Abandoned Church of the Holy Trinity in Benica

Benica was once a large town of the gentry, the massive Church of the Holy Trinity, towering over the village. Today, the ancient temple unfortunately looks abandoned, but this fact does not prevent it from remaining a unique point of attraction for tourists.

Trinity Church history and legend

The construction of the Trinity Church is associated with a local legend. According to which, at the beginning of the 18th century Mikhail Kazimir Kotsell, owner of Benitsa, was traveling with his family to Oshmyany on a cart. At the moment when only the prince’s little daughter remained in the harness, the horses took off and rushed forward. The father prayed to the Mother of God and a miracle happened - the horses stopped, and nothing threatened his daughter anymore. The grateful nobleman promised to build a temple on this site. And a year later, an architect invited from Italy began working on the construction of the Church of the Holy Trinity.

Temple construction completed in 1704 year. In the same year the church was transferred Bernardine monks. The monks built a monastery next to the temple, where a school worked. Soon the Bernardines surrounded the church with a fence with gates.

The Bernardine monastery operated in Benica with varying success until 1851, after which it was finally liquidated. 1863 was the last year for the residential building of the monastery - it was destroyed. The church was transferred to the Orthodox Church in 1866, despite all the attempts of the Shvykovskys (then owners of Benitsa) to preserve the Catholic parish.

In its architecture, the church is a striking example of Baroque architecture; the main facade is distinguished by a figured front with a round window, and on the sides there are high three-level bell towers.

Above the main volume of the temple, in the very center of the cross, rises a magnificent dome.

In the dungeons and crypt of the church there was a tomb of the Kocell and Shvykovsky family (mansion which were located in Benica). Back in the late 40s, the graves were desecrated, and the remains of the buried were thrown under the walls of the temple. Today, the entrances to the basement are closed with bars, but this clearly does not protect the crypt from unwanted visitors.

The building of the church in Benice was returned to Catholics only in 1919, but the doors of the church were not open for long - in 1948 it was closed completely. After which, for many years, the ancient building was used as an ordinary warehouse.

During such misuse, the majestic architectural monument began to gradually collapse.

In the early 90s, this unique landmark of Belarus was placed on the list of those planned for restoration, but work has not yet begun.

Looking at the Trinity Church, it is already difficult to find pilasters on the facade, stylized as grape clusters that once adorned the temple, but it cannot be said that the temple has been preserved as poorly as, for example, its brothers in Princes or Settlement.

The abandoned Church of the Holy Trinity is located 20 km from Molodechno, it is protected from vandals only by the sign “Historyka-cultural kashtounast”, so hurry up and look, below is the mark with the location on the map:

Next to the church there is a functioning Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin. More sights of Belarus on the map.