Rozhanka. The Church of Saints Peter and Paul.

History.

The town of Rozhanka has been known in history for a long time. It was first mentioned in 1537. It was part of Lida district Vilno Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Since the 16th century, the owners of Rozhanka were the Pats family, who were known along with the Radziwills and Sapieha.

According to some sources, the temple was built in 1674 using brick and rubble stone, with the assistance of Mikhail Pats. According to some reports, empty bottles and other dishes were placed in the walls of the temple in some places for better acoustics. Another representative of Pats family – Jozef, later built a beautiful manor house in Rozhanka with the involvement of the Italian architect Carlo Spampani, which has not been preserved. Legend has it that the temple and the former manor were connected by a two-kilometer tunnel under the Turya River.

In 1827, the church was completely rebuilt and acquired its current appearance. The Polish architect Henrik Marconi (Italian by birth) designed the church by order of Count and General of the Polish Army Ludwig Pats. The reconstruction of the temple led to the fact that it acquired a Neo-Gothic appearance. Its architecture clearly shows the features of English Neo-Gothic, which appeared in England in the second half of the 18th century.

Architecture.

The most attractive part of the temple is its main facade. The upper stepped triangular shield of the facade, covering the gable roof, is lined with rubble stone and decorated with decorative white vertical lines forming flat niches with three-lobed tops.

The main entrance to the temple is decorated with a pointed portal. On the sides of it there are niches in which, according to the idea, there should be sculptures of the apostles Peter and Paul, in whose honor the temple was consecrated.

Above the entrance there is a round stained glass window-a rose with a cross, above the window the facade is decorated with a wide decorative white belt. Just above is the stucco coat of arms of the Pats family - "GOZDAVA" (Polish noble coat of arms) - two silver lilies fastened with a gold ring on a scarlet shield.

The main dominant feature of the temple is a three-tiered tower (an octagon on two fours), covered with an elongated, narrow, pointed octagonal tent.

Historical background.

(The Gothic style originated in France and subsequently spread throughout Western Europe. Gothic replaced the Romanesque style, and dominated the period from the 12th to the 15th centuries. Buildings built in the Gothic style have many characteristic details: a tendency to rise, an abundance of teeth, a special frame system (archbuttons, buttresses, ribs). But perhaps the most recognizable and unusual element of Gothic cathedrals is the rose window that adorns the main facade. Each such window resembles a blooming flower with a symmetrical arrangement of petals, or a star. The window surface consists of many pieces of multicolored glass, like a mosaic (stained glass).

Over time, Gothic architecture gave way to new styles: Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, classicism. However, in the first half of the 19th century, interest in Gothic revived. Buildings began to be built all over the world in a style called neo-Gothic, or pseudo-Gothic.)

Additional information.

The Church of Saints Peter and Paul in the village of Rozhanka is the oldest church built in the territory of Belarus in the Neo-Gothic style. It is included in the State List of Historical and Cultural Values of the Republic of Belarus.

There is a functioning cemetery around the church, and a metal belfry is installed in front of the entrance.

Opposite the temple, on Sovetskaya Street, there is a very picturesque old roadside chapel. According to one version, it was Ludwig Pats who built this pillar chapel during the reconstruction of the church, in honor of the fallen soldiers in the war of 1812.

Our days.

In the twenties of the XX century, the church in Rozhanka underwent a thorough renovation. Fortunately, there were no major changes in the architecture, except for the redesign of the roof, but the interior decoration of the previous periods has not been preserved. In the sixties, the church of Peter and Paul was closed, and a village store and a wholesale warehouse were organized in it. The church was reopened and consecrated only in 1990.

When you look at such an amazing church, you involuntarily thank the people who designed and built such beauty, and those who preserved it for their descendants. It is absolutely necessary to visit this wonderful temple in Rozhanka!