In southeastern Poland, a valuable 17th-century wooden church burned down

Warsaw – In Sanok in the southeast of Poland, a wooden church from the 17th century, which is part of the open-air museum, completely burned down overnight. According to the museum director Marcin Krowiak, the fire destroyed all the church's equipment, including the organ, which was the most valuable item in the sacred building.

The flames also completely destroyed a historical barn and damaged one wall and the roof of a 19th-century cottage. The firefighters managed to rescue several exhibits from it.

St. Nicholas Church was built in 1667 from fir wood in the village of Bonczal Dolny, and its original appearance was preserved after being moved to the open-air museum. Krowiak said that the church had incalculable value. It is surrounded by a stone wall with a shingle top, which burned down. The flames did not destroy the cross standing next to the church.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

The open-air museum in Sanok is one of the largest in Poland, and visitors can view over 150 objects representing the culture of the Polish-Ukrainian borderland in the Carpathians. It includes wooden cottages, Orthodox and Catholic churches, a synagogue, farm buildings, craftsmen's workshops, and a square from a Galician town.