St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Church in Wielkie Oczy

The St. Nicholas Church in Wielkie Oczy, built in 1925, is a former Greek Catholic church that now stands empty and devoid of furnishings. It is part of the Wooden Architecture Trail and represents a late phase in the development of Orthodox church architecture. It was constructed on the foundations of previous Uniate churches, the first of which was built in 1654 on the initiative of Moses Mohyła. A subsequent church from 1820 was destroyed during World War I, leading to the construction of the current one, designed by Jan Sas-Zubrzycki and executed under the supervision of Eustachy Seredyński. An interesting feature is the freestanding bell tower, which once housed the Symeon bell. In the 1930s, the church required repairs, which were funded by the parishioners. After World War II, as a result of Operation "Vistula" and the displacement of Ukrainians, the building was repurposed as a warehouse, resulting in the loss of all its furnishings. After 1989, conservation work was carried out, and in 1990, a symbolic religious service was held. Architecturally, the church is distinguished by its half-timbered construction with a brick and concrete foundation. It is built on a rectangular plan, with a single higher nave and a separate women's section (babińcem). Its roof, floor, and eaves are wooden, and the neo-Renaissance dome features round windows. The interior was modestly decorated in blue, yellow, and red, though only traces of this remain today. After the fall of the Polish People's Republic in 1990, basic conservation work was undertaken, and in 2011, efforts were made to secure the building, which is in poor technical condition.