Assumption Church, Valyava

The uniqueness and attractiveness of the Bukovyna village of Valiava is not only in the fact that it has its own history museum. The village has preserved the Assumption Church, one of the pearls of wooden churches in the Kitsman region.

The origins of the church's history date back to 1778, when it was built. However, it has not survived to this day in its original form. Numerous reconstructions have significantly changed its appearance.

Initially, its roof was covered with shingles, and the log cabins remained unlined with boards. In 2008, the last restoration of the church was carried out. It was timed to coincide with the 230th anniversary of the church. Unfortunately, the contractors and customers had no understanding of the preservation of historical value and restoration: the roof of the church was sewn up with tin, and the timber covering the log cabins was painted dark green.

Interestingly, the church has been in continuous operation throughout its history, and even during the Soviet Union it was used for its intended purpose.

The church is an interesting example of a wooden church of the transitional type. It organically combines the archaic features of hut and newer domed churches. The roof is steep, and there is a bell tower of earthy forms in the middle of the narthex. There are small decorative domes on the edges of the roof.

The bell tower, which was built in the middle of the 19th century, has been preserved on the territory of the church. Its forms are typical of similar buildings in Bukovyna. There are many old crosses around the church.

The Church of the Assumption is located in the very center of Valiava near the bus stop. Suburban buses from Kitsman and Chernivtsi regularly go to the village. The distance to the regional center is only 24 kilometers. If you are traveling by car, you need to take the M-19 highway to Kitsmani, where you should turn to Valiava, or before reaching Kitsmani, turn right before the village of Lashkivka.

Openinghours: open on Sundays and holidays.

Valiava may have gotten its name from the Romanian word vale, meaning valley. Valiava is a settlement that lies in a wide valley near the Voluvka stream. The village was mentioned in 1413, as well as the neighboring town of Kitsman, in the charter of Alexander the Good. Valiava is located in the Kitsman district, Chernivtsi region. The distance to the regional center is 25 km. The population is 1,560 inhabitants.

The wooden Assumption Church of 1778 in the center of Valiava. The building is based on an archaic type of three-domed church with square log cabins covered with a high pitched roof with a large overhang covering the low cut pyramidal tops of the altar and the narthex. Unlike classical examples of "hut" type churches, the more developed top of the nave cuts through the roof massif, protruding from it as a wide quadrangle, which turns into an octagon with a low hipped end crowned with a dome. The church has a pyramidal silhouette. The bell tower, which is characteristic of Ukrainian wooden architecture, is located to the south of the church and was built in the nineteenth century. It is wooden, two-tiered, frame, and covered with wood. On the second tier of the bell tower there is an arcade for bells. The wide inter-tiered hall and low hipped roof are covered with shingles. The second gable has voice boxes. Throughout its existence, the church was constantly functioning. On the occasion of the 230th anniversary in 2008, restoration work was carried out: the roofs of the church were covered with tin.

In the center of Valiava there is a nineteenth-century residential building (now a kindergarten), and a museum of village history, established in 1985. On the outskirts of the village there is a cross commemorating the abolition of serfdom in 1848.

Valiava is the birthplace of the writer and teacher Vasyl Kishkan (1929-1992), and the famous Romanian writer Olga Koba was born and worked as a teacher here. Honored Worker of Culture of Ukraine Valerii Koshman worked here. Maria Prokopets, a candidate of medical sciences, is a native of Valiava.

The village has the following institutions: a post office, a medical facility, a preschool, an educational institution, a club, a library, and a local history museum. The main population is Ukrainians. The villagers are engaged in farming and animal husbandry, entrepreneurial activities and work in various institutions.