Крестовоздвиженский костел в Вилейке

The Holy Cross Church in Vileyka

In small towns across Belarus, you can easily find pearls of the old days that were left by our ancestors. The town of Vileyka in Minsk region has significant architectural monuments for our country. These include the Church of the Holy Cross, which is located in the heart of Vileyka in Lenin Square.

From a wooden chapel to a stone church

The destiny of the Holy Cross Church is similar to the destiny of many Catholic churches which appeared in the tough period of time. All started with a small wooden chapel, which appeared in Vileyka in the XVIII century. However, in 1810 it was completely destroyed by fire. In 1862, a new wooden chapel was built. In the same year, the construction of a stone church was begun. However, time changed people's plans.

As it is known, during this tough period, Catholicism was banned throughout the country. An unfinished building of the future church became Orthodox. Therefore, in Vileyka the St George Church appeared.

It became a Catholic church only in 1906. It is known that in 1906-1913 the Holy Cross Church appeared in Vileyka. The project was developed by architect August Klein. It was decided to build a church in the Gothic style made of yellow brick. The church belongs to the Neo-Romanesque style in architecture. A tower of this style is preserved nowadays. Bullet holes which were left during the First World War can be seen today.

Bullet holes

Later, the church was used as a warehouse, and then there was located the House of Art named after N.Y. Silivanovich. The Holy Cross church has not changed. The restoration of the church took place only in 1988-89. Now the church is a historical monument of architecture, which is protected on the territory of Belarus.

Many tourists come to see this lovely town. The beauty of its forests and rivers, which is breathtaking, will always attract tourists. Any tourist will find the road to the church easily since a well-developed infrastructure will help get to Vileyka.

The Holy Cross Church is another example of an architectural monument with historical value. This is an example of the monument of faith. The Holy Cross Church overcame many difficult times like thousands of churches in our country. It is significant not only for the parishioners. It has not lost its primary purpose. Nowadays tourists of Vileyka town can see an example of the church, which remains standing, despite temporary bans, war, financial crises and more. We see that all these are temporary but only the faith is eternal.