Darevo. The Church of the Ascension of the Virgin Mary.

The history of the church goes deep into the past. Its first mention dates back to 1440. The construction was initiated by Peter Mondrigovich, the owner of the local territories. In 1500, the land was taken over by the Kishka family, under which the Catholic parish of the Bishop of Vilna was founded.

During the Patriotic War of 1812, the church burned down, and in 1841, thanks to Priest Bernard Misevich, a new wooden church was erected. Interestingly, the famous Belarusian philosopher Florian Bokhvits was one of the parishioners and generously donated funds for the construction.

During the First World War, the population left the village, and she herself found herself in the center of hostilities – the battle there was especially fierce. The locals returned only by 1916, but the houses and churches were destroyed, leaving only ruins.

The construction of this Catholic church was carried out in the period from 1931 to 1938. Due to the lack of funds and building materials, blocks carved in the surrounding German pillboxes of the 1st World War were used in the construction.

The church was built on a hill above the river on the site of destroyed wooden churches. In August 1938, the church was consecrated.

During the fighting in 1944, the troops fired cannons at the church. However, the building survived.

During the long post-war years of Soviet power, the church was used as a warehouse, and in the mid-80s it was almost destroyed despite regular requests from believers to return the temple to them.

It was only in 1990 that the church was returned to the faithful. The building has been renovated. During the restoration, remnants of WWII shells were found in one of the walls.

 The solemn re-consecration of the church took place on August 15, 1992.