Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church


Location:
2 Karpatska Street. Kolomyia town
GPS coordinates: 48.52735901 25.02334976

 

The Church stands on the old cemetery place, which was once located on the western outskirts of Kolomyia, and now it is inside the city, that had grown significantly over the time. The first wooden temple was built without a single nail in 1587, and originally it was a three-section, one-story building.

According to the legend, an Orthodox monastery was here in ancient times and chumaky used to stop and pray here, on their way while distributing salt to distant lands. Therefore, it was still called "Monastery Church" among people. In 1589, during Tatar attacks, Kolomyia was destroyed and burned down. The monastery, which included the Church, was not build up, but the Church was rebuilt. For a long time, it remained the only temple in Kolomyia. For centuries, the national memory kept the legend that Bohdan Khmelnitskyi was present in the Church during the solemn Liturgy at the Liberation wartime celebrating his victory over the Poles.

The present Church was built in 1709. Later two more sections were added to the Church on the north and the south sides, transforming it into cruciform shape.

In 1845, during father Ivan Ozarkevych service, the Church was reconstructed (expanded). Now it is a wooden, cross in plan, five-section, one-story building. All the sections are rectangular in plan and are elongated. The central section is slightly higher than the side ones, covered by an octagonal top on the octagon base, topped by a dome. The side shoulders are covered with gabled roofs, with domes on the ridges. The building is surrounded with a wide attic on sculptural carriers, which turns into a porch in front of the "babinets" (women part of the church).

It was inaccessible to believers in the Soviet times for quite a long time; later on, the Easter eggs painting museum was located in the Church; in 1990, the temple was given back to the community.
 

Architectural monument of national significance.

3D Тур