Church of the Nativity of the God's Mother ( be, Царква Раства Багародзіцы) is an Eastern Orthodox church in Muravanka,

Shchuchyn District Shchuchyn District ( be, Шчучынскі раён) is a district (rajon) in Grodno Region, Belarus. The administrative center is Shchuchyn. Notable residents * Vaclaŭ Ivanoŭski (also known as Vatslaw Ivanowski or Wacław Iwanowski) (1 ...

, Hrodna Province, in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

. It is an example of the

Belarusian Gothic Belarusian Gothic () is the architectural style of ecclesiastical buildings and fortified structures of the 15th and 16th centuries in modern Belarus, Lithuania, eastern Poland and western Ukraine. Although these buildings have features typica ...

and one of the first

fortified church A fortified church is a church that is built to serve a defensive role in times of war. Such churches were specially designed to incorporate military features, such as thick walls, battlements, and embrasures. Others, such as the Ávila Cathedra ...

es in the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...

along with the Church of St. Michael in Synkavichy.

History

The church in Muravanka arose in the first half of the 16th century. Church inspections made by the archeologists showed that it was probably built between years 1524 and 1542. The church was severely damaged in 1656 during the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

against Russia and in 1706 during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...

. Then it was empty for many years and restored only in the middle of the 19th century. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the German army used the space of the church as a warehouse for provisions. In the

Interwar Poland The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First World ...

it was turned into the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church. In 1990 the church was returned by the Soviet government to the Orthodox believers and has been in use since then.

Architecture

The church in Muravanka is one of the finest examples of the fortified temple architecture of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It has both traits of Gothic and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

architecture. The building is close to a square and sized 15x13.5 meters. There is a round tower on each of the corners. Diameter of the towers is about 4.5 meters and thickness of their walls is about 1.8 meters. On the eastern side of the church an apse is attached. The facades are covered with numerous ornament elements. The church has one entrance located on its western end. The columns support the vaults and the interior is split into the three naves about 12 meters each in height. In spite of war damages and multiple restoration procedures, the outer look of the building is still close to the original project. Now it is protected by the law of the Republic of Belarus as a building that have nationwide cultural and historical value.

World Heritage Status

This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on 30 January 2004, in the Cultural category.Edifices for Worship of Fortress Type in Belarus, Poland and Lithuania – UNESCO World Heritage Centre
/ref>

Gallery

14 Мурованка (05).JPG 20090615 003 Мураванка (0).jpg Church of Nativity of Virgin Mary, Muravanka in 2011.jpg 20090615 003 Мураванка (06).JPG Царква ў Мураванцы. Іканастас.jpg Царква ў Мураванцы. Гатычныя скляпенні.jpg

References

External links

{{commons

Churches in Belarus Landmarks in Belarus Fortified church buildings Buildings and structures in Grodno Region Brick Gothic Gothic architecture in Belarus