Scholarly record

VERNACULAR AND NEOVERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE WITHOUT A USER. WOODEN CATHOLIC CHURCHES IN THE VICINITY OF BRODY IN UKRAINE

J. Szczepanski, A. F. Szuta

Abstract

One of the basic theoretical postulates for the protection of monuments is to preserve them in the place of their creation. However, such action is not always possible to implement. The great historical processes of the 20th century led to significant national, political, religious and cultural changes in the border areas between Poland and Ukraine. As a result of those changes, a large number of wooden churches have lost their users. These buildings indicate the development of the skills of using wood as the basic building material through many centuries in the region of today's borderland of Poland and Ukraine. These above-mentioned churches were built from the Middle Ages up to the 20th century. They were constructed by both rural carpenters and high-class architects. This is a great example of the cultural diversity of the regional heritage. Nevertheless, existence of many of these objects are at risk now. The problem concerns especially the Greek Catholic churches and Orthodox churches in south-eastern Poland. In this region, up to the 1940s Greek Catholics and followers of the Orthodox Church constituted a significant group of citizens but nowadays, they are only a small minority. The situation is similar in western Ukraine, where are only a few Roman Catholic. The article presents three churches which have been deprived of their primary users. They have been located in western Ukraine, near the city of Brody in the villages of: Jaz?owczyk, Stanis?awczyk and Ruda Brodzka. One of these churches has been saved, as a result of the transfer of the original church to the open-air museum. Unfortunately, it is not possible to preserve the other two buildings.

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