Church of the Synaxis of the Blessed Virgin, Matkiv
A fir-tree silhouette from 1838 — one of eight Ukrainian churches on the UNESCO list.
Three octagonal domes rise in steps, and the silhouette of the church resembles a fir tree — classic Boyko school. The church was founded on 21 June 1838 by the masters Ivan Melnykovych and Vasyl Ivanykovych, and in 1924 Mykhailo Veklych raised a three-tier wooden bell tower beside it — a listed monument in its own right. Inside, the carved royal doors, the side altars and murals from the end of the 19th century have survived. In 2013 the church entered the UNESCO list together with seven other Ukrainian wooden churches — on the condition that its authentic look be restored: the roof and walls have been under sheet metal since the interwar years. The Boykivshchyna national park relates that the church was built mostly by women: the men had been taken into the emperor's army. From 1949 the church stood closed; in 1989 the community got it back.
The church is active and usually locked — the keys are with the community. The road is a mountain one, from Turka.