Uklyn. A Mountain Village with a Rare Landmark

I had long known that in the village of Uklyn, in the Svaliava district, there is a small wooden church of Saints Peter and Paul. While holidaying in Zakarpattia, I decided to go and see it.


I thought it was not far from the village of Poliana and that I could walk there, since the buses run rarely. But the bus driver at the stop in Poliana talked me out of it — the road is bad, and in November it grows dark earlier. He advised me to turn to a taxi driver who was about to head that way. The driver did not open the car door to me at once; he was waiting for passengers whose consent I first had to ask. A woman and her daughter, who had come to the hospital, did not refuse me and, along the way, told me a little more about the shrine. They call it a chapel. Services are held there on feast days. The driver dropped me off by the church and took my fellow travellers on further, promising to pick me up on the way back in about 15 minutes.



The small church is built of wood, and on the site of its predecessor. Its date of construction is approximate — the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 19th century. Only four such churches remain in all of Ukraine. Little churches like these were built in the far-off mountain villages of Zakarpattia, and Uklyn lies near a pass. In the atheist years they were closed and fell into decay. Later they were ruthlessly used as storehouses and farm buildings. Many burned down. Some were raided by seekers of treasure and valuables. Here, in a remote village of only 400 people, the residents managed to preserve a unique religious building, and now it is an architectural monument of local significance. It has barely been altered — only its roofing was replaced.









I peeped through the little window and saw a large cross, holy icons, embroidered towels and books. Right beside the chapel stand dwelling houses. It gives the impression that it now sits in the yard of a private homestead. By the little path leading to the church entrance stands a sculpture of the Mother of God.



Climbing some 100 metres uphill, I saw a new church, built in 1992 and consecrated in honour of Peter and Paul. Its bells were carried over from the old one and serve the people to this day.



I had just enough time to see it all; I came back down and, still from the road, admired the church, built in the shape of a ship. The taxi driver drove up, collected me and asked whether I had seen what I wanted. He immediately assumed I needed the 'Uklyn' restaurant, famous for its folk-style vechornytsi evenings. It made me laugh — my route was of an entirely different kind. We happened to be passing that entertainment venue just then, and I recalled that a musician named Yulian works here in an ensemble of folk instruments and music — a very erudite, talented and cultured man. I had happened to be on tourist trips where he was the guide. The taxi driver also told me that some lads he knows are great masters at building churches and are invited to work all across the regions. Yes, I know — in our parts, too, such specialists from Western Ukraine are highly prized.
With that my trip came to an end; I managed to carry out what I had planned, and I share my impressions with you.

Related stories: Yakivske. A Mountain Village in Zakarpattia · Svaliava. St Michael's on Bystre, an Old Wooden Church · The Wooden Churches of Zakarpattia · Lazeshchyna. Three Wooden Churches in a Hutsul Village · Vilkhovytsia. A Wooden Landmark in a Zakarpattia Village

This story is also available in Ukrainian: Уклин. Маленьке гірське село зі збереженою рідкісною пам'яткою