Gervyaty. Church of the Holy Trinity.

Story

The Catholic parish in Gervyaty was founded in 1526 by Bishop Jan of Vilnius, and a small wooden church was built at the same time. It fell into disrepair and in 1621, Bishop Evstafiy Volovich founded a new wooden church of the Holy Trinity (which burned down in 1736). In the 1820s, the church underwent major renovations at the expense of collector Matej Domejko. In 1860, Kazimir Domeyko laid the foundation for the stone bell tower, and in 1862 he renovated the building. Another renovation was carried out in 1894-1895. Three years later the church was demolished. In 1899-1903, a majestic stone church in the neo-Gothic style was erected in its place by the architect Vaclav Mikhniewicz. The temple was consecrated on September 8, 1904.

According to chronicles, more than 70 people worked on construction every day. A brick factory was specially built outside the village, where they made high-quality bricks for the temple. Lime was mined from the Losha River. For strength, eggs collected by the thousands from local peasants were added to the lime mortar. The roof tiles were brought from Germany. The main funds for construction came from Vaclav Domeyko and his mother, Angela Domeyko (from the noble family of Narushevich). Her son-in-law, Stanislav Poplavsky, donated tiles for the church, brought from Germany.

Repairs were carried out in 1982-1990. The height of the bell tower is 61 m. The Gervyatsky Church is one of the three tallest churches in the Republic of Belarus and is one of the best examples of the neo-Gothic style in the country.

Architecture

The Church of the Holy Trinity is a typical example of the neo-Gothic style. The temple has three naves and a small transept, the naves are separated from each other by two rows of five columns each. There is no apse behind the presbytery. A characteristic element of the temple's architecture are multi-stage buttresses, turning into flying buttresses . The walls of the temple are cut through by narrow lancet window openings in niches.

In the church there is an organ made in 1882 by Florian Ostromecki from Vilnius. It was built from organ elements transferred from the Ostrowiec and Šumskas churches, which were closed in 1866 as part of the repression after the Second Polish Uprising (1863–1864).

In front of the temple there are several wooden crosses with rich carvings, which is typical for churches in Lithuania. Around the temple there is a landscape park with rare ornamental plants and figures of the apostles.

Services in the church are held in Belarusian and Lithuanian.

The temple is called “little Switzerland” and “Belarusian Notre Dame”. According to a number of surveys, it is recognized as the most beautiful church in Belarus.