Murovanaya Oshmyanka. The Church of the Virgin Mary.

Murovanaya Oshmyanka is an unusual place. There are interesting sights and a rich history here. 

Together with the surrounding lands, Muroshmyanka was mentioned in chronicles in the first half of the 16th century as the property of Wojciech Stabrowski. Later, these lands were bought by Nikolai Narushevich, and since 1574 they have been possessions. The Dorogostayskys, whose family is connected with one of the attractions in Murovanaya Oshmyanka - an ancient printing house. 

Oshmyanka remained behind Dorogostaysky for almost 80 years. It was the famous statesman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Krzysztof Dorogostaysky, who set up a printing house in his family estate, where in the 16th century the first book on the anatomy and physiology of horses in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was printed, "Hypika", as well as the book "Censura", 1615, directed against heretical Arians from Poland. The book is currently kept in the Rare book department of the National Library of Belarus. Krzysztof Dorogostajski was buried at his ancestral estate in the family crypt. A memorial stone was laid in the village in honor of the founder of the printing house.

Then these lands pass into the possession of the Sapieha. And from them, the richest possessions become the property of the Vazhinsky family. The estate in Oshmyanshchina belonged to the Vazhinsky family for more than 150 years. It is believed that Ignatius Vazhinsky built a stone palace in the architectural style of classicism on the foundation of the Dorogostaysky printing house in the middle of the 19th century. The upper floor was completed, so that the former ground floor became the basement. Vazhinsky was also the initiator of the construction in 1790 of a wooden church in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The church is a building with a bell tower and is an example of Baroque and classicism in folk wooden architecture. The cross configuration of the church is given by a small transept, the pediments of which, like the pediment of the main facade, are crowned with helmet-like domes with crosses on faceted drums. Inside, the polychrome ornamental - story painting in the Rococo style of the two-tiered main altar has been preserved. The side altars are similar in composition to the main one, but they look more modest. The church was renovated in 1841 and in 1874.

In the middle of the 19th century, the owner changed again. Xavier Koreiva becomes the new owner, and the old manor - palace is being thoroughly rebuilt. A memorial stone with the numbers "1590 and 1843" was laid at the Koreiva Palace - the years of the beginning of construction and reconstruction of the palace. Today, this boulder can be seen near the walls of the former printing house.

During World War II, in May 1944, the village was the site of a battle between the Polish resistance and a Lithuanian auxiliary local unit. In the post-war years, the remains of the building were used for agricultural needs, and then it was simply abandoned. A picturesque alley of old trees leads to the ruins. And five hundred meters from them you can see a small roadside chapel, a building from the end of the 19th century.

Like every settlement in Murovanya Oshmyanka, it has its own legend. There is a stone footprint to the north of the village. People say that GOD himself walked on their land and left a mark on the stone. This place is called God's Trail. And this is not surprising: the Belarusian word "Ashmyana" comes from the Lithuanian word "akmenas", which means stone. People come there to see a miracle and be healed. 

It is said that the water that collects in the footprint of the stone is curative...