Wooden tserkvas of Carpathian region in Poland and Ukraine
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How it came to be
In the Polish and Ukrainian Carpathians stand wooden churches known as tserkvas, built of horizontal logs between the 16th and 19th centuries by Orthodox and Greek Catholic communities. Sixteen of them make up the World Heritage site.
They follow the three-part plan of the Eastern liturgy, topped by square or octagonal domes. Because the mountains separated communities, distinct regional forms developed: Hutsul, Halych, Boyko and Western Lemko. Log corners are locked with complex joints, the buildings rest on timber sills set on stone foundations, and roofs and walls are clad in wooden shingles that must be renewed every 20 to 30 years.
Many keep their iconostasis screens and painted interiors, and inscriptions over the doors record the year of building and the carpenters' names. Thirteen of the sixteen are still used for worship, and three are preserved as museums. They were inscribed in 2013.
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