Most ancient churches were built to last, eternal monuments to both their benefactor and his god. In Poland, where granite and marble weren't available, ancient churches were made of brick. And in places where brick wasn't an option, they were made of wood, suseptable to fire and the elements. As a result, old wooden churches, are rare. And protected. The wooden churches of "Lesser" (Lower) Poland (Catholic, of course) near the borders with Ukraine and Slovakia, like those in Fruska Gora, Serbia and in Sweden, are UNESCO World Heritage treasures. Who knew?
One of the saints?, Church of All Saints
We weren't surpirsed to find the Church of All Saints in Blizne undergoing restoration work, they are wooden, after all. But the workers ushered us in and let us take all the photos we wanted. The wooden statues and the wall paintings were in remakrable conditon considering their age. The Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary in Haczow was both open and deserted and we had it to ourselves. The other two we visited, Church of Archangel Michael in Binarowa which was begun in the late 16th Century and the Church of Sts Philip and James in Sekowa were locked. Each of the churches had a different architectural style, the only constant was they were made of wood.
Polish Highlands
Watching the flock
Our road then took us through the Polish Highlands, where people still keep up the old traditions. We literally "ran" into a large flock of sheep driven by a family of shepherds and their dogs. We have no idea of their heritage or customs but their dress certainly looked traditional. They certainly didn't dress up for us!
