Kwiatoń is a village close to the border with Slovakia. It has been inhabited by the Lemko minority, so that it is the site of St. Paraskewa Orthodox church (the Lemkos were mainly Greek-Catholics).
It is the model example of western Lemko architectural style, and one of the best of all existing. The church is composed of three parts: tower, aisle and the presbytery. That division is very well visible.
The interior is decorated with polychrome paintings. The most important part of the church is the special wall dividing the main aisle from the presbytery. It is composed from icon paintings, arranged in particular order, and holy images. That part of the church is called the iconostasis. The one in Kwiaton was built in 1904.
The church is surrounded by an old cemetery, which is fenced in with a decorative gate. There are many old, arge trees growing nearby, which is usual for such old churches. The trees have been a natural protection against lightning, when the lightning conductors had not been developed.
Since June 2013 the church is included to UNESCO Heritage List (together with 7 other orthodox churches in Poland: Radruż, Chotyniec, Smolnik, Turzańsk, Powroźnik, Owczary and Brunary Wyżne (all are located in the South and South-East of Poland)
See the virtual panorama of St. Paraskewa church in Kwiatoń: http://www.beskid-niski.pl/index.php?pos=/obiekty&ID=98
Click here to see the details of our ready-made tour ‘Wooden treasures of southern Poland’: https://polishorigins.com/document/wooden_treasures
And see the map of “Wooden treasures of southern Poland”: http://blog.polishorigins.com/2013/07/01/wooden-treasures-of-southern-poland-introduction/
Aga Pawlus
PolishOrigins Team