St Michael the Archangel's Church in Turzańsk

Five onion domes above a single long roof and a wooden bell tower on the same axis, said to be the tallest in the Polish Carpathians — this is the tserkva (Eastern-rite wooden church) of St Michael the Archangel in Turzańsk. Built in 1801–1803, it is one of the finest examples of Lemko church architecture — the Lemkos being the Rusyn highlanders who once lived in this region — and in 2013 it was inscribed on the UNESCO list together with the wooden tserkvas of the Carpathian region in Poland and Ukraine. It stands on a slope in the western part of the village, a few kilometres from Komańcza.

History: three denominations in one church

A church in Turzańsk, first Orthodox and later Greek Catholic, was mentioned as early as 1526. The present building dates from the early 19th century; a porch and a sacristy were added in 1836, and renovations around 1900 and in 1913 brought, among other things, a sheet-metal roof. As late as 1900, almost all the villagers were Ruthenian-speaking Greek Catholics. After the Lemkos were deported in Operation Vistula in 1947, the church was used by Roman Catholics from the parish in Komańcza, and on 10 August 1961 the building was sealed by the authorities. Since 1963 it has served the Orthodox faithful and belongs to the diocese of Przemyśl and Gorlice.

The legend of the icon

A local legend explains why the church stands exactly here. When the old church on the hill caught fire, an icon of the Mother of God is said to have flown out through a window and landed on the spot where the present building stands. The villagers took it as a sign and built the new church there.

What makes it special

It is a Lemko tserkva of the north-eastern type: tripartite, without a front tower, built of horizontal logs and covered by a single multi-pitched roof. Five similar onion-shaped turrets with false lanterns and wrought-iron crosses rise above the narthex, nave, sanctuary and both sacristies. The walls are clad with vertical boards. Inside, the three main sections are covered by eight-sided tented domes.

What to look for

• Iconostasis of 1895 by Josyp Bukowczyk, with finely carved openwork Royal Doors in the shape of a grapevine. Some of the main icons were stolen and have been replaced with modern copies.
• Christ in a Lemko cottage — above the iconostasis is a unique painting showing Christ in a traditional Lemko house.
• Wall paintings from 1898, also by Bukowczyk, and the side altars.
• Embroidered processional banners — more than a dozen, made by hand.
• Bell tower of 1817 — three storeys with tapering walls, crowned by an onion turret.
• Memorial cross in front of the church, put up in 1988 for the 1,000th anniversary of the Christianisation of Rus'.
• Churchyard with several old gravestones.

Tripto tip

This is a working parish church, not a museum, so there are no fixed visiting hours — you are most likely to see the interior during a service or after contacting the parish or the Komańcza municipal office in advance. The building and bell tower are impressive from outside; allow 20–30 minutes to walk around. Driving on road 892 from Szczawne towards Komańcza, turn onto the local road to Turzańsk in Rzepedź. The church is on the Subcarpathian Wooden Architecture Route (Sanok–Dukla section), so it combines easily with other wooden churches around Komańcza. Please keep quiet and ask before photographing the interior.