Wooden Churches of the Carpathian Mountains # 38 - Slavoňov, Czech Republic

This Roman Catholic wooden church sits on a small hill at the edge of the village of Slavoňov in the East Bohemia region of the Czech Republic. The church was built in 1553 on the site of a much older structure. It was originally founded by Utraquists (a moderate branch of the Hussite movement) and dedicated to Saint Martin, but the church became Roman Catholic in 1683.

The large bell tower within the church yard dates from the same era as the church, probably built in 1555. The lower half of the tower is made of brick and its height suggests it was also intended to have a defensive military function in the event of the village coming under attack. Three bells cast in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries hang in the tower.

The beams of the church are made of oak, spruce and fir logs. The joints between the logs were filled in with mortar and then the exterior of the building was covered in whitewash. The interior walls and ceiling are painted with murals of plants and flowers which date from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. The murals were restored twice in the twentieth century.

Getting to Slavoňov is possible by public transport since there are several buses daily from the nearby town of Nové Město nad Metují which has train and bus links to most major cities across the country. The village is just 4 kilometres east of Nové Město nad Metují so it is also possible to walk there along a forest trail. The church is open for religious services four times per week, and at other times the door into the front entrance room is left open where it is possible to get an obstructed view of the church interior.

Wooden Churches of the Carpathian Mountains # 15 - Hoszów, Poland

This formerly Greek Catholic church sits on a hill above the village of Hoszów in Bieszczady county in the south-eastern corner of Poland, not far from the Ukrainian border. Dedicated to Saint Nicholas, the current structure is of 20th century origin, though it includes some of the building materials used in an 18th century wooden church which originally stood on this site.

Construction started in 1939, and it was not yet completed when World War Two began. The structure was used by the Germans as an ammunition storage site, and a major explosion occurred which seriously damaged the building. Construction continued after the war, and the church was completed in 1948.

However, by 1951 the building had been abandoned due to pressure from the new Communist Polish government. For the next decade it was used as a barn for keeping sheep in, but in 1971 it was given to the Roman Catholic church who began renovating it.

In 1977 the decaying wooden shingles on the roofs and the dome were replaced with tin roofs since they would last longer and protect the rest of the structure.

The floor plan of the church is laid out in the shape of a Greek cross. Above the nave the large dome rises above a supporting octagonal base. Unfortunately the interior no longer contains any elements of the original Greek Catholic design and has been fully converted to a modern Roman Catholic style. Behind the church several grave stones from a 19th-century cemetery have been preserved.

The village of Hoszów can be reached by bus from the town of Ustrzyki Dolne (six kilometres away), which has regular bus connections to the north to cities such as Sanok and Rzeszów.

Wooden Churches of the Carpathian Mountains # 13 - Loučná Hora, Czech Republic

This beautiful Roman Catholic church stands in the centre of the tiny village of Loučná Hora in Eastern Bohemia. It is an unusual example of Late Baroque style built of timber, featuring elements more commonly seen only in stone buildings. Its perfectly symmetrical shape also borrows techniques generally used in the design of palaces and castles.

Construction of the present structure started in 1778 and was completed in 1782, though the church stands on the site of an older wooden church which is mentioned in records of the village.

At the time of its construction wood must have been chosen over stone as the building material for economic reasons, since other churches of this style are typically built of stone.

In front of the church stands a separate bell tower which was completely reconstructed in 1942 based on the plans of the original tower. Long ago the grassy area that surrounds the church was the village cemetery, though it has now been moved to an area at the edge of the village. In the church interior the central room serves as the nave, while the eastern end forms the chancel and the western end contains the choir.

The roof is covered with shingles and features mansard-style edging. The church was originally covered in plaster on both the exterior and interior, though this was later removed to reveal the beauty of the wooden beams beneath. The interior of the church is mostly empty nowadays and is used for occasional church services and other village functions.

The village of Loučná Hora is quite easy to reach by train, arriving at the station called Smidary which is less than one kilometre to the south-west. Smidary station is connected by local trains with the town of Chlumec Nad Cidlinou which is on the main rail line between Prague and the city of Hradec Králové.

Wooden Churches of the Carpathian Mountains # 8 - Równia, Poland

This former Greek-Catholic wooden church is found on a small hill in the village of Równia, located south of the town of Ustrzyki Dolne and a few kilometres from the Ukrainian border. It features a three-domed architectural style which is very rare on Polish territory, being more typical of Boyko-style churches found further east in Ukraine.

The church is thought to have been built in the early 18th century, and it would later suffer extensive damage during World War Two. Following the war, the Lemko and Boyko inhabitants of the village were accused of aiding the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which was fighting the Polish government.

They were expelled from the region along with most of the Lemko and Boyko population of south-eastern Poland, and were sent to become new settlers in the recently-claimed former German territories granted to Poland at the end of the war. Thus the village of Równia lost its Greek-Catholic population, and the church was converted for use as a Roman Catholic church when Catholic Poles were resettled in the village.

This is one of the most unique wooden churches in the region of Małopolska (Little Poland), though the interior is much less remarkable than the exterior. The village is difficult to reach directly by public transport as it has very limited bus connections, but it is possible to walk to the village in about one hour by taking a hiking trail that begins at the edge of the town of Ustrzyki Dolne. There are also interesting wooden churches worth taking a look at in the surrounding villages of Ustjanowa Górna, Hoszowczyk and Hoszów.

Wooden Churches of the Carpathian Mountains # 6 - Ulucz, Poland

This formerly Greek Orthodox church located in Poland's far south-eastern corner sits on a steep wooded hillside above the small village of Ulucz. Thought to be one of the oldest Eastern Rite churches in the country, the tserkva was constructed in 1659 as part of a monastery complex with surrounding fortifications. The monks closed the monastery and left the region in 1744, but the church continued to serve the local Orthodox population until the 20th century.

At the end of the Second World War, the Boyko ethnic group who lived in the village were forcibly resettled to other parts of Poland, and Catholic Poles were encouraged to settle in the region. As a result, the Greek Orthodox church was converted for use as a Roman Catholic church for the second half of the 20th century. It has recently been taken over by the Museum of Folk Architecture in the nearby town of Sanok and is now used only as a museum. A mass is held in the church just once each year, on Ascension Day (40 days after Easter).

The church interior is nearly empty, as the Greek Orthodox iconostasis and icons are now on permanent display in the Sanok museum. A few badly faded painted frescoes can be seen on the wooden walls, including one depicting the crucifixion of Christ. The key to the church is kept by the family who live in house number 16 at the opposite end of the village. They are happy to come and open the church for visitors who come by car, as the distance to the church is about two kilometres along the road.

The village of Ulucz is best reached with your own transport, though there are infrequent buses which run to the village from the town of Sanok. Another excellent option is renting a bicycle in Sanok in order to travel to Ulucz and to have the opportunity to visit other villages in the region as well.