Orsha. Church of the Nativity of the Virgin.

In Orsha, between the castle hill and the church of St. Joseph, there is a 17th century Orthodox church, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin. The church was built in 1661. The building was repaired at the beginning of the 19th century. A brick bell tower was built in front of the church. In Soviet times, the church was closed, and in 1961 the building was demolished. Archaeological excavations were carried out on the foundations of the church in 1994-1995. And in the early 2000s, the temple was rebuilt. The church is an architectural monument in the baroque style with elements of classicism. The building is a central, cube-shaped volume that ends with a hemispherical dome. An octagonal lantern rises above the dome. The same four-sided towers are built at the corners of the main volume. The architectural style of the baroque can be clearly seen in the plasticity of the towers and the oval skylights at the base of the dome. And the features of classicism are clearly visible in the identical compositions of the facades, which are finished with triangular pediments, in an emblem with a Doric frieze and paired half-columns. The church has a main and two side entrances. The interior was decorated in the late Baroque style. In the basement of the temple there was a crypt with burials.