Czech researcher on dating old wooden churches in Ukraine
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Loading... - Marek Pokorny
- 13 Jul 2022
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Researchers from the Czech Republic and Ukraine have been carrying out a joint project in western Ukraine, focusing on the country’s traditional wooden churches. Although the research has been stalled by Russia’s war on Ukraine, the data they managed to collect last year show that some of the oak buildings are over 500 years old:
Wooden church architecture in Ukraine dates back to the beginning of Christianity in the region and is an important part of the country’s cultural heritage. Today, an estimated 2,000 wooden churches, both Greek Catholic and Eastern orthodox, can be found across Ukraine.
Last year, researchers from Brno travelled to the western part of the country in order to determine the age of some of these unique buildings. I discussed the project with Tomáš KoláÅ™ from Brno’s Mendel University, who is part of the research team:
“Our research doesn’t focus only on wooden churches, but also on other historical timber constructions, such as belfries and chapels. But the region, which includes not only Western Ukraine but also southern Poland, Eastern Slovakia and Eastern Romania, is mainly known for its wooden churches.
“The churches were built between the 15th and 19th centuries and they are not only Orthodox, but also Greek Catholic, and our team focused mainly on the latter.”
Where exactly in Ukraine have you carried out your research?
“We were located mainly in the westernmost part of Ukraine, around the cities of Uzhhorod and Mukachevo, but also on the other side of the Carpathian Mountains, near Drohobych and Ivano-Frankivsk.”
How common are these wooden churches in the area? Would you say there is one in every village?
“There really is a lot of such churches. We know from literature that there are nearly 2,000 in Ukraine, out of which some 800 should be located in western Ukraine. You won’t find a wooden church in every village, but they are really very common in the area.” Read More...
