In due time the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in the town of Vysokoe (Brest region) was considered the most beautiful Catholic Church in Brest Polesye. Since the 17^th century the Church has been changed, but nowadays it attracts tourists’ attention with the orderliness and laconism of its architecture.

The construction and consecration of the temple

The start of the construction of a stone Church in Vysokoe falls on 1603. The “muravany” (stone) temple was laid in the town on the initiative of the son of Lauren Volsky Andrew. It should be noted that the Volskies had Vysokoe on lease since 1538.

And six years later after the start of the construction, in 1609, the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Vysokoe was consecrated by the Bishop of Lutsk Paul (Valutsky). Initially the building looked like a cross – 44 arshins at length and 12 arshins breadthways (arshin is 0.71 m). The Catholic Church was surrounded with a hard stone wall.

The temple was built on the place of the wooden chapel of St. Barbara that had been erected in 1571 and burned down in the Russian-Swedish War. If historical legends are to be trusted, in the reign of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitautas (1350-1430) a wooden temple had stood on the same place. 

400 years of the history of the Holy Trinity Catholic Church

For 400 years of its existence, the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Vysokoe has been rebuilt several times and has changed its appearance. Its history is tightly connected with the history of the town itself and in the first place with the history of Vysokoe castle.

The Church was considered to be one of the richest in the voivodeship. Here were the best works of local and foreign artists which were transferred from the Palace gallery.

• The reconstruction of the Church in 1735. The first serious reconstruction of the temple took place in 1735. Probably, the Church like the castle in Vysokoe suffered during the Northern war (1700-1721) and required a repair. The restoration works were funded by Michael Sapieha. We would remind you that the Sapiehas, particularly Paweł Jan Sapieha, initiated the construction of the castle in Vysokoe. As a result the Church was not only renewed but also changed its appearance.
• The rebuilding in 1872. The Holy Trinity Catholic Church endured serious changes in 1872, when Vysokoe was a part of the Russian Empire (since 1807). The alterations touched the face wall of the Catholic Church and the façade towers, which originally had had three levels.  
• The restoration of the temple since 1993. During the Great Patriotic War the Catholic Church was damaged heavily. In the Soviet time services were not conducted in the temple. In the 1970-ies the Church building was used as a gym of vocational school. The temple was returned to believers in 1993. In the same years were begun restoration works, in the result of which the Holy Trinity Church received the modern appearance.

Architectural features

Some restoration works are still being conducted in the Church. Nevertheless, the temple appears before gaze as a majestic Baroque building with a complete and laconic architecture.

It has a three-naved lay-out with a two-towered façade typical for Roman Catholic Churches of the 18^thcentury. The architectural composition is completed with a semi-circular apse from the back of the building.

The center of the face wall is a high wall (an attic type) with a three-cornered pediment. Under it there is a biblical quotation in Latin: “Deus caritas est” (“The God is love”).