Search of Authenticity in Sacral Architecture in the Territory of Western Ukraine

Abstract

With the proclamation of the Ukrainian independence, the revival of national culture, the restoration of existing and the construction of new religious buildings began. The process of active construction of temples continues today, so the search of national features in temple construction is extremely relevant.The purpose of the research is to analyze the creations of Western Ukrainian architects, who, from the late 19th and early 21st centuries, made stylistic searches for national identity in sacral architecture, taking into account the latest trends in European construction. The process of transition from the tendency of reproduction of historically developed forms and images of the late 19th and early 20th centuries to modern experiments in the sacral architecture of the 21st century is shown for the first time. The data about modern architects and new most significant temples constructed by their projects was introduced in the scientific field.The work was performed within the framework of the scientific project "Art of Ternopil region" of the Department of Fine Arts and Design of Ternopil V. Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University; research coordinator of the project is professor of Lviv Polytechnic National University B. Cherkes Analyzing the history of the development of the sacral architecture of modern Ukraine, we see that historical events in the country and in the world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries on the territory of Eastern Galicia have led to the national and social uplift and the search for a national identity in the construction of temples. It was established that architects took, as the basis the structure of the Byzantine temple, which corresponded to the traditions of the Ukrainian church ceremony and the Galician authentic architecture. It is proved that in the first stage of the creativity of architects, one of the main form developing principles was stylization of folk art, eclecticism, and the treatment of historical prototypes. An important source for imitation in their work was the Baroque architecture of the Cossack era, the search for the Ukrainian temple identity in modern realia at that time was a further direction for the development. Experimenting with different historical styles, architects declared a new Ukrainian sacral style, the planning and stylistic schemes of which are relevant nowadays. With the advent of the Soviet regime in Western Ukraine in 1939, church construction was prohibited and lots of temples were destroyed. A new stage in the construction and restoration of churches began in 1990. The first temple buildings of this period affected the tendency to recreate the forms and images that were historically formed till 1939 using the stylistic characteristics of their architectural decisions, and experiments with the modernism form in sacral art began after 1995.The results of the study contribute to our knowledge on the history of the Ukrainian architecture; they can be used for further research, textbooks and manuals; they will be used in the educational process in the preparation of designers and architects, in memorabilia activity.