported in 2025 that admission is free.

Is it worth visiting?

Absolutely, if you are exploring southern Poland's wooden architecture – Kwiatoń is the textbook Lemko tserkva and a joy to photograph in any season. Allow 30–45 minutes. In 2025 readers of National Geographic Traveler (Polish edition) voted it a winner of the "Wonders of Poland" poll. Combine it with the tserkvas of Brunary Wyżne (about 14 km) and Owczary (about 30 km), both on the same UNESCO list.