Tuesday, December 14, 2010

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.

7 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos and interesting! My great grandmother was born in Rownia (Rivnia) in 1894. She was Ukrainian & a greek catholic. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Andrea, I'm glad you like them!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi there. I would love to speak with you. I am looking for a mystery church somewhere in the ukraine. I have a small picture and would love your help. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. im not sure why my comment was erased. I'm wondering if i can contact your regarding a church. thanks so much.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Tanya, I like challenges like this so I'd be glad to try to find your mystery church. Even if I can't find the exact location I'm sure I can identify the region it comes from based on the design. Is it a historical photo? If it's an online link you can post it for me here, otherwise leave an email address where I can reach you and I'll be in touch shortly.
    cheers,
    Geoff

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there Geoff. A very kind person just told me that she saw that you had answered me two years ago, but I never saw the message. would you be able to email me at tanya@precisionorganizing.net so we can talk? thanks so much!

      Delete
  6. Polecam noclegi w Ustrzykach Dolnych parę kilometrów od Równi .
    Kto będzie jechał w Bieszczady warto żeby zaglądnął do Sanktuarium Matki Bożej Bieszczadzkiej w Jasieniu ( dawna wioska obecnie dzielnica Ustrzyk Dolnych . Więcej na stronie Pensjonatu Viking >> www.viking-bieszczady.pl

    ReplyDelete