The Shandrovo Village. The church and the salt spring well.

The village of Oleksandrivka of the Hust Region is found on the Pomyinica river (260 meters above the sea level). The location is quite unique in that the village is sitting in the small valley between several mountain ridges. To the north of the village there’s Mt. Korunec (493 meters above the sea level), to the south-east Mt. Kicher (464 meters above the sea level) and Paporotishte (454 meters above the sea level), to the north east – Rako Chertersh (497 meters above the sea level). The village is mentioned as early as 1390 and previously held a name of Shandrovo (or Shandrove). Between the 15th and the 19th centuries the village was best known for its salt springs which served as the predominant regional source of table salt. Salt water would be transported to its final destination in the barrels by means of the oxen-powered carriages. Salt was also quite actively mined over the five century period. The branched system of mines with the wooden walls has actually made it to modern days and is generally quite well preserved. Salt spring water wells, on the other hand, used to be numerous but today only one can found in the village. The well is given a pretty self-explanatory name of the "the well of Shandrovo".



When we got to the well, the salt water was overflowing. It was brought to our attention that way back in the day, when the demand for the salt water was at its highest, one had to take the stairwell all the way down to the bottom of the well to get some water. The quality of the water has also changed. Apparently, it used to have a bit of a jelly feel to it while today it’s highly concentrated with a thin film of salt and some garbage floating on the surface.



We were also told the proximity of the village to the underground salt deposits makes the development of regular spring water wells quite impossible. Apparently, mountainous streams have to be used as a source of fresh-water. At least, that’s what it used to be like and I’m not totally sure if anything has changed since.

I should say the salt spring well isn’t the sole attraction of the village. Shandrovo is also known for its old wooden church. The Church of St. Mother Prascovia, erected in 1753 and is found in «The golden church rectangle», a name given to the geographical area whereby each corner of the rectangle is represented by an old wooden church. On the outside, the church is remarkably similar to Danilov’s Church. In fact, it’s difficult to see any obvious differences at first sight. Perhaps, the arc shape on the tower differs a bit. The church is located on the hill in the center of the village. The walls are slightly tilted inside and the foundation is made out of logs about 9 m in length. The church is composed of the three main components. At the top, there’s a tower with a tall gothic spire. The walls have been decorated back in 1779 by an artist Stefan Terebelski.



The open stairwell in a form of an arch



A tall two storey belfry built at the same time is found right next to the church





An old cross made out of stone is found right at the entrance



And a bit of criticism instead of an afterword. Don’t get me wrong, the church itself is beautiful although there’re several "buts". I was disappointed to see a bunch of random buildings all around it. The church itself cannot be seen because of all the houses. There’s no way of driving up directly to it either. The only way to approach the church is by hiking up a tiny barely visible trail. Have a look at the picture below. Some houses are practically touching the church. On top of this, the backyards of the villagers are barely half a meter away from the old church cemetery and some are even partially on it.



But the thing which almost ruined the whole visit was the gate to the church, which had a huge lock on it. We were forced to walk around for quite some time until we found a way a spot where we could climb the fence. I may not understand all the intricacies of the religion but I was under the impression that "nothing should be standing on the path to God". So what’s up with the lock? Are they afraid the tourist will do something to the church? That’s just ridiculous. It’s not like the lock can possibly prevent anyone from conducting any sort of wrongdoing anyway. Luckily, only a few times I’ve seen this during several years of visiting the Transcarpatian churches.

05.01.2011. 08:54

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