Music Enchanted by Wood Festival

Cracow Guitar Quartet. Photo: Muzyka Zakleta w Drewnie

The sites chosen for the Music Enchanted by Wood Festival (Muzyka Zakleta w Drewnie) are all listed on the Malopolska region's recently created Wooden Architecture Route.

“The wooden architectural trail offers a great way to get out and start exploring the Carpathians and the foothills of the Carpathians,” says Pam McCarthy, who spent several years in southern Poland working on ecological and cultural conservation projects.

“These churches are old, but they're living, they're being used, and this is a great way to see that living heritage.”

Festival Poster

In this report, Polish Radio correspondent Nick Hodge speaks with Anna Franik from the Malopolska Tourist Office about this year's festival and the Wooden Architecture Route.

Architect Dr. Marta Urbanska, who teaches conservation in Krakow, reflects on the captivating forms of wooden churches in the region, and with the 100th anniversary of the First World War upon us, art historian Dr Michal Wisniewski ponders the war cemeteries that dot the countryside.

Besides Roman Catholic churches, highlights of the Wooden Architecture Route include Greek Catholic and Orthodox churches, relics of a multicultural past that was all but lost in the aftermath of the Second World War, amid resettlements of ethnic minorities deemed Ukrainian (Lemkos, Boykos) by Poland's communist authorities.

The Music Enchanted by Wood Festival runs until 24 August. Updates can be found on the event's Facebook page.

* The music from the opening of this report is by Lemko singer Susanna. She will be performing at the UNESCO-listed Church of St Michael the Archangel in Binarowa on 10 August.

Roman Catholic Church of SS Peter Philip and James in Sekowa. Photo: wikipedia/Jerzy Strzelecki