Rozhanka is an agro-town in the Grodno region, located on the P51 highway, a few kilometers from the city Shchuchin. Of the attractions here, it is worth highlighting unusual church with Neo-Gothic features and elements found in Calvin collections.
Already on the approach to the temple you understand its atypicality and uniqueness. Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Rozhanka dates back to 1674, but there is a version of earlier construction - the end of the 16th century. According to this theory, the temple was originally built by the Calvinist collection, and in 1674 it was only re-consecrated into a church. True, there is no significant evidence for this version.
By order Ludwig Michal Patz, in 1827, Rozhansky church are significantly rebuilt. Here again there is an assumption that it is this date that should be considered the starting point in the history of the temple. It was during this period that the Church of Saints Peter and Paul acquires those architectural features that can be seen today.
A Pole was invited as an architect Henryk Marconi, who at that time had already found fame and recognition, and was also a prominent representative of the “English Neo-Gothic”.
In Belarus there is at least one more church designed by Marconi - Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Pruzhany, and his son Vladislav worked on the legendary manor Zheludok.
According to some historians, at that time the church was actually built from scratch. The facade is lined with rubble stone, and a stained-glass window and the Patzey coat of arms appeared above the entrance - “Gozdava".
Perhaps the church in the village of Rozhanka is one of the first examples of Neo-Gothic in the territory of modern Belarus.
There is a functioning cemetery around the church, and a metal belfry is installed in front of the entrance. A similar one can be seen in the painting by Napoleon Orda (picture above).
In the 20s, 20th century, church in Rozhanka has undergone a major renovation. There were no major changes in architecture, but the interior decoration of previous periods was not preserved.
The old photographs of that time show that the roof was completely redone in the temple.
In the 60s, the Rozhansky temple was completely closed, converted into a rural store. The church will be reopened only in 1990.
If you go here from Shchuchin, then you can get confused, since there are two settlements with the name “Rozhanka” in the area. The church is located in the one that is closer to the P51 highway leading to Volkovysk.
Not far from the agricultural town there are interesting ruins of the estate Dikushki. See more attractions at map.
This is what the church looked like in the early 20th century.