Hutsulskyi region absorbed the richness of the Carpathian region: the picturesque sceneries of high mountains, green forests, rapid rivers and streams, clear waterfalls, interesting unique traditions and rituals of the inhabitants of this land - hutsuls. The originality of this region, its historical past and love for beauty has been inspired local craftsmen for centuries, their creative works are embodied in the architectural monuments, works of sacred art, crafts products. Due to this the area of the Carpathian National Nature Park has become one of the most popular recreational centres which attracts numerous visitors and encourages them to come back here again and again. Many tourists are attracted by works of sacred art, particularly Yaremche churches, located in the Carpathian NNP, true masterpieces, which are impressing with their beauty and harmony.

Ethno-educational route "Sacred Hutsulskyi region", developed by tourist association "Carpathian Eco-Region" along with the Carpathian NNP, will reveal the beauty of wooden temples and other religious monuments that attract us with their authentic and prayerful spirit. They all are the work of human hands which unite tradition, culture and art as an expression of spiritual world, the Christian faith and eternal human desire for God.

Сhurch of Peter and Paul, the Saint Apostles (Yaremche)

The church is located in the tract of Tovstyi Dil (Dora village). It was constructed and consecrated on July 24, 2000 thanks to efforts of Mitered Priest Yaroslav Svyshchuk as a sanctuary of St. Andrew’s missionary complex. Designing job was carried out by Ihor Dmytryshyn, the principal architect of Yaremche. Local experts headed by Ivan Semeniuk of Dora were in charge for construction works.

Yaroslav the reverend was the one who emblazoned the icon screen in contemporary style, while the author of original carvings was Ihor Fabuliak of Ivano-Frankivsk. The tabernacle, a tiny representation of the Hutsul church in Zelena village, Nadvirna district, is the performance of Ivan Mosyn, a gifted craftsman from Kolomyia.

The garth lapses in the Yard of Martyrs, a symbolic grave crowned with a stone cross and a crucifix. At the foot of the grave, on stone postaments there are portrait sculptures of martyrs of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, namely, metropolitan Andrew Sheptytskyi, cardinal Joseph the Blind, bishop Grygorii Khomyshyn and others. In the pedimental chamber the museum of metropolitan A. Sheptytskyi was completed as a result of tireless research work of Father Svyshchuk, the renowned missioner and art historian, whose collection had been gathered thoroughly for about 50 years in all parts of the globe. The museum presents an exhibition of outstanding examples of icon painting, pictorial and plastic art - the creations of bright Ukrainian artists in different times and different places [6].
The monastery adjoins to the church. In summertime, children from all over Ukraine are on vacations here, enjoying the richest Carpathian landscapes as they derive spiritual strength from this salubrious source.

Church of the Miracle of St. Archistratigus Michael (Yaremche)

There is a wooden temple on the high hill on the bank of the Kamianka river in the village of Dora. This old church had been erected in 1772, the new one is age-dated to 1844. Nowadays it is regarded a monument of architecture of national importance.

The church’s walls are decorated with ornamental paintings of 19th-20th centuries. The tabernacle on the altar is performed in occidental style with sculptures of angels all over it.

In the yard of the church Mitered Father Mykhailo Kosylo (1932-2000) was buried, the one who sacrificed his life to being used of God and his people in the tough times of totalitarian rule.

Chapel-church of the Newly Canonized Martyrs of the Ukrainian people (Yaremche)

The church is in fact the part of architectural complex of the cloister of Totality of St. Vincent’s Sisters of Mercy in Dora. The house of monastery is located in a picturesque corner by the side of the Prut river, providing magnificent scenery of the Makovytsia mountain. The construction of this church was launched in 1999 with the initiative of Father Yaroslav Svyshchuk upon the project of Ihor Petryshyn from Yaremche. Reparation works were completed by Sisters of Mercy who took the church under their guidance after the reverend missioner. The deep prayerful life of the nuns interwines with the missionary sphere of action. They actually proceed with charity and religion-educational work, catechesize children, engage local pupils in celebrations of Mother’s day, St. Nicolas’s day and so forth, as well hosting children from all regions of Ukraine for recuperation and recreation.

The unique icon screen has found its place in the chapel-church, being priorly taken by Father Yaroslav from the USA. The icons are painted by a renowned poet, artist and art historian Svyatoslav Gordynskyi. With them come in harmony the carvings by the local artisan Vasyl Shtymiak.

Church of St. Prophet Elijah (Yaremche)

The minster stands near the central road splitting Dora. Construction of the temple was finished in summer of 1938. The church is designed in Hutsul style and covered with shingles. Works were directed by Ivan Yavorskii (Zaricha village) and Petro Grygorchyk (Zhabye village).

This church is the place of residence of the original open oval icon screen. The icons thereof are accomplished using the burning-out method and partially decorated with flat-relief carving. The design and some of carving was carried out by Ivan Svyshchyk, ex-headmaster of the local school.

The life of the church is closely connected with that of monks of the Studionkloster statute which belong to Sviatouspenska Univska Lavra. That were they who got the estate and premises as a present from their former owners, the Kokurudzes family, in 1932. Right here, the Greek-Catholic church of Ukraine represented by Studian monks Father Myron Dereniuk and Father Pavlo (Petro-Porfyryi Chuchman) has survived the entire period of its existence in state of underground functioning under prosecution. 1990 was the year of the long hope liberation from the communistic violence. The temple and sacristia were finally completed. A new wooden chapel with an oratory was built in 2001 and became a harmonic complement to the temple’s architectural complex.

Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (Yaremche)

The wooden temple not far from the bus station was raised in 1904 replacing the liturgic chapel of the Virgin Mary’s Assumption dated of 1898.

The iconostasis (18th - early 19th cent.) by the unknown painter has been preserved up to now. The altar was fabricated in 1914, donated by Ivan and Mariia Phylypovych from Lviv.

The main garnishment of the garth is the two-storeyed oratory.

Church of the Holy Trinity (Yaremche)

In 2000, the memorial cross was settled on the spot of future construction of the temple. This wooden church was erected owing to local donators and consecrated in 2006. The temple is the result of joint efforts of masters from Kosmach and Mykulychyn. The special contribution was made by Oleksii Godovanets of Yaremche. The architecture of the temple is basically rectangular, though it is planned for the future to restructure it into the shape of crux quadrata.

Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Yaremche)

The capstone of the future church was laid in the city centre by the diocesan Pavlo Vasylyk of Kolomya-Chernivtsi diocesy in 1996. Construction proceeded upon the project by Stepan Hajdyshchuk from Horodenka (launched in April, 1997).

The temple was blessed on July 7, 2008 on the day of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.

In course of stucco works, Kalush timber factory manufactured the icon screen together with tetrapod, lecturn and the altar. Icons were painted by artists from Lviv.

The church’s emblazonment was started in Byzantine style. Constructors assume the stained-glass artwork to be performed to complement sacral wall-painting.

Church of St. John the Merciful (Yaremche)

The church is situated in the village of Yamna (a neighbourhood in Yaremche). The temple together with enclosed chantry can be found among the sacral architectural monuments of the Hutsul type.

The first mention about the church refers to the list made up by the Lviv bishop Joseph Shumliansky in 1701, under the name of the Holy Trinity. Some evidence shows that the church was mentioned as the temple of St. Archistratigus Michael and was built in 17-18th cent. [2]. According to another version, this was the church constructed as the new dedication to St. John the Merciful (diocesan scroll of 1832). Today the building of the church is regarded a masterpiece of the Hutsul spiritual architecture.

The Dedication day is observed on the Day of St. Martyr Paraskeva.

Church of the Holy Trinity and St. Martyr Paraskeva Pyatnytsya (Mykulychyn village)

There was a time when the old church in Mykulychyn was located by the cemetery up above the Falcha habitation, with the priest’s dwelling right near Prutets at Tsaryna. Reportedly, the temple had been destroyed by a mighty galestorm in the 1760s. The modern one was built by the central road upon the project by caesarian architect engineer of the Nadvirna district government Ya. Chaykovetsky. The church exemplifies the Hutsul type of ecclesiastic architecture. The construction was completed in 1868. It was blessed on the Day of St. Paraskeva. The old three-storeyed chantry has been preserved up to now, being an interesting artifact of small sacral architecture. In 2002, a new one was erected right above the gate of the church.

In course of restoration works 1988, the original icon with author’s signature ‘K. Ustianovsky’ was found under a canvas icon to the left of the icon screen. In 1989 the latter was gilded.

As a memory of the calamity so disastrous to the village, the great flood of 1911, as well as on the occasion of temple reparation, a stone cross was installed in the garth.

Church of the Christ Ascension (Mykulychyn village)

In 1999, spearheaded by Kolomya-Chernivtsi diocesan Pavlo Vasylyk, the village’s reverend Father Bohdan Skirchuk and the community of Polumystyi habitation, the construction of a church was initiated. Yurii Gerushynsky of Yaremche was responsible for designing. Nowadays the temple lies in the heart of beautiful nature of the Carpathians - in the picturesque corner of Mykulychyn.

Since 2004 liturgies are prayed permanently in the church.

It was consecrated in 2007, on the day of God’s Ascension.

Church of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica (Tatariv village)

The church of St. Demetrius in Tatariv, sMykoituated near the central road, was constructed in the 1870s. The first reminder appears in the scroll of 1880. The temple was projected by a Polish architect F. Menchynsky. It’s one of the oldest architectural monuments of national importance remaining intact up to the present. The church has original composition which makes it a peculiar example of Hutsul traditional spiritual architecture.

The five-step iconostasis was completed by Antony Orzhehovsky (as per the autograph on the icon of St. Nicholas the Thaumaturge.

Wooden chantry beside the church supplements the general architectural pattern.

Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (Vorokhta village)

Building and construction activities were started in 1928, and already in year of 1930 the church was blessed. Initially planned as a cruciform five-domed one, it was first covered with metal sheets of two colours in a chessboard pattern.

A real pleasure for sight is the carven icon screen performed by Vasyl Turchyniak of Lukh together with his son Mykola and apprentice Vasyl Savchuk from Delyatyn village. Particular icons were painted by Anatolii Medelian from Lviv.

Wooden decorations inside the church were carved in the late 80s. Lateral altars with icons of St. Nicholas and the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, the work of unknown author. Most likely, these were ported from the Greek Catholic church which appeared in Vorokhta in the early 1900s.

In 2006, the church was re-covered at the expense of Yaremche city council. The outer envelope of the temple was similarly repaired.

Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (Vorokhta village)

The old and tiny church resides on the top of the hill in the centre of Vorokhta. According to one of the versions, it was constructed in 1612 in Yablunytsia village and carried over to Vorokhta in 1780 and placed above the new cemetery [4]. In 1860, the church was shifted again remaining there up to now. Two centuries past, in 1980, the most ancient temple of the terrain was renovated. This wooden church turns out to be a real architectural pearl, absolutely perfect in proportions and shape of the Hutsul school of conventional ecclesiastic building. Throughout the 20th century it drew the limelight of attention of numerous artists and art historians.

In front of the church a memorial cross can be seen which was lain by the church council in 1785.

Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Vorokhta village)

This house of God is sited in the Zavoyela tract 10 km far from Vorokhta, fairly overby the headquarters of Goverla nature-oriented research department of the Carpathian national natural park. This is the initial point of “To the Goverla Mountain” excursion tour. The garth provides the inimitable command of the flamboyant scenery of Сhornogora range.

In 1997, Father Myroslav Cherniavsky hallowed the cornerstone on the construction site of the temple. The design work for the wooden church was performed by Yurii Gerushynsky from Yaremche.

Liturgies have been prayed here since 2010.

Church of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple (Polyanytsya village)

The aged church of the Polyanytsya Popovychivska village was erected in 1912 at the expense of duke Ioannes Lichtenstein. Legend has it, the temple was burnt down in 1946 or 1947.

Common efforts of local people made it possible to build a new one in 1990. A crucifixion was installed in the garth in 2006.

The chantry was constructed in 1995. It still has the old bells inwrought with sculpture ornaments (there is an inscription on one of the tollers saying ‘Ivan Moldavchuk and the family (1871)’ and a depiction of St. Nicholas). New bells were purchased in 2006.

Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (Yablunytsya village)

The temple was built and consecrated in 1895, being an architectural monument of local importance. The previous church which had occupied this venue before was transported to Lazeshchyna (Rakhiv district, Zakarpattya region).

Church of Assumption was ornamented by Ferdinant Orichovsky, iconostasis carved by the hand of Vasyl Turchyniak of Lukh. Certain icons (particularly, the ‘Jesus Christ in the Olive Garden’) belong to the brush of Carl Skochdopol

Church of St. Basil the Great (Yablunytsya village)

This fane was raised at the effort of local community and hallowed in 1992. It was actually projected by Myroslava Petryshyn, an architect from Yaremche.

The majestic icon screen draws the sight in the temple, performed by two masters of Delyatyn, Vasyl Savchuk and Viktor Pryima, in 1994. The icons thereof are the work of Mykhailo Kuziuk, an artist from Lazeshchyna (Rakhiv district, Zakarpattya region).

The wall painting of the church was done by the craftsmen from the village of Chornyi Potik in 2000, the tabernacle manufactured in Polyanytsya in 1995.

Church of the Holy Heart of Jesus (Voronenkо village)

The height of this church’s location is about 920 m above sea level. Construction and building works were financially overtaken by local public supported by Yaremcha town council. The temple was blessed in 2005.

Magnificient oak choir aisles are the main apparel of the church. The carved alter and the principal icon were made of various wood species by craftsmen from Richka village (Kosiv region). These artworks are expressively astounding with the power of execution and elegant beauty.