Wooden churches of the Ukrainian Carpathians

The wooden Church of St. Michael was probably built in 1777. The building is entirely made of oak and the tower is 22 meters high. It is the only remaining classical Lemko wooden church in the Carpathians. The church was built in an old Ukrainian style, with Baroque towers. The building had originally been constructed somewhere else, but it was moved to the Uzhhorod Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Life in 1972, after a period of abandonment during the Soviet times.

The Church of the Holy Virgin Mary is a wooden tserkvas built in 1838. It is an important monument of Boykos architecture. Its bell tower was built later, in 1924. On 14 June 2010, lightning struck the church but an automatic fire extinguishing system saved the monument from destruction. The Cathedral Church of the Holy Virgin Mary, along with other wooden churches in the Carpathian region, has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Church of the Ascension of Our Lord, built in 1824, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Ukraine. The bell tower of the wooden Church of the Ascension of Our Lord is one of the most outstanding masterpieces of Transcarpathian folk architecture in terms of its architectural and artistic value. The building preserves an old iconostasis from the 19th century, preserved from the time of construction, and is surrounded by an old cemetery and a bell tower built in 1813.

This church was built in 1896, replacing an earlier wooden church. The roof of the church is covered with sheet metal and the walls have a unique design with painted boards. It was partially destroyed during the First World War and was misused (as a grain store) during the Soviet era. In 1988, with the help of the whole community, the temple was opened and restored with voluntary donations. The church was then covered with aluminium foil, and the exterior is clad with cladding.

There are many ideas about when this church was built and to who it was dedicated originally. Some people believe that the earliest mention is in 1701, others claim that the church was built in 1766 or that the building was constructed even later, between the 17th or 18th century. Locals like to refer to the church with a story of the Ukrainian Robin Hood: Oleksa Dovbush. He would have come to the church to look at its iconostasis. He then would go to a poor nearby village and raise money to make similar iconostasis in their small village church.

The first mention of a church in Mykulychiyn dates from 1700. The building was destroyed by a storm in 1760. The construction of the current wooden church started in 1866 and finished in 1868. The building was heavily damaged after a flood in 1911. Repairs were carried out during the following year. During the reconstruction, the church was also facilitated with a tin roof and a bell tower. Some of the bells were stolen during the Second World War. Today there are five bells in the tower.

According to the inscription above the southern door, the church was built in 1709. The same inscription also mentions the name of the master-carpenter who built the church: Yakiv from Sniatyn. The building underwent restorations in 1765 and during the 18th and 19th centuries. The church was closed in the early 1960s. It was recognized as a unique religious monument in 1968 and restored in 1980. The building reopened as part of the Pysanka Museum in 1983.

The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a wooden tserkvas built between 1756 and 1808. The church has the particularity of being covered with sheet metal. Its architect, Grigory Semeniuk the Little, received a gold medal of merit from the Austrian Emperor Ferdinand for this work.

Wooden Church of the Holy Cross is mentioned for the first time in documents from 1496. The building was burned down during an attack on the city in 1499. A new church was not built until 1613. The building got a second floor in 1661. A renovation was conducted in 1715. The church closed in 1961 and was restored between 1970 and 1971.

The church of St. George is mentioned for the first time in 1496. It burned down in 1499, during an attack on the city by Tartars. According to some documents the church was rebuilt in but it burned down again in 1624 during another attack. In 1678, the wooden church was rebuilt and enlarged with three domes. The building underwent restorations in 1823, 1833, and at the end of the 19th century. The church closed in 1961 and restorations were carried out from 1974 until 1975. Today the church is protected as UNESCO World Heritage.