Kościoły rzymskokatolickie na Ukrainie Lewobrzeżnej (XІХ-ХХ wiek). Przegląd retrospektywny
Roman Catholic churches in Left-Bank Ukraine (19th–20th century). A retrospective analysis

Summary/Abstract: This article provides a short retrospective of the history of Roman Catholic churches in Left-Bank Ukraine in the 19th–20th century, from construction during the Russian Empire to their fate in the Soviet era. It also mentions the contemporary situation of churches in independent Ukraine. Firstly, the factors that caused the establishment of numerous Polish communities in the areas of Left-Bank Ukraine, i.e. in the Yekaterinoslav, Poltava, Kharkiv and Chernihiv Governorates, were analysed. Thanks to the efforts of local Poles 12 churches were built in this area, namely in: Chernihiv, Nizhyn, Poltava, Romny, Kremenchuk, Yekaterinoslav, Kamianske, Yenakiieve, Mariupol, Bakhmut, Kharkiv and Sumy. In the summary of the article it was pointed out that every church, since its consecration, had become a centre of life not only of the Polish community, but also a meeting place for Catholics of different nationalities. During the occupation of Ukraine by the Bolshevik army, the churches were closed and some of them demolished. Only a few temples have survived to our times. Today, they are important remnants of sacral architecture, decorating the centres of Ukrainian cities.

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