Church of Saint Nicolas, Eastern Orthodox church in Bodružal, Slovakia
The Church of Saint Nicolas is an Eastern Orthodox church in Bodružal built with traditional log construction. The structure features three wooden towers and a shingle roof.
The church was built in 1658 by the parishioners of Bodružal. At the start of World War I, its smallest and largest bells were requisitioned for military use; villagers replaced them in the second half of the 1920s, the largest funded by forester Michal Zelizňák and the smallest by public collection. The oldest bell is dated 1759. On 8 July 2008 the church was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list under number 1273-007.
The interior displays an iconostasis with religious paintings from the 18th century that show Eastern Orthodox artistic traditions. These works reveal how the local community expressed its faith through visual means.
You can visit the church in the Svidník district where basic information is available. The best time to visit is a dry day so you can fully appreciate the wooden structure.
The iconostasis is painted on both sides, which the English Wikipedia article describes as the only such case in Slovakia. Its central royal doors are double-winged, gilded and richly carved, and the first row shows the Baptism of Christ, the Mother of God, Christ the Teacher and Saint Nicholas.
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