Problemy drewnianej architektury sakralnej na Lubelszczyźnie z okresu dwudziestolecia międzywojennego
Problems of Wooden Sacred Architecture in the Lublin Region Coming from the Period Between Two World Wars

Summary/Abstract: Wooden architecture has been a typical element of the Polish landscape for a few centuries. A special role is played by churches that at present are slowly disappearing from the architectural landscape. Ones that were built in the period between the two World Wars are a separate group. After the end of World War I and after Poland regained independence the problem appeared with choosing a proper architectural form for new churches. The structure, planning arrangements, and spatial solutions that were used, combined with the investors’ preferences, decided that traditional architectural forms dominated; they referred to the “familiar” current and historical styles. A search for “familiarity” understood as referring to the patterns from the past, ranged from the Zakopane Style architecture that was popular at the end of the 19th century, to the type of church characteristic of the Polish highlands, with a dominating spire over the façade. A review of the forms of the wooden churches built before the Second World War in the Lublin region allows stating that they are typical against the background of wooden sacred architecture of the whole country. In the Lublin region about forty wooden churches were built; and nearly half of them do not exist at the moment, or they ceased to perform their original function. The most interesting ones include the projects carried out by professional architects, bound up with the state administration. Bohdan Kelles-Krauze was the author of three wooden churches in the region: in Leszkowice, Kłodnica Dolna and Olbiecin. Tadeusz Witkowski designed the church for the Dziesiąta Quarter in Lublin, transferred to Pilaszkowice in the 1980s. An interesting project of a church in Biała Ordynacka with picturesque “sobotas” and a characteristic roof in the Zakopane Style by Franciszek Kopkowicz finally was not carried out. A serious problem is posed by the slow “dying” of wooden churches built in the interwar period that are relatively new monuments of the past. Often they are too small for their parishes and they cannot win a competition with more impressive, new brick or concrete structures. Even if they are entered in the list of vintage buildings, it does not always protect them efficiently.

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