ON THE ROUTE

The gothic pearl of Podhale

From Szczawnica we head towards Podhale and Czarny Dunajec. A beautiful and panoramic route between the Pieniny and the Gorce, and further through Polish Spis awaits us. On the way one should stop in Dębno Podhalańskie where they will find one of the most known wooden churches in Poland – the Gothic Church of St Michael the Archangel which is listed as a UNESCO site. The church was built in 1490. It is an oriented temple of log construction. The low tower and arcades are a bit younger – the tower was erected in 1601 and the arcades date back to the 18th and the 19th century. Inside we can see the polychromy from the 15th/16th century with geometrical and floral motifs and the tabernacle from the 14th century. Rare chimes from the 15th century are an interesting element. The oldest piece is the cross which dates back to 1380.

The Manor of the Tetmajer Family

Approximately 6 km further we go past Łopuszna where we can admire the wooden Manor Complex and the Parish Church of the Holy Trinity from the 15th century. The church is a typical example of a wooden gothic temple. Inside, we can see the remains of the polychromy from 1500 (on the parapet of the music choir) and the gothic triptych. The manor is younger – it was erected in the second half of the 18th century but the buildings around it are a bit older. It is a typical example of a Polish country manor with baroque ornaments. Its most famous owners were the Tetmajer Family. Today, the manor houses a museum. While visiting the place, we can see the ethnographic exhibition, a big chamber or a manor kitchen.

The Parish Church of the Holy Trinity The Manor Complex

muzeumtatrzanskie.pl/filie/dwor-w-lopusznej

Why aren’t nails used in wooden temples?

Reading descriptions of wooden buildings, especially churches, we can come across the information that they were constructed without nails. It seems that this fact makes a given construction unique but, to be honest, it should not. The reason for it is very practical. After all, nails are not the only way to connect wooden logs and very often they prove to be ineffective. Nails are made of iron and iron rusts. After several dozen years in a temple which was supposed to stand for a few hundred years such connections would have to be replaced. And wood can be connected with…wood. It is easily shaped so skilled carpenters used to prepare logs (called ‘bierwiono’) so that they would combine creating a durable construction. Such a way is called log construction. Wooden stakes were also used to connect logs – their main advantage was that they behaved in the same way as material which they connected (extremely important when it is humid or dry when wood expands or dries).