St. Nicholas Church, Nyzhni Stanovtsi

The St. Nicholas Church in the village of Nyzhni Stanovtsi is another interesting and noteworthy site in the Kitsman district of Bukovyna. By the way, the architectural monument has national status.

The church was built in 1794, but in the early 19th century it underwent significant reconstruction. It was not closed in Soviet times. All the time it functioned as a parish church for the local Orthodox community. A few years ago, the village community made repairs, replaced the boards and ceilings.

Recently, it was somewhat restored at the expense of the local community. The floor and the main elements of the ceiling were replaced. However, during the restoration, the church completely lost its original appearance and now looks more like a newly built wooden church

The church is an interesting object in terms of wooden architecture of Bukovyna. Its forms are transitional from the typical Bukovinian archaic house-type churches to the Hutsul type. It is united with the hut type by a long pitched roof, and with the newer Hutsul type by a dome over the central part of the church.

Thechurch in Nyzhni Stanivtsi is a transitional link from the "house" type of churches to the churches of the Hutsul school. However, unlike the Assumption Church in Valiava, St. Nicholas Church is still closer to the "hut" type of buildings and has traditional features of this type: a high pitched roof with a large overhang that hides the low tops of the side log cabins, and an entrance from the south. Only a small octagon with a hipped roof over the nave characterizes the monument as a transitional link from domeless to more complex domed churches. The roof of the church is covered with tin, and the walls are lined with wood. A traditional wooden square-plan, two-tiered frame bell tower is located to the southeast of the church. There is a hall between the upper and lower tiers, and the second tier has a four-pitched roof.

Nowadays, a newly built church has grown up next to it, which better meets the needs of the growing community. The bell tower, which is the same age as the church, has been preserved on the church grounds, but it did not fall victim to restoration and has retained its shape.

St. Nicholas Church is located in the center of the village, so it is not difficult to find. The easiest way to get to Nyzhni Stanivtsi is by car, as the village lies on both sides of the main transportation routes. To do this, you need to turn off the H-10 Chernivtsi-Ivano-Frankivsk highway in Dubivtsi towards Vyzhnytsia, and then in the village of Brusnytsia turn left to Nyzhni Stantsivtsi on the T-2620 road. There are also regular buses from Chernivtsi and Kitsmani.

From Brusnytsia , you should drive south to the village of Nyzhni Stantsivtsi, which was first mentioned in written sources in 1596. Obviously, the name "Stanivtsi" comes from the word "camp". There are many stories and legends about the origin of the village name. One of them says that a road from north to south once passed through the village. At the place where Nyzhni Stanivtsi village is now located, there were stables where oxen and horses were driven to rest. Another legend says that during the period of Turkish-Tatar raids on Bukovyna, Turks and Tatars stopped here. Thus, both the first and second legends mention the word "stan".

It is likely that the name of the village comes from this word. The village has a long history, as evidenced by the cultural monuments found on its territory. In the eastern part of the village, in the Iryshche tract, a large number of Late Paleolithic flint tools have been collected, and on the corners of Zadnia, Vyshneva, Tatarska streets, there are tools of the Trypillian culture of the third millennium B.C. These are memorable axes and hoes, various scrapers, flint sickles, and arrowheads. An early Slavic settlement was discovered in the southeastern part of the village in the Hlyboka tract, where fragments of ceramics of the third- and fourth-century AD were collected.

In Austrian times, Stanyntsi had a respectable status as the center of a judicial district. The residence of the county court was located here.

The first written mention of the village of Nyzhni Stanivtsi dates back to 1596. Nyzhni Stanivtsi is a village located in the Kitsman district, Chernivtsi region. The distance to the regional center is 50 km. The population is 1847 inhabitants.

The village has the following institutions: post office, medical institution, educational institution, club, library. There is St. Nicholas Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate in the village. The church was built in 1794 and rebuilt in 1808-1810. The main population is Ukrainians. The villagers are engaged in farming and animal husbandry, entrepreneurial activity and work in various institutions.