Kolochava was once a town where a motley mix of Ukrainians, Germans and Romanians enjoyed living in the Carpathians, crafts and commerce. Under Soviet rule it became a village, though one of the largest in Transcarpathia. Today, tourism and hotel industry are developing at a furious pace in Kolochava. This is favored by the local landscape — the valleys of the Tereblya tributary, surrounded by meadows Strymba, Darvayka, Ruzhey, Krasna and Barvink, as well as the presence of nine original museums on the territory of Kolochava. A lucky guest of this Mezhygirsky village will be able to ride uzkokolejka on an antique steam locomotive like in an Austrian alpine resort, see «Lineija Arpada», visit the «Old Village» skansen, the school of sheepherders and the former «Museum of Atheism» — the current Church of the Holy Spirit.
If we stick to the chronological truth, before becoming the «Museum of Atheism», the Holy Spirit Church fulfilled its natural functional role, that is, it served as a sacred structure. It was built on a hill near the main road of Kolochava, in the place that today can be called the historical center of the village. It was built in 1795, during the reign of Franciszek the Second, as the inscription on the door of the temple testifies. It also mentions the main architect of the building — master Ferenc Tekka. In the report of the bishop’s inspections of the Kolochava churches it was written that the Holy Spirit Church could accommodate 300 parishioners and was of the highest quality.
Indeed, those who come to Kolochava, breathtaking not only from the beauty of the temple, but also from the excellent condition of the structure, which has passed the two hundred year mark. It is a double log building. The first log cabin is huge — it is the gut of the temple or babinets. The second one is intended for the altar. The roof is steep and double pitched, placed above each log cabin at different levels. Two decorative towers topped with onions with crosses and a frame bell tower over the babinets stick out of it. The perimeter of the church is surrounded by a vestibule, which protected its foundation from getting wet and allowed the parishioners to hide from the rain. The walls of the church are covered with shingles, the roofs with oak plowshare.
When the Soviet authorities came up with the idea to reorganize the church into a «Museum of Atheism», the native iconostasis, a marvelous example of late Baroque, was taken out and destroyed. It was replaced with portraits of Lenin and Marx. The Svyatodukhov Museum of Atheism underwent restoration in the 1970s.
Due to the fact that the Orthodox and Greek-Catholic community of Kolochava did not come to a consensus on whose church should be and started building their own places for religious rituals, the Svyatodukhov Church remained a museum. However, not of atheism, but a historical and cultural museum.
Today, this Carpathian landmark stands picturesquely on a hillside, surrounded by fir trees and a stylish wooden fence. It is closed, so those who came to have a vacation in the Carpathians and want to see its gut, must ask a history teacher of the local school for the key to the museum. But this particular church is a constant attribute of the local landscape and gives Kolochava a certain ethnographic chic.