Wooden Architecture Trail

As a borderland area, the Podkarpackie Province used to be inhabited by different ethnic groups and minorities. What is left after this reality of merging cultures, traditions, and religions are landmarks, mostly wooden Orthodox and Catholic churches, which allowed to create the Wooden Architecture Trails emphasizing the multicultural wealth of this area.

Orthodox churches from the Ustrzyki Dolne commune included in the trail are currently used by Roman Catholics.

The territory of Ustrzyki Dolne commune is crossed by a part of Route 3, Ustrzyki-Lesko, which includes 7 Orthodox churches.

These are as follows:

St. Michael Archangel’s (Greek Catholic) Church
currently, a Roman Catholic chapel of ease of St. Anthony in Łodyna

A tripartite oriental log building from 1862. The sanctuary is closed with a straight wall to which the sacristy abuts from the north. From the west, there is a two-story tower with a post-frame construction as well as a brick bell-gable tower with one bell. Over each part of the church, there is a ridge, gable roof covered with sheet-metal. Over the nave, there is a spherical dome. At the top of the roof, there are onion domes. From the outside, the walls are covered with shake. Inside, there is an iconostasis. Since 1951, this Orthodox church had served as a warehouse. In 1970, it was acquired by the Roman Catholic Church.

(Greek Catholic) Church of the Nativity of Virgin Mary
currently, a Roman Catholic parish church of the Nativity of Virgin Mary in Krościenko.

The building was erected in 1794 or 1799. It is a tripartite, log, oriented Orthodox church. It is built on the area of a square. From the north, there is an adjacent sacristy. A characteristic feature of this church is its main nave which is wider than other elements, over which there is a dome and an octagonal drum. From the outside, the walls and the roof of the building are covered with shake and the domes are covered with sheet-metal. Semicircular windows are built in the church’s walls. Inside, there are beam ceilings with two carrier beams crossing in the nave. Between 1956 and 1971, the church was devastated, functioning as a sheep shed and a warehouse. Unfortunately, its original interior has not been preserved.

(Greek Catholic) Parish Church of the Nativity of Virgin Mary
and then a Roman Catholic chapel of ease of the Nativity of Virgin Mary in Liskowate
(currently out of use) 

A Boyko-type of a building, erected in 1832 at the place of a former Orthodox church. Its construction, which is characteristic for the 17^th century, allows to assume that the date of this building’s construction could be even earlier.

Between 1953 and 1954, the building was devastated as it was used as a warehouse for storing fertilizer. At this time, its interior was divided with a ceiling, the gallery and the polychrome were destroyed, and the décor was changed. Twenty years later, the object was acquired by the Roman Catholic Church which led to building’s refurbishment. The sanctuary is a tripartite, log, oriented building constructed on the area of a square. The object is divided into two sacristies with access from the inside, as well as into a nave and a temple porch. The sanctuary is covered with a shake roof – higher, with a hipped tented roof, and lower with a hipped, gable roof, turning into eaves that are common for the whole object. Nearby, there is an old cemetery with 22 graves and a masonry, plastered stone bell tower which functions as a gate to the area of the temple.

(Greek Catholic) Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God
currently, a Roman Catholic Church of St. Maximilian Kolbe in Wojtkowa 

The temple classified as belonging to the Ukrainian national style. The building was constructed in 1910 at the place of the previous Orthodox church. As its sponsor Stanisław Nowosielski reserved, it could also be used by Roman Catholics. After 1974, it had served as a warehouse until it was acquired by the Roman Catholic Church. This Orthodox church is a tripartite, log, oriented building constructed on the area of a Greek cross. Its horizontal arms end with triangular peaks. The front gate was covered with an arcade supported with two poles. The ceiling is covered with walls made of vertical wooden planks. In the middle of their height, there is an eave roof. Over the nave, there is an octagonal tholoblate with a spherical dome. In the upper part of the nave, temple porch, and sanctuary, there are little towers with ridge turrets.

St. Paraskevi (Greek Catholic) Parish Church 
currently, a Roman Catholic church of the Nativity of Virgin Mary in Ustjanowa Górna

It was constructed in 1792, erected using oriented, log, tripartite construction on the area similar to a square, enclosed from three sides. From the north, there is a sacristy, and from the west – a square church porch. From the front, there is a tower with a church porch on the ground floor. Over the church, there is a two-ridge roof with a hexagonal tower – a ridge turret, with a spherical dome at the top. On the outside, the building is covered with shake, whereas the interior is paneled with wainscot. In 1956 the objects from the sanctuary were transported to the Museum of Folk Architecture in Sanok. After the church was acquired by the Roman Catholic Church, refurbishment works started and 70% of building material was replaced.

(Greek Catholic) Church of the Protection of the Holy Mother
currently a Roman Catholic chapel of ease of Our Lady Help of Christians in Równia.

A Boyko-type building was probably created at the beginning of the 18th century. The church is a tripartite, log, oriented building with three domes. After it had been acquired by the Roman Catholic Church, it underwent complete refurbishment. The nave and a two-story church porch were created on the area of a square. The biggest, octagonal dome was placed over the main nave. Two smaller quadrangular domes are constructed above the sanctuary and the church porch. At the base of tambours, there is a valley roofing with multiplied eave roofs over them. In the internal part, near the altar, there is a Baroque crucifix from the areas of the Second Polish Republic occupied by the Soviet Union. What has left from the old furnishing are only traces of fixing the iconostasis and side altars. Four icons from the sanctuary can be seen in the Museum in Łańcut.

(Greek Catholic) Church of St. Nicolaus
currently a Roman Catholic chapel of ease of Blessed Bronislava in Hoszów

There are mentions that the church was built either in 1732 or in 1770. The church had existed to the 1930s, after which a wooden chapel was erected at its place. In 1939, inhabitants of Hoszów started to build a new Orthodox church. After 1941, the church was damaged by an explosion of ammunition which was stored there at that time. The church was also used as a sheep shed for some time. The sanctuary is a tripartite, log, oriented building, built on the area of a Greek cross. The church is covered by an octagonal dome with a spherical ridge turret. Two sacristies are adjacent to the sanctuary. Roof eaves and ridges are on the same height, except for the part covering the church porch. On the outside, the walls are covered with wooden boards. It is also worth mentioning that the church was featured in the movie “Wilcze echa”.

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Bieszczady

The history of the sanctuary starts in the second half of the 17^th century. Inside the building, you can find a rich early baroque interior with the Icon of Our Lady of Bieszczady from Rudki and the amazing story that surrounds it. Many pilgrims come there, including John Paul II.

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Bieszczady is a mortar church built in Baroque style in 1740. The walls inside the building are divided with pilasters. Inside the church, we can admire a Baroque pulpit with a Rococo sounding board from the end of the 17th century, as well as an old baptismal font in the shape of a boat, with a sculpture of Baby Jesus and a cross evaluated as originating from the mid-18^th century. In the main altar, there is a copy of the picture of Our Lady of Bieszczady from Rudki, stolen in 1992.

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Bieszczady in Jasień was opened on 7^th July 1968 under the care of the Congregation of Saint Michael the Archangel. It functions as a parish church of the Assumption of Mary.