Nov/24

Unique Fortified Church of Holy Protection in Sutkivtsi

No comments · Posted by Sergei Rzhevsky in Architecture, Regions, Travel

This architectural monument is unique for Ukraine. The Holy Protection Fortress Church is located in the village of Sutkivtsi in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, about 47 km south of Khmelnytskyi.

It was built as a defensive church at the expense of the nobleman and owner of these lands, Fyodor Sutkovetsky, in 1476. It combines features of the Gothic and Baroque styles. The thickness of its walls is about 1.5 meters.

The first floor was the church where liturgies were held, and on the second floor there were loopholes around the perimeter and small corner towers used for defense. The building is located in the very center of the village, on a low hill.

The Holy Protection Fortress Church in Sutkivtsi is currently a functioning church and museum, the only example of the tetraconch type of Ukrainian defensive sacred architecture (a square central hall with four semicircular apses adjoining it in the form of petals).

This is an excellent example of religious architecture in Ukraine, which is visited by Ukrainian and foreign tourists, an architectural monument of national importance. The territory of Ukraine and Khmelnytskyi Oblast in particular, as a historical arena of numerous raids, is rich in old defensive churches. Sutkivtsi on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.