The Belfry at Polany Surowiczne

Polany Surowiczne is now an uninhabited valley, in which a populous Lemko people village stretched out before the war. It is located about 12 km south of Rymanów, at the foot of Polańska (737 m a. s. l.) and the Bukowica Range. Like most of villages in this area, this one was inhabited almost exclusively by Lemko people. About 1000 people lived here in the interwar period. In the village was a wooden Greek Catholic Church dedicated to St. Archangel Michael (1728) with a separate stone belfry (1820). In 1946 Polany and other villages were completely displaced to the former USSR (now Ukraine) and the buildings were destroyed. The Orthodox church was also demolished - only the foundations remained and from the stone belfry disappeared the wooden roof together with the dome. Several gravestones have survived in the cemetery. Until 2010, thanks to the efforts of the Association "STYKI” Electricians’ Tourist Club the renovation works of the belfry began. The trees growing on the belfry were cut down, the walls were cleaned and secured. The roof was reconstructed based on the image of the roof of non-existing anymore Orthodox church in Osławica and then covered with sheet metal. Subsequently, it is planned to make a structure for hanging the bell and make a stone floor inside the building. All works were done socially.