The sculptures of former residents in Wołtuszowa

Wołtuszowa is a former, non-existent any more village located in the Czarny Potok valley, 2 km southeast of the center of Rymanów-Zdrój. The village was mainly inhabited by the Lemkos, but in 1945 the inhabitants were displaced to the area of Tarnopol (Ukraine) and the buildings were destroyed. The Orthodox church from 1899 survived this period but in 1953 it was demolished according to the instructions of the contemporary authorities. To the present, after the former residents an Orthodox church with a part of the baptismal font and a cemetery with several tombstones have survived. Next to it there is an unusual gallery. These are wooden sculptures presenting former residents - Lemkos and the activities they dealt with. There are 9 of them, a bear and 2 sheep. An older, Lemko married couple was placed closest to the church, next to them sits Lemkini (Lemko woman), who is churning butter. Then there are two musicians, one of them is playing harmony, the other is playing the violin. Another sculpture presents a shepherd playing on a pipe and surrounded by sheep. The next character is a woodcutter holding a hatchet. Next is a blacksmith who is holding a hammer in his hand and an anvil next to him. The last sculpture probably shows someone like a hunter, lurking for a bear, because he is holding a knife in one hand and a hatchet in the other. Other sculptures of this type stand in the valley of Czarny Potok in the Horodziska clearing.