The ancient churches of Transcarpathia are very special sights that make a deep impression on everyone who gets acquainted with them. They fascinate fans of ancient architecture and cause awe in those for whom, first of all, they have religious significance. One of such amazing churches is the Church of St. Nicholas in the village of Srednee Vodyanoye, Rakhiv district, Transcarpathian region.
Although the village of Srednee Vodyanoye is quite small, it is rich in sights — only there is not one, but two ancient churches here! And both of them are erected in honor of one saint — St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. One of the temples of St. Nicholas is called Upper and the other Lower by locals — not to be confused, because each of them is interesting in its own way and deserves separate attention. The Upper Church is located on a higher hill, and the Lower Church, respectively, on a lower one. The temples are very similar — both rise majestically above the rest of the buildings, which looks very beautiful, but makes you feel awe — the temples are dark, mysterious, look fantastic both surrounded by greenery in summer and among snowy hills in winter.
Both the Upper and Lower temples were built in the XV-XVII centuries by one artel, but the names of the builders have not survived to this day. The curious question is: how did the locals and craftsmen come to the desire to build two temples at once? After all, the construction of shrines has always been a difficult business: it was not easy to find funds, and usually in small settlements only one church was erected. Probably, now we will never get the answer to this question, but it is even more interesting!
The Upper Church of St. Nicholas is one of the oldest wooden churches in the Carpathians and Ukraine as a whole, the oldest attraction of Rakhivshchyna. Since 1428 the foundation of the cloister — oak log cabins — has been preserved, and nowadays the towering superstructure over them was made in 1600! This landmark is almost half a millennium old, which is not hard to believe when looking at it, but not because it may be the first thing that comes to mind — the perfectly preserved authentic temple bears traces of Old Believer architecture and at the same time fascinates with its medieval Romanesque forms, each of its planks, each particle breathes antiquity. The high tower with a pointed end, steep high roof, lancet windows — the features of Gothic architecture are clearly visible here. Such a striking mixture of styles is the result of the fact that at all times in the village lived both Romanians and Ukrainians, the mixture of cultures and led to the appearance of a Christian Orthodox church with such an unusual architecture. The last rebuilding of the temple took place in 1760, when a high tower appeared above the temple and a four-tiered iconostasis appeared in its interior.
Everything is unique in this attraction: both its appearance and interior decoration, because here from ancient times have been preserved wall paintings and frescoes of high artistic value, which can boast very few ancient wooden temples of the Carpathians, the age of three centuries and more. Looking at this temple from the outside and visiting it inside (today it is active), it is impossible not to feel as if you have been transported several centuries back, not to feel the special atmosphere that happens only in such ancient sacred places, prayed by many generations. Everyone who comes to holiday in Solotvino, as well as in other nearby settlements, necessarily visit the church of St. Nicholas. The fame of this landmark Solotvino has spread far beyond the Rakhivshchyna and even the country as a whole, to see it, tourists come here even from abroad.