Opis wydawcy
"[...] Many vestiges of that brotherhood survive in Poland, where once vast expanses of forest stretched and Nature supplied Man with an everyday stock of material to build his civilisation. Wood was the resource for the first castles and strongholds, fortalices, cottages, country houses and palaces. But another class of fine dwellings erected here were the houses for divine worship. These magnificent places of prayer, traditionally built in wood for many religions, rites, and denominations, still stand today. They still testify to the brotherhood, that extraordinary union of Man with Nature, and to its unique fruits. The mastercraftsmen not only had to know the wood, but also to understand their patrons' wishes, and to put them into their own language - the language of the beams, braces, trusses, logs and cupolas. Just how they met the many challenges is best displayed in their works. There is probably no other country in Europe - and very few elsewhere - with wooden edifices for the divine worship of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Inside them for centuries people have been praying in various tongues, invoking the Deity in a multiplicity of names. But the master-builder has always been the same. And will be recognised by one able to read his works. The Roman Catholic churches are the most numerous, understandably. The oldest as regards indisputable dating is at Zborowek, with the year 1459 carved into a board to mark its foundation. Haczow Church may go back even to the mid-14th century, thus a counterpart of the last monarch of the Piast dynasty." (from the Introduction). -- Contents: Roman Catholic Churches; Lutheran Churches; Uniate Catholic Churches; Orthodox Churches; Old Believers' Prayer-Houses; Mosques; Synagogues: Places of Worship No Longer Extant; Glossary; Map
