Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Ostrovno

Sacred and Troitsk church churchmonument of architecture of the XVI-XVII centuries. It was reconstructed several times, in various style – from a gothic style to pseudo-Russian. Displays all important stages of development of the Belarusian architecture.

The village of Ostrovno is well-known first of all that here in 1557 the outstanding figure of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the author of a brilliant monument of a legal thought – the Statute of 1588 – Lev Sapega was born.

The founder of a church in Ostrovno researchers call the king Zhigimont II Augustus who ordered to build the temple in honor of brilliant victories here in 1564 when troops of Grand Duchy of Lithuania crushed army of the Moscow state under Chashnikami and near Orsha at the time of the Livonian war. The king offered for the new temple the fine image of the Virgin decorated with expensive salary. Assume that Jan Maria Bernardoni under whose management the residence Radzivillov in Nesvizhe was built was an architect to whom the temple construction was entrusted. Judging by the remained laying, originally the church was constructed in Gothic style. During further wars the temple strongly was damaged, but was recovered by order of the Vitebsk voivode Mikhail Patey. After reconstruction the church purchased lines of the Renaissance, and internal furniture was executed in Baroque style. About 1620 Alexander Sapega, the voivode Mstislavlsky, built the monastery in case of a church and invited monks of a Dominican award. At the end of the 18th century the temple was reconstructed again, having given it lines in style of classicism.

The village of Ostrovno is well-known also that here on July 25-27, 1812 there was a battle between the receding Russian army and the French army of Napoleon.

After the revolt of 1863-1864 the church has been given to orthodox church and reconstructed in the pseudo-Russian style. The temple was turned" by 180 degrees: the altar was transferred to the east, there was a tower of a belfry and typical for this bulbs style.

At the time of the Soviet Union in the temple the warehouse was arranged. Then it was transferred to other place, and the empty building began to decay and collapse. In the neighborhood of Vitebsk this unique escaped cult building known since the XVI century.

Today powerful walls thickness more than 1,5 meters, arch overlappings have remained. Funeral crypts in thick bearing walls are opened and long ago are plundered. The prior of the temple tries to restore church by own efforts, however they are obviously not enough.

reveal all text