Vidzy - is an urban settlement of the Braslav region, located in the border zone with Lithuania. The first mentions date back to the middle of the 15th century, when representatives of the Narushevich family founded the settlement of Vidzy. Then the place passed from one noble family to another, in the list: Dovgirdovichi, Gashtoldy, Patsy, and of course, a noticeable surname in the history of the village should be considered Wawrecki. The main attraction in Vidzy is Neo-Gothic Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (in some sources Church of the Holy Trinity).
This temple is probably the tallest in Belarus, its height is indicated from 59 to 76 meters (for comparison, height church in Gervyaty 61 meters). True, after looking at the height marks in the photo from the drone, I am convinced that the church is not higher than 65 meters.
The Catholic parish in Vidzy existed from the moment of its foundation. Also in 1481 year here settled the monks of the Bernardine order, who built a small wooden temple. In the middle of the 18th century, their place was taken by Jesuit monks, who built a new church, which stood until 1867 years.
The modern Trinity Church (it is most often called that way) began to be built in 1909 year and finished 5 years later, just in time for the outbreak of the First World War.
It so happened that the front line was very close to Vidza, and the tall building served as a wonderful reference point for adjusting artillery fire on the ground. As a result, for 3 years of hostilities, the church was turned into ruins. Its walls are littered with holes from bullets and shells. By the way, some large-caliber cartridge cases can still be seen today, they were left as a memory of those events.
Vidzovsky church - This is a classic and striking example of Neo-Gothic architecture. Massive multi-tiered towers, a faceted apse, buttresses along the perimeter, jagged ends of the pediment, an abundance of sharp arched windows and many other elements of this popular style of the early 20th century. The church was built according to the project of a Lithuanian architect - Vaclav Mikhnevich.
After the end of the war, Vidzy was part of Interwar Poland. The church was completely restored at that time, and services were held until 1950.
Then the Soviet authorities closed the parish, and decided to place a warehouse within the walls of the temple.
A little later, the appointment was changed again, the spacious room began to be used as a sports hall of the local agricultural school.
In 1989, the church was returned to believers, and restoration work began almost immediately. In 1994, the temple was solemnly consecrated by the first cardinal of Belarus - Kazimierz Sviatkom.
The church is the dominant in Vidzy, which will be easy to find, located in the center, on Kirov street 1.
Another attraction of the village is Old Believers Church. On the way to Vidzy-Lovchinsky, where the Wawrzecki manor has been preserved, pay attention to ruins of a chapel from 1861.
