Holy Spirit Church, Potelych
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One of Ukraine's oldest wooden churches, a UNESCO site.
The Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit was, according to the most widespread version, built in 1502 at the expense of the Potelych potters on the site of an earlier church of Sts Borys and Hlib. Originally it was a three-frame, single-domed structure of oak beams measuring 18 by 7 metres; according to the Lviv District State Administration, it was assembled on wooden pegs alone, without metal nails. In 1718, 1736 and 1753 master Kazymyr Dominikovych rebuilt the church, and it became two-domed, with a baroque cupola. The first murals were painted around 1620 by artists led by Ivan Maliar; the “Passion of Christ” cycle has more than 20 scenes, and the Deesis of 1683 was painted by Ivan Rutkovych. Nearby stands a 20-metre bell tower, repaired in 1736 and 1970. In the 20th century the walls and roof were clad with sheet metal; after it was removed and the shingles restored, the church was inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2013, and in 2023 placed under enhanced protection. The restoration of 2018–2019 was halted; in 2023 work began on preparing documentation for consolidating the wall paintings.
A working parish church: view quietly during services.