The little wooden church at Kwiatoń is often called the most beautiful of its kind in Poland, and when you see it you understand why. Built in the seventeenth century by the Lemko community, it has three parts, each topped by a tower with a bulbous cupola, rising in height from the sanctuary at the east to the bell tower at the west, all clad in wooden shingles and set in a green churchyard among old trees. Inside, painted walls and an iconostasis of icons glow in the dim light. It is one of the wooden tserkvas of the Carpathian region in Poland and Ukraine inscribed by UNESCO in 2013.
The Lemkos, a Rusyn people, lived in these hills of the Beskid Niski for centuries, until most of them were deported in 1947 in Operation Vistula, when the communist authorities forcibly resettled Ukrainian and Lemko populations to western Poland. Many of their churches were taken over by Roman Catholic parishes, and the landscape still bears the scars of abandoned villages and overgrown orchards. In 1915 the First World War swept through too, with the great Gorlice offensive, and many small war cemeteries, some designed by the Slovak architect Dušan Jurkovič, are scattered through the hills.
The roads of the Beskid Niski are quiet, narrow and winding, through forests and valleys and over low passes, with little traffic and lovely views. The surfaces can be rough, especially on the smaller roads, and the weather can change quickly. The area is perfect for relaxed touring, with plenty of wooden churches to explore, and it is beautiful in all seasons, especially in autumn when the forests change colour.
For fuel and a proper meal, ride the seventeen kilometres to Gorlice, which is also known as the place where the world's first street lamp fuelled by kerosene was lit, by Ignacy Łukasiewicz, in 1854. The villages around Kwiatoń have little more than a shop, so plan ahead. The church is usually locked, but it can be visited on certain days, and there is information at the entrance.