Wooden churches in Ukraine

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19th-century view of village of Trypillia and its wooden church, prior to the damming of the Dnipro river (Regional Archeological Museum). TrypilliaVillage.JPG
19th-century view of village of Trypillia and its wooden church, prior to the damming of the Dnipro river (Regional Archeological Museum).

Wooden church architecture in Ukraine dates from the beginning of Christianity in the area and comprises a set of unique styles and forms specific to many sub-regions of the country. As a form of vernacular culture, construction of the churches in specific styles is passed on to subsequent generations. The architectural styles vary from very simple to complicated, involving a highly skilled carpentry and exceptional artistry in wood-cutting.

Contents

Aside from tserkvas (Greek Catholic or Eastern Orthodox churches), there are quite a few kosciols (Latin Catholic churches) that are preserved in Western Ukraine. Some of these churches remain in active use.

General overview

Nearly 1,900 wooden churches have been identified in Ukraine as of the end of 2010. [1] When Ukrainians emigrated to the New World in the late 19th century, many used these stylistic forms but adapted their construction to the new materials and new environmental conditions (see for example the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Chicago, Illinois). According to the Director of the Lviv National Art Gallery, Borys Voznytsky, the current situation in the preservation of the unique churches in Ukraine is extremely difficult. Fewer churches burnt down in Western Ukraine during the Soviet era than have burnt down in the post-Soviet period. [2]

Wooden churches of Central and Eastern Ukraine

Church of the Holy-Trinity Monastery in Novomoskovsk, south-eastern Ukraine Novomoskovs'k-Tserkva.JPG
Church of the Holy-Trinity Monastery in Novomoskovsk, south-eastern Ukraine

The wooden church architecture of Central and Eastern Ukraine finds its roots in the first millennium of Christianity in Ukraine from the time of Vladimir the Great (Grand Prince of Kiev from 980 to 1015). While masonry churches prevailed in urban areas, wooden church architecture continued primarily in Ukrainian villages of central and eastern Ukraine. Unlike western Ukraine, there is no clear separation of style based on region. Central Ukrainian churches are similar to the multi-chamber masonry churches of Kievan Rus' but are, instead, constructed in wood. Both framed construction and nail-less styles are also represented.

Wooden churches of Western Ukraine

Wooden church at the Pyrohiv Museum, central Ukraine Pirogiv church.jpg
Wooden church at the Pyrohiv Museum, central Ukraine
Wooden tserkva near Rivne, western Ukraine Cerkiew in Ukraine.JPG
Wooden tserkva near Rivne, western Ukraine
Kryvka Church in Lviv, western Ukraine Krivki church.jpg
Kryvka Church in Lviv, western Ukraine
St. George's Church in Drohobych, western Ukraine Drohobych - church.jpg
St. George's Church in Drohobych, western Ukraine

Relatively isolated peasant cultures in western and Transcarpathian Ukraine were able to maintain construction into the early 20th century in wooden styles. Many ethnographic regions maintained specific styles of architecture aligned to their cultural, environmental and historical differences.

Common to all the regions, in some way, are two techniques of roofing: opasannia, the structure supporting the roof formed from projecting logs from top corners of log walls and pidashshia, a style using opasannia supports, but extending the roofing far enough to form a continuous overhang of the roof around the church perimeter.

The Lviv Oblast alone has 999 churches that are registered monuments of architecture - 398 of which are of national importance - however only 16 of those thousand churches have fire-alarm systems. [3] During the post-Soviet era, the Lviv Oblast has already lost some 80 churches to fires. [3] In 2009 the government of the region granted approximately ₴2 million to finance restoration projects of the churches. [1]

Eight wooden churches in Western Ukraine are a part of the World Heritage Site of Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine. [4]

Bukovina

The traditional Bukovinian church features a tall gabled roof, but often terminates in splayed roof over the polygonal sanctuary. The roofwork features opasannia and was covered in wooden shingles. The structure was usually built from logs but was often covered in clay and whitewashed, similar to Bukovinian-style homes.

Lemko

Lemko churches most often used a three-section design with very tall gabled roofs and a tower over each section, with the tower over the entrance being the tallest. Topping each tower is a spire, resembling a Gothic spire, albeit constructed in Ukrainian style.

Hutsul

Hutsul churches most often were 5-section cruciform structures, using spruce logs to form walls with opasannia type arcades. The central dome is formed in an octahedral shape with a splayed roof, instead of an onion dome. Also unique to Hutsul churches is the use of tin or metalwork in the upper parts of the church, which are also used in home architecture of the region.

Boyko

Boyko churches are defined by their three section design, with the central nave being the largest. Intricate, multi-tiered and shingled roofwork is the most distinguishing factor in Boyko church design. The structures used the most traditional techniques, having both frameless walls and rafterless roofs as well as using opasannia and piddashshia.

Ternopil

Ternopil construction styles are considered[ by whom? ] a mix of Carpathian and Kyiv styles. Two styles prevail: Ternopil Nave Style and Ternopil Cruciform Style. The nave style used a long rectangular shape with gabled roofing on opposite ends with a small decorative onion dome, often not visible from inside the church. The cruciform style uses an equidistant cruciform pattern with a structural central onion dome, and gabled roofing over each cruciform section. While constructed in wood in villages, this style often used masonry in urban areas.

List of wooden churches in Ukraine

Church in Kolodne, Transcarpathian Ukraine Kolodne, Tserkva sv. Mikoli 2010 (5946).jpg
Church in Kolodne, Transcarpathian Ukraine

List of wooden churches in Zakarpattia Oblast

Greek Catholic Church in Kolochava, Zakarpattia Oblast Kolochava.JPG
Greek Catholic Church in Kolochava, Zakarpattia Oblast

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boykos</span> Ethnic group

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rusyns</span> East Slavic ethnic group

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hutsuls</span> Ethnic group in the Carpathian Mountains

The Hutsuls are an East Slavic ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and Romania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hucul pony</span> Breed of horse

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Ukraine</span> Western territories of Ukraine

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carpathian wooden churches</span> Index of articles associated with the same name

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site in Carpathian region in Poland and Ukraine

The Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine are a group of wooden Orthodox churches located in Poland and Ukraine which were inscribed in 2013 on the UNESCO World Heritage List which explains:

built of horizontal wooden logs between the 16th and 19th centuries by communities of Orthodox and Greek Catholic faiths. The tserkvas bear testimony to a distinct building tradition rooted in Orthodox ecclesiastic design interwoven with elements of local tradition, and symbolic references to their communities’ cosmogony. — World Heritage Centre

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khashchovania</span> Village in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of the Archangel Michael, Uzhok</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site in Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine

St. Michael Church was built in suburb of Uzhok, Ukraine in 1745. The structure consists of three wooden naves and a brick sacristy.

Danylovo is a village located on the Khust-Synevyr highway, 20 km from the district center, Khust. It is a village in Khust Raion of Zakarpattia Oblast (province) of western Ukraine.

Hutsul Secession is an architectural style which developed in Eastern Galicia, particularly in Lviv. The style embodies the first attempt to create a national Ukrainian style in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The style is based on local folk architecture, but incorporates elements of other regional Secession styles. Specifically, the Vienna Secession coupled with the folk architecture of the Hutsul highlanders formed the basis of the Hutsul Secession. The most prominent Hustul Secessioinist was Ivan Levynskyi, who headed a firm of several other architects, including Tadeusz Obmiński, Oleksandr Lushpynskyi, and Lev Levynskyi.

References

  1. 1 2 (in Ukrainian) Taras Batenko (parliamentarian of Lviv Region council): "The State's hands don't reach the churches". Vysokyi Zamok, Nov.19,2010.
  2. Churches lost in Lviv Region
  3. 1 2 Guards for a temple
  4. "Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine". UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

Bibliography