Guklivyi is a not insignificant and far from abandoned village located in the southeastern part of Volovetsky District of Transcarpathian Oblast. The absence of bright peaks within walking radius of the village, such as Hoverla or Bliznica, is offset by the many low mountains — precedents of Borzhava and the Beskid range of the Ukrainian Carpathians. The village has a dozen sawmills and an original railroad viaduct, similar to those built in the mountains of Switzerland, France and Great Britain. By the way, the slopes of the local mountains are covered with a carpet of blueberry bushes, which have become a stable, albeit seasonal source of income for the villagers. The blueberry-feeder even received its own monument, cast in bronze for the money of local businessman Eugene Sukhetsky. This modest jaffin branch managed to overshadow the more ancient landmark of Hukliwo — the wooden Church of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit Church is one of the 3 temples of the village. It was built in XVII century for the money of the local Lemk community. When in 1945 the Soviet power appeared on the lands of Transcarpathia, it was found an ideal place for the opening of the «Museum of Atheism». This allowed the interiors and iconostasis of the church to be preserved in pristine condition, i.e. in the state that was in the Holy Spirit Church under the Austro-Hungarian Empire, under Czechoslovakia and Hungary.
So, the Svyatoduchovský Church was erected by the Lemkos in the XVII century. Unlike their own huts, the church was built on a foundation. Stones for it were chosen from the bottom of the nearest river and fastened with clay mortar, mixed not only on water, but also on eggs. The temple is considered to be a three-room temple, but an uninitiated traveler will not notice it — this sacral construction looks so solid and integral. The walls of the temple were made of fir instead of the traditional pine or oak. It is known that piles and floors of houses in Venice were made of Ukrainian fir. Perhaps it was this material that allowed the church to survive the troubled Soviet times and the period of economic depression in young Ukraine.
The entire Church of St. Spirit is covered with a single double-sloped roof and perimeter vaulting. The roof is covered with shingles. The roof and poddashiye visually occupy about two thirds of the structure, making it similar to either a mushroom or a haystack. In fact, before that temples were built by covering each log cabin with a separate roof. A tower with an original Byzantine top rises above the altar part. The iconostasis made in the late Baroque style is considered the main value of the temple. It is the work of the German artist Franz Peer.
In the 70th year the regional authorities financed the repair of the «Museum of Atheism», so the temple received a new shingled roof. Two stone crosses and an eight-meter high frame bell tower make the church’s company for the third century in a row.
Today the temple is on the list of incapacitated attractions of the Carpathians, which need restoration. Then he would be able to return to his primary duties of glorifying God. In addition, many people travel to the Carpathians. Some of them stay at a local militarized hotel dedicated to the Arpad Line. You won’t find such a thing on a holiday in Pilipets, nor in Volovets, nor in Yaremche. Therefore, in Hukliwy, rich in blueberries and historical sights, the sector responsible for spirituality is lost. The restoration of the church would attract many more guests to the village. An ancient church, the remains of the Arpad line and blueberry plantations — this is the perfect Carpathian recreational set!