Wooden Churches of the Bieszczady Mountains

These wooden churches, known in Polish as cerkwie, are what remains of the Lemko and Boyko villages that filled the Osława and San valleys before the Second World War. The Lemkos and Boykos are Ruthenian highland communities of the Carpathians. Two of the churches, in Turzańsk and Smolnik, were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013, as part of a group of 16 wooden Carpathian churches in Poland and Ukraine. Others, in Szczawne, Komańcza, Równia and Chmiel, are on the Podkarpackie Wooden Architecture Route, which has more than 130 sites and covers 1,202 km.

History written in wood

Most of these churches were built by Greek Catholics, and their history was cut short after 1945. The inhabitants were deported, including during Operation Vistula in 1947. Smolnik and the surrounding area only became part of Poland in 1951, after a border exchange with the USSR, and the local people were then resettled in Soviet Ukraine. The abandoned churches were used as storehouses, and their furnishings were looted or taken to a depot in Łańcut. Some were taken over by Roman Catholics, others by the Orthodox Church. Today each church has its own history and its own custodian.

The most important churches

• Turzańsk (UNESCO): the Lemko church of St Michael the Archangel, built in 1801–1803 with five onion domes. Inside are an iconostasis from 1895 and wall paintings from 1898, both by Josyp Bukovchyk. A wooden bell tower stands next to it. It has belonged to the Orthodox Church since 1963.
• Smolnik on the San (UNESCO): the Boyko church of St Michael the Archangel, completed in 1791 and the fourth church in the village. Since 1974 it has been a branch of the Roman Catholic parish in Lutowiska. The original iconostasis was destroyed after 1951. All that remains of the old decoration is a fragment of painting showing angels holding up a curtain.
• Szczawne: an Orthodox church from 1889, built by the carpenter Hojsan from Płonna, with original icons in the iconostasis. It still has no electricity.
• Komańcza: the Orthodox church from 1800–1803 burned down on 13 September 2006. The present building is a reconstruction.
• Równia: a Boyko church from the second half of the 18th century, used as a Catholic church since 1969.
• Chmiel: the church of St Nicholas from 1906, in the San valley.

Interesting facts

In 1968 the crew filming the historical epic Colonel Wołodyjowski chose the church in Chmiel for a scene of a town burning. They even obtained the regional conservator's permission to set it alight. Protests by heritage experts, led by Jerzy Szablowski, director of the State Art Collections at Wawel Castle, saved the church. In the churchyard at Chmiel lies a gravestone with a Church Slavonic inscription from 1644.

Tripto tip

It is easiest to plan two separate days. In the Osława valley, combine Szczawne, Turzańsk and Komańcza. Smolnik and Chmiel lie in Lutowiska district along regional road 896, which follows the San, and Równia is near Ustrzyki Dolne. You can usually see the exteriors at any time. Interiors tend to be open during services or by arrangement with the parish, so check access for each church separately. Find out beforehand whether a church is Orthodox or Catholic, as this affects service times and customs.