Wooden churches of Southern Lesser Poland

Wooden Churches of Southern Małopolska

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Old church in Sękowa
Location	Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland
Includes	Church of the Archangel Michael, Binarowa Church of All Saints, Blizne Church of the Archangel Michael, Dębno Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Archangel Michael, Haczów Church of St Leonard, Lipnica Murowana Church of St Philip and St James the Apostles, Sękowa
Criteria	Cultural: (iii), (iv)
Reference	1053rev
Inscription	2003 (27th Session)
Area	8.26 ha (20.4 acres)
Buffer zone	242 ha (600 acres)
Coordinates	49°45′N 21°14′E / 49.750°N 21.233°E / 49.750; 21.233
1 2 3 4 5 6 class=notpageimage| Locations of the UNESCO inscribed wooden churches in Poland

The wooden churches of southern Lesser Poland (Polish: drewniane kościoły południowej Małopolski) of the UNESCO inscription are located in Binarowa, Blizne, Dębno, Haczów, Lipnica Murowana, and Sękowa (Lesser Poland Voivodeship or Małopolska).^[1] There are in fact many others of the region which fit the description: "The wooden churches of southern Little Poland represent outstanding examples of the different aspects of medieval church-building traditions in Roman Catholic culture. Built using the horizontal log technique, common in eastern and northern Europe since the Middle Ages..."

The wooden church style of the region originated in the late Medieval, the late sixteenth century, and began with Gothic ornament and polychrome detail, but because they were timber construction, the structure, general form, and feeling is entirely different from the gothic architecture or Polish Gothic (in stone or brick). Later construction show Rococo and Baroque ornamental influence. The form of these Roman Catholic churches is deeply influenced by the Greco-Catholic and Orthodox presence in the region. Some display Greek cross plans and onion domes, but the most interesting of the churches combine these features with the Roman forms with elongated naves and steeples. Other collections of wooden churches of the region are in the open-air museums in Sanok and Nowy Sącz.