In the very center of the village Volchin built in the first half of the 18th century Trinity Church. Work on this unusual temple began in 1729, and ended after 4 years. Volchinsky church you can’t exactly call it a typical project, such structures for Belarus rarity. The shape of the temple is an octagonal rotunda with a complex roof and a small cupola.
The original version of the church was partially rebuilt in 1770 year designed by an Italian architect Jakub Hempel. Interestingly, many sources indicate what kind of sample he took Roman church Santa Maria Maggiore. However, this is unlikely, since these structures have almost nothing in common. But much more with the temple in Dresden - Frauenkirche, which was built around the same period as the Trinity Church.
There is another temple, which is very reminiscent of Volchinsky, located in the Grodno region, in Shchechitsy. Chapel-tomb of the Yablonovskys, which in terms of architecture and proportions is almost a copy of the church, was also founded in the first half of the 18th century.
An interesting element in the architecture of the church is the restored clock in the tower. According to rumors, part of the mechanism and the dial itself were found in the crypt and, according to their proportions, they recreated the look of an 18th century clock.
There were 4 stone sculptures of evangelists along the edges of the roof, but only one has survived to this day.
The main entrance to the church was decorated with a kind of vestibule in front of which rose a stone gate. The walls are decorated with pilasters and bas-reliefs. The architecture of the temple belongs to the late baroque style with elements of rococo.
After the uprising of 1863, the church in Volchin was closed and for some time it was empty. Since 1876, it was reconsecrated to the Orthodox Church, slightly rebuilt.
Since 1918, the temple was returned to the Catholics, and before the outbreak of war, it was again open to parishioners. In the same period, a small reconstruction was carried out: the roof was restored with the money of local residents and the walls were plastered.
Volchin is the small homeland of the last king of the Commonwealth - Stanislav August Poniatovskywho was born here in 1732 (approximately then the church was being completed). He spent his last years away from his native lands and died in St. Petersburg, where he was buried. However, by a strange coincidence, in 1938, the remains of Poniatowski were secretly transported from St. Petersburg to Volchin, where they were reburied in the Trinity Church. Why did Stalin allow this? It remains only to guess.
After the end of the war, Volchin ended up on the balance sheet of the local collective farm, which “skillfully” used the unique church as a warehouse. The Poniatowski Chapel was looted in 1950, and the body of the last king disappeared without a trace. At the request of the Polish authorities, what little remained of the burial place of Stanisław August was moved to Warsaw in 1988.
“The Vyalіkae Principality of Lithuania: Encyklapedia. At 3 tamahs”
In the late 90s, the temple was in ruins, but in 2009 its complete reconstruction began.
The Trinity Church is easy to find, is the dominant feature of the village and is located next to the P9 road leading to high.
In Volchin you can still see Nicholas Church, and next to the village - manor in Gremyach.
