The article analyses the impact of natural environment on the creation of a Christian church design, as an example, reviews the Orthodox architecture of Ukraine – historical and contemporary one. From time immemorial, Orthodox churches were erected in the most picturesque places – on high hills, steep banks, near rivers and lakes – so that the temple was reflected in the water surface. A typical example is the historical silhouette of the steep right bank of Kyiv, formed by many churches, cathedrals and monasteries located along the edge of the hilly shore. If temples in the urban environment were constrained by the conditions of dense quarterly development (the principal cathedrals and monasteries were an exception), then the peculiarity of the remote suburban monasteries – the hermitages – was precisely the creation of nature and architecture picturesque combination. At the monasteries, parks, gardens and flower beds were created, artificial lakes were arranged. During the domination of the atheistic ideology, temple construction was in decline, most of the cathedrals, churches and monasteries were destroyed or redesigned under the socialist functions of clubs, museums of atheism, schools and storages. The contemporary course in the creation of new Orthodox churches is aimed at restoring the lost sequence in the church building. In this case, particular attention is paid to the natural environment: churches are built in park areas, in forest parks, on the banks of lakes, surrounded by flower beds. The relevance of the study is explained by the presence in Ukraine of a large number of Orthodox churches – both architectural monuments and newly built, which are traditionally surrounded by gardens, parks and flower gardens as symbols of their non-earthly purpose, the image of the Garden of Eden. Therefore, during the restoration and new construction of such objects, it is necessary to understand the features of the сhurch landscape design, which has been formed and improved over the centuries.

The article analyses the origins of such a small architectural form as the Chinese pavilion, investigates its functional, planning and artistic figurative features. The evolution of functional and artistic figurative solution of pavilions from dynasty to dynasty is determined. On the basis of the dimensions of the preserved pavilions, their proportional and metro-rhythmic features were determined; a list of the most characteristic forms of roofs as the main exponents of the national originality of the Chinese pavilions was compiled. The reasons for the revival of the tradition of “chinoiserie” style in modern landscape design are argued.

Abstract. The presented article is aimed at presenting a few selected examples of small European historic towns whose properly protected cultural heritage considerably contributes to their development in the 21 st century. The issue of protection and revalorisation of Polish towns, particularly the smaller ones, is relevant nowadays. Historic heritage seems to be a burden for local authorities and residents because very often they are not aware of how it could contribute to the multidirectional development of their towns. The local inhabitants and authorities of small historic towns in Western European countries respect their heritage much more than Poles, as they associate it with the idea of sustainable development, "place specificity", and finally, with an opportunity for development, treating cultural heritage as a basis for economic progress and building new and modern infrastructure. It is worth drawing attention here, that sustainable development denotes changing the reality in such a way that the development would optimally satisfy the needs of modern man, without violating the needs of future generations. The testimony to the potential of the cultural heritage of historic towns in the context of their modern development is borne by the towns whose authorities and inhabitants were able to utilise their past for building their future. As examples one could name here French (e.g. Auxerre, Provins,) or German towns (e.g. Heppenheim, Lorsch).

The article deals with three groups of issues, which are closely interrelated. The main problem discussed is the issue of the reconstruction, revalorisation and protection of Ukrainian monuments exposed to destruction as a result of warfare and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The second issue presented is the experience of Polish conservators in the area of cities destroyed during World War II. The third issue is international legislation in the field of heritage protection, which was analysed for the planned activities in the area of reconstruction and revaluation of Ukrainian monuments after the end of the war. The above-mentioned research was carried out by a Polish-Ukrainian team of heritage conservators, which seeks to be involved in the process of saving Ukrainian cultural heritage.

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