Drewniane kościoły południowej Małopolski (2003)

• Authors: FORTUNA-MAREK ANNA

Title variants

EN

Wooden Churches of Southern Małopolska (2003)

• Languages of publication: PL EN

Abstracts

EN

The churches of southern Małopolska are a serial property comprising the six best-preserved and oldest wooden Gothic churches typical of the region (Blizne, Binarowa, Dębno Podhalańskie, Haczów, Lipnica Murowana, Sękowa). Built using the horizontal log technique, common in eastern and northern Europe since the Middle Ages, the churches feature an intricate spatial structure including, in most cases, a tower, a nave and a presbytery, as well as external arcades, also referred to as ‘soboty’. All the churches are notable for their masterful carpentry detail, as well as unique structural design and engineering solutions. Other distinguishing features include precious decorations and furnishings, representing a variety of techniques and styles, a wealth of iconographic programmes, and an outstanding artistic value. These churches stand as examples of a typical landmark in the historic rural layout, to which they owe their unique scenic qualities appreciated today. Criteria: (iii), (iv) The Wooden Architecture Route and its role in the preservation and management of heritage The Wooden Churches of Southern Małopolska and the Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine, the two serial World Heritage properties are the most precious sites in the Wooden Architecture Route. Winding through the regions of Małopolska, Podkarpacie, Śląsk and Świętokrzyskie, the Route presents their most precious ecclesiastical and secular wooden architecture and is the longest cultural route of its kind in Poland. It stands out for the extraordinary diversity, richness and outstanding value of buildings and sites, which comprise not only a number of temples of various denominations – including churches and tserkvas (14 with the World Heritage status), bell towers and chapels – but also secular architecture, including manor houses, palaces and villas, small towns and health resort architecture, open-air museums and rural buildings. At present, the Route comprises more than 500 objects representing various categories of monuments, architectural styles, and types of structure. The cumulative length of all the routes is over 4,000 km. The purpose of the Route is to present, promote and protect historic wooden architecture. The objective is not only to promote the tourist attractions of the individual regions, but also to educate local communities and engage them in broadly-defined protection of this special and important feature of Poland’s cultural heritage. In the first stage of its organisation and operation, the focus was on creating a comprehensive tourist information system and on marketing to promote it. The latter role has been entrusted to the coordinators of the Route – regional tourist organizations and regional governments. The owners and managers of the historic buildings, local governments, associations, etc. play an equally important role. The wooden churches and tserkvas inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List and other buildings along the Route are venues for a number of interesting cultural events – concerts, exhibitions, events organised within the framework of the European Heritage Days. The Route is a tourist attraction. At the same time, based on the Route, wide-ranging educational activities and programmes are delivered both to promote the World Heritage properties and to propagate the need to protect historic wooden architecture. The educational activities, delivered both by experts and local enthusiasts, are addressed not only to children and the youth, but to the entire local community. An interesting initiative is Małopolska’s Programme Conservator, addressed to unemployed people. Participants are hired for example as guides or day-to-day caretakers of the temples and their surroundings. In addition to serving tourists, the Programme plays a very important public function – not only by offering jobs for the unemployed, but also – importantly – by building people’s awareness of the importance of the monument, its value and the need to protect it. The experience gained during more than ten years of its existence proves that proper management of the cultural Route and its use as a stimulus for social and economic development is only possible when the process engages property owners, local communities, and local government. From this wider perspective, the Route is also becoming an excellent educational tool, which is helpful in building, on the basis of monuments, a sense of identity and an awareness of the role and importance of protecting cultural heritage. The activities along the Wooden Architecture Route, briefly described above, which are undertaken by a wide range of stakeholders, contribute to the development of tourism, and equally importantly, encourage citizens to preserve the remarkable monuments for future generations. Some of the initiatives contribute to the raising of people’s awareness about the fact that their local monument is not just an essential element of the local landscape, but also a valuable feature in the regional, national and even global context. In this way, a previously underappreciated object becomes something desirable, significant and to be proud of, and its protection ceases to be just an onerous obligation. In such a perception, a difficult to overestimate role play the UNESCO World Heritage properties, which ennobles the whole Route.

Keywords

PL

kościoły południowej Małopolski; drewniane kościoły gotyckie; kościoły zrębowe; Szlak Architektury Drewnianej; ochrona zabytków architektury drewnianej

• Publisher: Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa
• Journal: Ochrona Zabytków
• Year: 2017
• Issue: Dodatek Specjalny. Dziedzictwo w Polsce.
• Pages: 125-129

Dates

published

2017

Contributors

author

FORTUNA-MAREK ANNA

• Oddział Terenowy NID w Rzeszowie
• National Heritage Board of Poland, Regional Office in Rzeszów

Identifiers

ISSN

0029-8247