Text 5. Wooden Structures in Ukraine

The rich Ukrainian black soil, the moderate climate and abundant rainfalls favored profuse vegetation which yielded a mass of timber of various kinds. For this reason the Art of wood building has always flourished in Ukraine. The Ukrainians were known as expert wood workers and engravers. This skill in wood-building dates back to pre-Christian times and has attained its special perfection in religious buildings. In these we see a reflection of changes of the historic styles, which took place in architecture. One can also discover a perceptible influence of the ideas in wood-building on architecture. The Ukrainian wood-building is characterized by harmony, by logical and exact form, and by absence of superfluous elaborate ornamentation. As to church building, these principles produced an integrity in a way that the outer appearance of the building corresponds entirely with the inner contents.

Still, one definite and pronounced Ukrainian style is common to all wooden-constructed churches which is strictly different from the styles of other peoples. The majority of Ukrainian churches consist of three parts (srubni) with either one or three cupolas.

The oldest type of church prevails in the Carpathians with a pyramid-like roofing of all three parts. Such churches once existed throughout Ukraine and occasionally can be found in the various parts of the country. The oldest of these date back lo the 15th – 16th century. Churches in Volhynia and Podolia constitute a separate group; most of them have one or three cupolas and are often surrounded by beautiful colonnades or galleries. Excellent architectural structures of churches with live cupolas were, until just recently, found in Podolia and provinces of Kiev, Poltava and Kharkiv, in addition to those found in Hutsulshchyna. The masterpiece of old Ukrainian-skill, during the Baroque Epoch, is the famous cathedral in Zaporoshie. It has nine cupolas and is extremely large, having merited admiration, from a technical and artistic standpoint by the greatest critics. This cathedral was errected in 1773 – 1779 by J. Pohrebniak, an architect of Sloboshanshchina.

In this connection, the belfry lowers deserve a special mention. Standing always apart from the church, their forms and construction are the outcome of old traditions that take us to the architecture of fortified castles.

In the past, many original wooden buildings were also found in towns. They were mostly adorned with elaborate and ingeniously designed facades, balconies, galleries and similar ornamentation. Excellent samples of these were found in Hutsulshchyna, Podolia and Volhynia. At present there are only a few in existence.