In Drohobych, the 10th anniversary of the inclusion of St. George’s Church in the UNESCO World Heritage List was celebrated. The museum festival on the occasion of the anniversary was held on the territory of the shrine yesterday, May 18.
Along with the anniversary, local residents and guests of the region celebrated World Embroidery Day and International Museum Day. The program of the event included a festive concert, thematic workshops for children, a charity fair, refreshments, and a photo day.
Also, the guests of the holiday had a unique opportunity to learn details about the church, its history, legends, values, restoration and vision of the future, within the framework of a professional panel discussion. The speakers were scientists from Lviv and Drohobych, who are researching and restoring the monument.
“Since 2015, the crosses of the church baths have been restored with the funds of the regional budget, fire protection treatment of wooden structures has been carried out, new lightning protection systems and electrical networks have been installed, the area around the church has been improved, and the unique wall paintings of the monument have been restored. Regarding the wooden belfry of the church: its foundations, supporting structures of the external walls were restored, with partial replacement, where such a need arose, walls were covered with shingles. In 2020-2021, 1.2 million hryvnias were allocated for these works.
Last year, due to the outbreak of a full-scale war and a lack of funding, all work was suspended. But already this year, we plan to continue the restoration – 3 million hryvnias have been allocated for this in the regional budget – the open gallery of the monument will be restored”, – emphasized the director of the department of architecture and development of urban planning of Lviv OVA Olena Vasylko.
As Alla Gladun, head of the “Drohobychchyna” museum, emphasized, now the shrine is an active temple, museum and center of public life in the city. Here they pray for the victory of Ukraine, the health of our soldiers, and also mourn the fallen heroes. Tourists from different countries of the world – France, Switzerland, China – come to visit this unique attraction.
“The church has a huge potential for forming, creating the image of the entire city. Now it is not yet fully implemented. A lot of work still needs to be done to make our wooden beauty even more attractive. Its beauty should be revealed not only to the world, but also to the people of Drohobych,” Alla Gladun emphasized.
We remind you that the restoration of the iconostasis of the Church of St. George, which dates back to the 17th century, is ongoing. About 25 specialists of the National Research Restoration Center of Ukraine have been working on its restoration for three years now. The restoration of the attraction is planned to be completed in the summer of this year.