Belarus is very often described in poems and musical compositions as a blue-eyed land under white wings. Thanks to these God’s “wings” on the territory of the country have been preserved many architectural constructions. They are included in the list of national heritage and are the real pride of the Belarusian people.  

Not all Catholic and Orthodox temples can boast rich and interesting history. Only some of them are of architectural value and also are an amazing memory about major historical events and famous people.

Such, undoubtedly, is the Church of St. Nicholas in the village of Dubno, located on the territory of Grodno region. An amazing story is connected with this temple. The legend says that the local church in Dubno was built by mistake. And the architect was a famous Italian master. A project of the church was specially designed for the namesake Ukrainian city. At that time, it was a majestic building, which was designed for numerous Ukrainian flock. However, builders, for some unknown reasons, mixed up the city and the village, as a result, this massive building has been adorning the Belarusian village for several centuries.  

It is unknown whether it was a mistake or the Divine Providence, but a stone church was erected in the Belarusian backwoods in the 1840-ies on the money from the State Treasury. The building looks like a typical building in the retrospective style with elements of Russian direction. The church is decorated with four massive pillars and five majestic domes. The temple has a special feature that differs it from other Orthodox Shrines – a light drum, with the help of which a festive atmosphere filled with air and light is created. Here you can feel the unity with God and find peace of mind.

By the way, the project originally designed by the Italian architect was also built in Ukrainian Dubno, however, the church is decorated with three domes instead of five. However, this building does not look less majestic and beautiful. The Belarusian Church of St. Nicholas has another feature which is connected with the divine icons. Inside the main altar, just above the deacon's doors, visitors can see not the divine images of the Saints, but old black-and-white photos. And these are not just photos, but the real faces of the Saints depicted in a quite unusual style. In ancient times, icon painters worked in the Northern part of Russia, using that technique, depicting, for example, St. Joseph of Belgorod on metal.  

The church building was reconstructed in the second half of the 19^th century. It is a square building, which is well supplemented with the adjoining to the facade apse with side vestries, having the shape of a rectangle. The interior decoration of the church is no less beautiful and elegant than the exterior facade of the building. The whole interior is painted with original frescoes and the extant iconostasis of the 19^thcentury is of the greatest value.