Romanesque brick fortresses and Gothic churches and abbeys, palaces and mansions are a vivid historical record of Malopolska past. It also preserved monuments of old Polish village, the wooden one harmonized with the landscape. The richness of culture and folk art of this land has no equal in the area of Poland.
Numerous preserved churches and Orthodox churches amaze not only logic of the structure but also picturesque forms and shingle textures. The architectural landscape of Malopolska villages inscribed inns and granaries and manor houses, built of wood ‘According to heaven and the Polish habit’. Provincial towns present until today the clear old urban systems, where the life of their inhabitants proceeded under the arcades of wooden small-towns houses.
Wooden Architecture Route in Malopolska Region has about 1500 km and includes 237 architectural groups from churches, Orthodox churches, chapels and belfries the granaries, rural cottages and manor houses of the nobility. All objects on the trail are marked and the road to them indicates more than 600 signs.
The greatest treasures of the region are churches in Sękowa, Binarowa, Lipnica Murowana and Dębno Podhalańskie, which in year 2003 were included on the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage. Another 4 religious buildings were added to that List in 2013. They are: the Orthodox church in Brunary Wyżne, Kwiatoń, Owczary and Powroźnik.
Welcome to the hiking trail, where the smell of old wood inside the church, the Orthodox church or the manor can find tranquility and breath of past centuries.
Objects of The Wooden Architecture Route in the area of Wadowice
Barwałd Dolny
The Parish Church of St Erasmus in Barwałd Dolny was built in the second half of the 18th century. The spire is a remnant of the previous 16th century church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The layout in which the spire is located to the east of the chancel, is unusual and rarely found. There is polychrome decoration dating from the end of the 18th century which features figurative, vegetative and geometric motifs. On the chancel ceiling you can see a painting of The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary while in the nave there is The Transfiguration of Our Lord on Mount Tabor. The main altar contains the 18th century painting of St Erasmus.
Lanckorona
The Lanckorona Urban Layout and Buildings. The town plan is based on the layout of the settlement that existed before a town charter was granted. It was spindle-shaped with an irregular grid of streets and the church to the west. Only some of the Lanckorona wooden buildings have survived down to the present day. The houses near the market square and the streets leading off it were erected in1869-72 after the last town fire. The construction is very compact.
Radocza
The Church of the Transfiguration of Our Lord in Radocza was built in 1525. The building lost its original stylistic features as a result of repairs carried out at the beginning of the 20th century. A chapel and sacristy were added to the narrow chancel. At the base of the spire, which is capped with a cupola, is a galilee covered by a coffered ceiling with beams which are profiled and decorated with Ionian ornaments. Of the old fittings all that has survived to the present day are three baroque altars, an 18th century organ front, stained-glass windows from the beginning of the 20th century and chandeliers from the turn of the 20th century. The main altar contains a baroque painting of The Transfiguration of Our Lord.
Woźniki
The Parish Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Woźniki was probably built in the first half of the 16th century. The greater part of the building and the original fittings were destroyed during a fire in 1959. Rebuilding was undertaken in 1962-64 and overseen by specialists from the Kraków branch of the Office for the Conservation of Historic Buildings. At the intersection of the nave and chancel is a baroque-form turret. Painted inscriptions can be seen on the ceiling beams of the galilee. The choir loft parapet was woven from wicker in the second half of the 20th century. The oldest preserved artifact is the 14th gothic crucifix.
Marcyporęba
St Martin’s Churchin Marcyporęba was built in 1670 and originally had no spire (the spire was added in 1976-80). The ceremonial consecration was performed in 1677. The roof above the nave and chancel is gabled, with one ridge and a baroque bell turret. Inside two precious portals have been preserved: one a so-called Długoszowski, the other mannerist and richly decorated. Above the galilee and chancel there are 1970s coffered ceilings. On the rood beam you can see sculptures with a Crucifixion Group and the 15th gothic crucifix. The walls are covered with the 19th and the 20th polychrome decoration.
Nidek
The Church of St Simon and St Jude Thaddeus the Apostles in Nidek was consecrated in 1536 or 1539, probably on the same spot as an earlier one, as the local parish was formed in 1313. From the second half of the 16th century it served as first a Calvinist then an Arian church, before returning to Catholic hands in 1669. Inside there are impressive gothic carpentry details. The oldest artifact among the church fittings is the 16th century font. The remaining fittings are mainly baroque: the main and side altars, the crucifix on the rood beam and the choir loft. The walls and ceiling feature architectonic painting which make use of optical illusion.
Additional information below
Official Site Trail