St. Michael Archangel's Church, Turzańsk, Poland

St. Michael Archangel's Church in Turzańsk together with different tserkvas is designated as part of the UNESCO Wooden tserkvas of the Carpathian region in Poland and Ukraine.

The tserkva in Turzańsk, established as an Eastern Orthodox Church tsekva, later Uniate, was referenced in the first half of the sixteenth-century. The present tserkva was built at the start of the nineteenth-century in 1801, and later expanded in 1836, with a foyer and sacristy. In 1896 and 1913, the tserkva had undergone renovations of its roof, strengthening it with tin. After displacing the Ukrainian populous from the area, as part of Operation Vistula, the tserkva was used by Roman Catholics, between 1947 and 1961. In 1963, the tserkva was returned to the Polish Orthodox Church. The interior of the tserkva exhibits original components: iconostasis from 1895, and a polychrome from the turning point of the nineteenth and twentieth-century.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Kinga Rogowska (8 months ago)
Piękna cerkiew, ale ostatnio w remoncie. Z zewnątrz niewiele widać, wnętrze naprawdę stare, czuć ducha historii. Ksiądz co prawda opowiada o cerkwi, ale robotnicy nie przerywają walenia młotkami i cięcia piłami, zatem nic nie słychać. Szkoda.

bartorzel (9 months ago)
Beautiful. A must-see. Exterior under renovation.

Oldřiška Zahradníková (9 months ago)
A beautiful monument, but unfortunately at the time of the visit under scaffolding

Gosia Wojewoda (10 months ago)
Something amazing. I recommend it to everyone. At the moment, the exterior is undergoing renovation but the interior is still open. The stories of the person taking care of the church and the reconstruction are amazing. Thank you.

victòria Molina (11 months ago)
The wooden architectonic route, churches mainly. Unesco heritage, marvellous

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Heraclea Lyncestis

Heraclea Lyncestis was an ancient Greek city in Macedon, ruled later by the Romans. It was founded by Philip II of Macedon in the middle of the 4th century BC. The city was named in honor of the mythological hero Heracles. The name Lynkestis originates from the name of the ancient kingdom, conquered by Philip, where the city was built.

Heraclea was a strategically important town during the Hellenistic period, as it was at the edge of Macedon"s border with Epirus to the west and Paeonia to the north, until the middle of the 2nd century BC, when the Romans conquered Macedon and destroyed its political power. The main Roman road in the area, Via Egnatia went through Heraclea, and Heraclea was an important stop. The prosperity of the city was maintained mainly due to this road.

The Roman emperor Hadrian built a theatre in the center of the town, on a hill, when many buildings in the Roman province of Macedonia were being restored. It began being used during the reign of Antoninus Pius. Inside the theatre there were three animal cages and in the western part a tunnel. The theatre went out of use during the late 4th century AD, when gladiator fights in the Roman Empire were banned, due to the spread of Christianity, the formulation of the Eastern Roman Empire, and the abandonment of, what was then perceived as, pagan rituals and entertainment.

Late Antiquity and Byzantine periods

In the early Byzantine period (4th to 6th centuries AD) Heraclea was an important episcopal centre. A small and a great basilica, the bishop"s residence, and a funerary basilica and the necropolis are some of the remains of this period. Three naves in the Great Basilica are covered with mosaics of very rich floral and figurative iconography; these well preserved mosaics are often regarded as fine examples of the early Christian art period.

The city was sacked by Ostrogoth/Visigoth forces, commanded by Theodoric the Great in 472 AD and again in 479 AD. It was restored in the late 5th and early 6th century. When an earthquake struck in 518 AD, the inhabitants of Heraclea gradually abandoned the city. Subsequently, at the eve of the 7th century, the Dragovites, a Slavic tribe pushed down from the north by the Avars, settled in the area. The last coin issue dates from ca. 585, which suggests that the city was finally captured by the Slavs. As result, in place of the deserted city theatre several huts were built.

The Episcopacy Residence was excavated between 1970 and 1975. The western part was discovered first and the southern side is near the town wall. The luxury rooms are located in the eastern part. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th rooms all have mosaic floors. Between the 3rd and 4th rooms there is a hole that led to the eastern entrance of the residence. The hole was purposefully created between the 4th and 6th century.

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