Late at night (okay, it wasn't that late, but it was pitch black, so that has to count as night!) we arrive in Ladomirová. Finally, another wooden church! And finally a UNESCO World Heritage Site again.
In order to signal to the young people at "our" campsite that we are just normal tourists, we get out, greet them in a friendly manner and first go to the beautifully lit church. Which is closed, of course.
We are amazed: it is the end of September and we are walking through the pitch dark night, dressed in flip-flops, shorts and short-sleeved shirts. We feel like we're on a summer holiday. The only thing missing is the Mediterranean street café atmosphere. But we create it ourselves: Casa Felix serves spaghetti!
In the morning then the church: unfortunately closed again. Now we realise that it is autumn after all and thus clearly the low season.
But why are there so many wooden churches here and in the region?
"Articular churches" is a name derived from certain rules, the so-called articularia. These rules were laid down in 1681 at a large meeting, the Ödenburg Diet. At that time, Emperor Leopold I said that his Protestant citizens were allowed to build some churches in the Hungarian part of his empire.
They were allowed to build two churches in each Hungarian region (yes, this was Hungarian then) and one in each special town. That was a nice gesture, especially since there were religious tensions at the time.
But there was a catch: the people who made these rules secretly wanted these churches not to last long. That's why there were many building regulations. For example, the churches had to be made of wood, without metal parts and without a solid foundation. They were also not allowed to have a bell tower, had to be outside the city and had to be built in only one year. Despite these many rules, some builders were very creative and built impressive churches.
Each building has its own style, especially when you look at the roofs, the little towers and the windows. Inside, you can often tell which denomination they belong to. Many of these beautiful churches stand in particularly beautiful places and are important cultural treasures. Particularly striking: the Greek Catholic wooden churches often have towers that look like onions. Some even have three of them!
The wooden church of Ladomirová is an impressive example of traditional wooden architecture in Slovakia. With its unique construction, which does not require the use of nails, and its rich interior with beautiful icons and frescoes, it naturally arouses our curiosity. Well, once again we can only look from the outside, but that is also well worth seeing!
In addition, we have quite a long stretch ahead of us today, we want to drive through the entire eastern mountain region. Because at the very back, near the Ukrainian border, today is our easternmost destination in Slovakia and this autumn trip! After that, we're heading back again, after all, we still have a nice appointment near Berlin.
So, after a visit to the church and a quick breakfast in the otherwise colourless Ladomirová, we roll on, always heading east!
Merci for "travelling with us
We are thinking about taking another break from travelling in the summer and visiting our families in Germany and Switzerland. One of the ideas is to organise a Lecture about our long journey to the Persian Gulf to prepare. If you would like to, what would interest you the most? We will also tell stories here that don't find a place here on the blog. We're thinking of the Bern and Berlin area - simply because we have family there. But other places are also conceivable. Feel free to write to us.
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