The cooperation between Ukraine and Poland in the Context of Preservation of UNESCO Horld Heritage Sites
The cooperation between Ukraine and Poland in the Context of Preservation of UNESCO Horld Heritage Sites

Summary/Abstract: The article outlines the main principles of the cooperation between Ukraine and the Republic of Poland in the field of protection and preservation of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It emphasizes that its activation was facilitated by the inclusion of the unique joint Ukrainian-Polish cross-border nomination of the Wooden churches of the Carpathian region of Ukraine and Poland (eight of them in each country) in the UNESCO World Heritage List. This was preceded by the painstaking joint work of Ukrainian and Polish scholars, religious figures, the public and managers, which lasted for over six years. Thus, sixteen wooden churches located on both sides of the border were selected from 44 “applicants”. The churches were built in the foothills of the Carpathians, in the western part of Ukraine, and in the northern and high mountain range of the Eastern Carpathians. The proposed church ensembles represent four regional schools of folk architecture: Hutsul, Lemkos, Galicia and Boykos. The Hutsul school is characteristic of only Ukrainian churches, the Lemkos school of Polish churches; Galician and Boykos are characteristic of two countries. The specified event made it necessary to comply with the requirements of international legislation in this field and the joint responsibility of Ukraine and Poland in the context of the protection and preservation of the UNESCO site both as a whole and its individual elements – wooden churches, which are extremely vulnerable, especially in view of the fire protection. In accordance with the recommendation of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, a joint management body was created – the Ukrainian-Polish International Restoration Council, which oversees the aforementioned issues. Currently, in the conditions of the Russian Federation’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, Poland has proven itself to be the most reliable partner of our country in the protection of cultural heritage. The support of Poland both at the state level and at the level of civil society is extremely important for Ukraine, which defends the independence of not only its own state, but also makes maximum efforts to preserve world civilization. Without a doubt, the humanitarian component can be considered a peculiar core of Ukrainian-Polish cooperation.

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