Wooden churches in Ukraine


Image:TrypilliaVillage.JPG|thumb|275px|19th-century view of village of Trypillia and its wooden church, prior to the damming of the Dnipro river.
Wooden church architecture in Ukraine dates from the beginning of Christianity in the area and comprises a set of unique styles and forms specific to many sub-regions of the country. As a form of vernacular culture, construction of the churches in specific styles is passed on to subsequent generations. The architectural styles vary from very simple to complicated, involving a highly skilled carpentry and exceptional artistry in wood-cutting.
Aside from tserkvas, there are quite a few kosciols that are preserved in Western Ukraine. Some of these churches remain in active use.

General overview

Nearly 1,900 wooden churches have been identified in Ukraine. When Ukrainians emigrated to the New World in the late 19th century, many used these stylistic forms but adapted their construction to the new materials and new environmental conditions. According to the Director of the Lviv National Art Gallery, Borys Voznytsky, the current situation in the preservation of the unique churches in Ukraine is extremely difficult. Fewer churches burnt down in Western Ukraine during the Soviet era than have burnt down in the post-Soviet period.

Wooden churches of Central and Eastern Ukraine

The wooden church architecture of Central and Eastern Ukraine finds its roots in the first millennium of Christianity in Ukraine from the time of Vladimir the Great. While masonry churches prevailed in urban areas, wooden church architecture continued primarily in Ukrainian villages of central and eastern Ukraine. Unlike western Ukraine, there is no clear separation of style based on region. Central Ukrainian churches are similar to the multi-chamber masonry churches of Kievan Rus' but are, instead, constructed in wood. Both framed construction and nail-less styles are also represented.

Wooden churches of Western Ukraine

Image:Pirogiv church.jpg|thumb|200px|Wooden church from Kysorychi, Rivne region at the Pyrohiv Museum, central Ukraine
Image:Krivki church.jpg|thumb|Kryvka Church in Lviv's Shevchenkivskyi Hai open-air museum, an example of Boyko wooden architecture
Relatively isolated peasant cultures in western and Transcarpathian Ukraine were able to maintain construction into the early 20th century in wooden styles. Many ethnographic regions maintained specific styles of architecture aligned to their cultural, environmental and historical differences.
Common to all the regions, in some way, are two techniques of roofing: opasannia, the structure supporting the roof formed from projecting logs from top corners of log walls and pidashshia, a style using opasannia supports, but extending the roofing far enough to form a continuous overhang of the roof around the church perimeter.
The Lviv Oblast alone has 999 churches that are registered monuments of architecture - 398 of which are of national importance - however only 16 of those thousand churches have fire-alarm systems. During the post-Soviet era, the Lviv Oblast has already lost some 80 churches to fires. In 2009 the government of the region granted approximately ₴2 million to finance restoration projects of the churches.
Eight wooden churches in Western Ukraine are a part of the World Heritage Site of Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine.
;Bukovina
The traditional Bukovinian church features a tall gabled roof, but often terminates in splayed roof over the polygonal sanctuary. The roofwork features opasannia and was covered in wooden shingles. The structure was usually built from logs but was often covered in clay and whitewashed, similar to Bukovinian-style homes.
;Lemko
Lemko churches most often used a three-section design with very tall gabled roofs and a tower over each section, with the tower over the entrance being the tallest. Topping each tower is a spire, resembling a Gothic spire, albeit constructed in Ukrainian style.
;Hutsul
Hutsul churches most often were 5-section cruciform structures, using spruce logs to form walls with opasannia type arcades. The central dome is formed in an octahedral shape with a splayed roof, instead of an onion dome.
Also unique to Hutsul churches is the use of tin or metalwork in the upper parts of the church, which are also used in home architecture of the region.
;Boyko
Boyko churches are defined by their three section design, with the central nave being the largest. Intricate, multi-tiered and shingled roofwork is the most distinguishing factor in Boyko church design. The structures used the most traditional techniques, having both frameless walls and rafterless roofs as well as using opasannia and piddashshia.
;Ternopil
Ternopil construction styles are considered a mix of Carpathian and Kyiv styles. Two styles prevail: Ternopil Nave Style and Ternopil Cruciform Style. The nave style used a long rectangular shape with gabled roofing on opposite ends with a small decorative onion dome, often not visible from inside the church. The cruciform style uses an equidistant cruciform pattern with a structural central onion dome, and gabled roofing over each cruciform section. While constructed in wood in villages, this style often used masonry in urban areas.

Notable wooden churches in Ukraine

Churches that are part of the Wooden tserkvas of the Carpathian region World Heritage Site are marked in bold.

Cherkasy Oblast

Chernihiv Oblast

Chernivtsi Oblast

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast

Donetsk Oblast

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast

Kharkiv Oblast

Kherson Oblast

Khmelnytskyi Oblast

Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast

Lviv Oblast

Odesa Oblast

Poltava Oblast

  • Assumption Church, Pisky, Lubny urban hromada
  • Assumption Church, Vechirky, Pyriatyn urban hromada
  • Church of All Saints, Staryi Irzhavets, Orzhytsia settlement hromada
  • Church of Saint John the Baptist, Dmytrivka, Mashivka settlement hromada
  • Church of Saint John the Baptist, Dudkyn Hai, Drabynivka rural hromada
  • Church of Saint John the Baptist, Myrhorod
  • Church of the Nativity of Theotokos, Kharkivtsi, Hadiach urban hromada
  • Church of the Nativity of Theotokos, Mali Budyshcha, Opishnia settlement hromada
  • Church of the Nativity of Theotokos, Voronky, Chornukhy settlement hromada
  • Intercession Church, Berezotocha, Lubny urban hromada
  • Intercession Church, Maltsi, Myrhorod urban hromada
  • Intercession Church, Sary, Hadiach urban hromada
  • Saint Elijah's Church, Perehonivka, Kobeliaky urban hromada
  • Saint Michael's Church, Povstyn, Pyriatyn urban hromada
  • Saint Nicholas Church, Nyzhnia Budakivka, Zavodske urban hromada
  • Trinity Church, Velbivka, Velyki Budyshcha rural hromada

Rivne Oblast

Sumy Oblast

  • Assumption Church, Pavlenkove, Lebedyn urban hromada
  • Church of Saint John the Evangelist, Plavynyshche, Romny urban hromada
  • Church of the Nativity of Theotokos, Deptivka, Popivka riral hromada
  • Intercession Church, Malyi Sambir, Popivka rural hromada
  • Intercession Church, Pyrohivka, Shostka urban hromada
  • Nativity Church, Ripky, Romny urban hromada
  • Resurrection Church, Lebedyn
  • Trinity Church, Pustoviitivka, Romny urban hromada

Ternopil Oblast

Vinnytsia Oblast

  • Assumption Church, Kokhanivka, Turbiv rural hromada
  • Assumption Church, Kysliak, Haisyn urban hromada
  • Assumption Church, Markivka, Vapniarka rural hromada
  • Church of Alexander Nevsky, Znamenivka, Murovani Kurylivtsi rural hromada
  • Church of Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Kozyntsi, Turbiv rural hromada
  • Church of John the Baptist, Kosakivka, Turbiv rural hromada
  • Church of the Nativity of Theotokos, Illintsi
  • Church of the Nativity of Theotokos, Pechera
  • Church of the Nativity of Theotokos, Sloboda-Sharhorodska, Sharhorod urban hromada
  • Church of Nativity of Theotokos, Syvakivtsi, Turbiv rural hromada
  • Church of Saint Paraskeva of Serbia, Nemiya, Mohyliv-Podilskyi urban hromada
  • Church of the Intercession, Bernashivka, Yaryshiv rural hromada, Mohyliv-Podilskyi Raion
  • Church of the Intercession, Katashyn, Chechelnyk rural hromada
  • Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, Yaltushkiv
  • Church of the Presentation of Mary, Ivanivtsi, Bar urban hromada
  • Intercession Church, Bershad
  • Saint Demetrius Church, Ploske, Vendychany rural hromada
  • Saint Demetrius Church, Turbiv
  • Saint John the Evangelist Church, Tropove, Vendychany rural hromada
  • Saint Michael's Church, Dashiv
  • Saint Michael's Church, Voronovytsia
  • Saint Nicholas Church, Borysivka, Illintsi urban hromada
  • Saint Nicholas Church, Vinnytsia
  • Saint Paraskeva Church, Stryzhavka rural hromada

Volyn Oblast

  • Annunciation Church, Rakiv Lis, Kamin-Kashyrskyi urban hromada
  • Assumption Church, Kachyn, Soshychne rural hromada
  • Assumption Church, Kraska, Ratne settlement hromada
  • Assumption Church, Samary
  • Assumption Church, Shepel, Lutsk urban hromada
  • Assumption Church, Zapruddia, Soshychne rural hromada
  • Church of the Exaltation of Holy Cross, Kolona, Pavlivka rural hromada
  • Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Turopyn, Turiisk settlement hromada
  • Church of the Intercession, Liubytiv
  • Church of the Nativity of Theotokos, Kamin-Kashyrskyi
  • Church of the Nativity of Theotokos, Troianivka, Manevychi settlement hromada
  • Church of the Nativity of Theotokos, Vyderta, Kamin-Kashyrskyi urban hromada
  • Church of the Presentation of Virgin Mary, Pechykhvosty, Horokhiv urban hromada
  • Holy Trinity Church, Sokil, Rozhyshche urban hromada
  • Intercession Church, Brany, Marianivka settlement hromada, Lutsk Raion, Volyn Oblast|Marianivka] settlement hromada
  • Intercession Church, Metelne, Olyka urban hromada
  • Kazan Church, Pishcha, Shatsk settlement hromada
  • Saint Anne's Church, Pidberezzia, Horokhiv urban hromada
  • Saint Anne's Church, Rzhyshchiv, Marianivka settlement hromada
  • Saint Anne's Roman Catholic Church, Kovel
  • Saint Demetrius Church, Hishyn, Kovel urban hromada - oldest wooden church in Ukrainian Polesia
  • Saint Demetrius Church, Zghorany, Holovne settlement hromada
  • Saint George's Church, Kutriv, Berestechko urban hromada
  • Saint Michael's Church, Hrudky, Kamin-Kashyrskyi urban hromada
  • Saint Michael's Church, Karasyn, Prylisne rural hromada
  • Saint Michael's Church, Khoteshiv, Kamin-Kashyrskyi urban hromada
  • Saint Michael's Church, Osa, Turiisk settlement hromada
  • Saint Nicholas Church, Borochyche, Marianivka settlement hromada
  • Saint Nicholas Church, Buchyn, Liubeshiv settlement hromada
  • Saint Nicholas Church, Smolyhiv, Torchyn settlement hromada
  • Saint Paraskeva's Church, Osivtsi, Kamin-Kashyrskyi urban hromada
  • Saint Stephen's Church, Usychi, Torchyn settlement hromada
  • Transfiguration Church, Nuino, Soshychne rural hromada
  • Transfiguration Church, Stara Vyzhivka

Zakarpattia Oblast

  • Ascension Church, Yalove, Zhdeniievo settlement hromada
  • Ascension Church, Yasinia
  • Assumption Church, Novoselytsia, Korolevo settlement hromada
  • Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos, Dilove
  • Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos, Steblivka, Khust urban hromada
  • Church of the Presentation of Virgin Mary, Lokit, Irshava urban hromada
  • Church of the Presentation of Virgin Mary, Roztoka, Pylypets rural hromada
  • Church of the Presentation of Virgin Mary, Torun, Mizhhiria rural hromada
  • Church of Saint John the Baptist, Sukhyi, Tykhyi rural hromada
  • Holy Spirit Church, Huklyvyi
  • Holy Spirit Church, Kolochava
  • Holy Spirit Church, Kotelnytsia, Nyzhni Vorota rural hromada
  • Intercession Church, Deshkovytsia, Irshava urban hromada
  • Intercession Church, Kostryna
  • Intercession Church, Synevyrska Poliana, Synevyr rural hromada
  • Reformed Church, Chetfalva
  • Saint Anne's Church, Bukivtsiovo
  • Saint Basil's Church, Likitsary, Turi Remety rural hromada
  • Saint Basil's Church, Sil, Kostryna rural hromada
  • Saint Demetrius Church, Repynne, Mizhhiria rural hromada
  • Saint Demetrius Church, Vilkhovytsia, Chynadiiovo settlement hromada
  • Saint Michael's Church, Bukovets, Pylypets rural hromada
  • Saint Michael's Church, Krainykovo, Khust urban hromada
  • Saint Michael's Church, Nehrovets, Kolochava rural hromada
  • Saint Michael's Church, Neresnytsia
  • Saint Michael's Church, Ruska Kuchava, Velyki Luchky rural hromada
  • Saint Michael's Church, Svaliava
  • Saint Michael's Church, Uzhhorod
  • Saint Michael's Church, Uzhok
  • Saint Michael's Church, Vyshka, Kostryna rural hromada
  • Saint Nicholas Church, Chornoholova, Dubrynychi-Malyi Bereznyi rural hromada
  • Saint Nicholas Church, Danylovo
  • Saint Nicholas Church, Husnyi, Stavne rural hromada
  • Saint Nicholas Church, Izky, Pylypets rural hromada
  • Saint Nicholas Church, Kolodne, Uglia rural hromada
  • Saint Nicholas Church, Nyzhnia Apsha, Solotvyno settlement hromada
  • Saint Nicholas Church, Podobovets, Pylypets rural hromada
  • Saint Nicholas Church, Pryslip, Mizhhiria rural hromada
  • Saint Nicholas Church, Rekity, Mizhhiria rural hromada
  • Saint Nicholas Church, Serednie Vodiane, Solotvyno settlement hromada
  • Saint Nicholas Church, Serednie Vodiane - oldest surviving wooden church in Ukraine.
  • Saint Nicholas Church, Sokyrnytsia
  • Saint Nicholas Church, Verkhnii Studenyi, Pylypets rural hromada
  • Saint Paraskeva's Church, Oleksandrivka, Khust urban hromada
  • Saint Peter and Paul's Church, Uklyn, Poliana rural hromada
  • Saint Peter and Paul's Church, Yasinia

Zaporizhzhia Oblast

Zhytomyr Oblast