The Church of Our Lady Queen in Porplische village

Porplische is a truly unique village of Dokshitsy district in Vitebsk region. Two ancient religious structures have survived here: they have special features that attract the attention of many historians and ordinary people.

The local temple

Before turning to the Church of Our Lady, let’s draw our attention to the temple standing directly opposite it that, in a sense, influenced the future catholic structure.

The Church of Savior Transfiguration was constructed in 1627. That fact itself deserves special attention. However, there is something else interesting about this church: it is wooden. Not all stone buildings have survived in such a perfect condition till nowadays, but it can be said about the church in Porplische.

Certainly, the building was repeatedly repaired and restored for years; however, the whole architectural concept remained untouched. Probably, the unusual style of the church and the opposite catholic church was influenced by the local school of architecture. In the late XVIII century, after the largest capital repairs, it has got the features of Classicism.

Later, a belfry was attached to the facade of the temple; however it didn’t spoil the exterior of the building. The only thing in the appearance of the Savior Transfiguration Temple that was cardinally changed was its color. Today it’s rather unusual for church buildings but pleasant and harmonious yellow-green tone color.

The catholic structure

A catholic church appeared in the territory of the village in the inter-war years, since 1937 to 1941. It became one of the main attractions of the small location pretty fast.

The Church of Our Lady Queen in Porplische village appeared much later than the temple; however, some similarities between the structures can be seen with the naked eye. These are that the both structures are wooden, and that there is some resemblance in the terms of design and shape of their windows, and also of the appearance of the belfries. The closeness of location makes it possible to determine these religious structures as a tandem.

Withstanding the Second World War and equally dangerous for church activity post-war period when the Soviet authorities destroyed a lot of even stone and younger structures, the building of the Church of Our Lady for a long moment was used as schools and works. However, the local residents were careful with this structure, so the building of the church is still in rather good condition. At last, in the 1990-s, the church began to be used for holding divine services and masses.

For those who want to satisfy themselves of the uniqueness of the attractions of Porplische village, it is easy to reach it due to the nearby railway connecting Molodechno and Polotsk and the large road from Logoisk to the Latvian border.