Hutsul churches behind an ocean

Abstract

Wooden churches are a kind of business cards of the Hutsul region. They were left for posterity on their paintings by famous Ukrainian artists, recorded in photographs by ethnographers, art critics, described in detail by architects, religious scholars, domestic and foreign travelers. These masterpieces, often created in Austria and even earlier, are still admired not only in Europe, which has its center, as locals say, "he is on top" of the House of God. According to press reports, in 2009 Ukrainian and Polish experts identified 16 wooden temples (eight from each country) that will be proposed for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.