St. Paraskeva Church, Nowe Brusno, Poland

The church was built in 1713 at the initiative of Maurycy Kurdwanowski, a royal captain and starost of Bełz. The construction was entrusted to the carpenter Stefan Sienko Siematiewski from nearby Płazów.

The building is a wooden log structure, oriented, and divided into three parts: an elongated presbytery with a three-sided closure, a wide nave, and a rectangular women’s vestibule (babiniec). On the western side of the nave, there was a small vestibule with the chapel of St. Nicholas on the upper floor, equipped with an arcade gallery. The church originally featured three characteristic domes — one dominant over the nave, another over the vestibule, and one over the presbytery — all covered with lanterns topped by onion-shaped domes ending in crosses.

In the mid-19th century, several alterations were made, including enlarging the vestibule, constructing a sacristy, and changing the domes’ profiles. Around the presbytery, only a roof covering remained without the traditional wooden arcades (soboty). The church served as a place of Orthodox worship and later Greek Catholic, serving the local community until the mid-20th century.

After World War II, the church was abandoned and gradually fell into disrepair, but was partially secured thanks to museum activities that allowed for its later renovation. Currently, it is one of the most beautiful and best-preserved wooden churches of the Eastern rite in Poland, constituting an important element of the cultural heritage of the Roztocze region.

#NoweBrusno #kosciol #cerkiew #prawoslawie #architektura #historia #architekturadrewniana #architekturasakralna #Polska #zabytek #fotografia
#church #orthodox #orthodoxchurch #architecture #history #woodenarchitecture #sacralarchitecture #Poland #monument #photography

Church of St. Nicholas the Miracle Worker, Radruż, Poland

The church was built between 1930 and 1931 as a filial church of the parish associated with the Church of St. Paraskeva. It was constructed on the left bank of the Radrużka stream, partly on the site of an earlier building, utilizing fragments of an 18th-century chapel, especially in the presbytery.

The wood and traditional construction give the church its distinctive appearance, with a three-part spatial layout and a large octagonal dome over the nave. The interior is notable, among other things, for an 18th-century icon of Our Lady of the Snows, to whom the chapel is currently dedicated.

Until World War II, the church served as a Greek Catholic filial chapel. After 1946, when the local Greek Catholic population was displaced, the church became state property and remained unused and fell into disrepair for a long period. In the 1970s, a thorough renovation was carried out, during which the roof covering was replaced and the walls were clad with shingles. After the renovation, the building was adapted as a Roman Catholic chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows, used by the Parish of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Horyniec-Zdrój.

Today, the church stands as a unique example of early 20th-century sacral architecture, preserving its traditional features and bearing witness to the turbulent history of the region and the changing fortunes of the local community.

#Radroz #kosciol #cerkiew #prawoslawie #architektura #historia #architekturadrewniana #architekturasakralna #Polska #zabytek #fotografia
#church #orthodoxchurch #architecture #history #woodenarchitecture #sacralarchitecture #Poland #photography #orthodox #faith #wiara #christianity

Sanctuary
#infraredphotography #monochrome #architecture #fineartphotography #sacralarchitecture #blackandwhite #landscape #ethereal #stonechurch

The Trinity Tower, Lublin, Poland

It is one of the city’s most important landmarks and a characteristic element of Lublin’s Old Town. It was built between 1826 and 1828 according to the design of the Italian architect Antonio Corazzi, who gave it a neo-Gothic style. The tower serves as the bell tower of the Lublin cathedral, which is one of the oldest churches in the city, with origins dating back to the 13th century.

The tower is about 57 meters tall and is the highest point in the city, visible from many places in Lublin. Its distinctive green-blue pyramidal roof is recognizable from afar. In its prime, it served defensive and sacred functions and was also an important navigational point within the city.

Today, the Trinity Tower functions as a museum — it houses the Archdiocesan Museum of Religious Art, where valuable exhibits related to spirituality and Church history are displayed. From the viewing platform at its top, there is a panoramic view of Lublin and its surroundings, making it a popular tourist spot.

#wiezatrynitarska #Lublin #Polska #Poland #tower #wieza #building #architecture #architektura #history #historia #photography #sacralarchitecture

The Church of St. Casimir, Vilnius, Lithuania

It is the first Baroque Catholic church in the Old Town of Vilnius. Construction began in 1604, shortly after the canonization of Casimir Jagiellon (1602) – King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania - and was completed around 1618. The initiators of the construction were King Sigismund III Vasa (King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania) and Lew Sapieha (an influential politician and Grand Chancellor of Lithuania). The church was designed by Jesuit architects Giovanni Maria Bernardoni and Jan Frankiewicz, who based it on the Roman church Il Gesù, although the adaptation was innovative.

The church has had a difficult history: it was damaged by fires, successively converted into an Orthodox church, a warehouse, a Protestant garrison church, and during the Soviet era, it housed the Museum of Atheism. Returned to the faithful in 1989, it currently serves as a Jesuit church and a venue for organ music concerts.

#wilno #vilnius #litwa #lithuania #lietuva #kosciol #church #architektura #sacralarchitecture #architecture #miasto #city #ulica #street #historia #history #photography

The Gate of Dawn, Vilnius, Lithuania

"Lithuania! My country! You are like health,
How precious you must be, only he can tell
Who has lost you. I see your beauty now
In all its glory and describe it, because I long for you.

Holy Virgin, guardian of radiant Częstochowa,
You who shine through the Gate of Dawn,
You who watch over steadfast Nowogród and its people!
As you once healed me in childhood, so miraculous—
When in your care, from my grieving mother’s arms,
I opened my long-closed eyes
And was able to step to your temple’s door,
To offer thanks to God for life restored—
So also may you restore us,
Miraculously, to our homeland’s bosom.
Meanwhile, may you carry my soul from the gloom of longing
To those forested hills, those evergreen meadows
Spread wide where the blue Neman flows;
To those vast fields painted in varied grain colors,
A landscape gilded in wheat, silvered with rye,
Where amber is the buckwheat and white as snow,
Where red clover blooms like a maiden’s blush,
And where green furrows entwine as ribbons, within which
Wild pear trees may sometimes be seen."

Sir Thaddeus - invocation
Adam Mickiewicz

#wilno #vilnius #miasto #city #ulica #street #brama #gate #litwa #lithuania #lietuva #ostrabrama #gateofdawn #poezja #poetry #architektura #sacralarchitecture #architecture

Church of St. Theresa, Vilnius, Lithuania

This baroque architectural gem was erected by the Discalced Carmelites between 1635 and 1650, funded by Stefan Pac. It stands on Aušros Vartu Street, right beside the famous Gate of Dawn. The façade design is attributed to Constantino Tencalla. The unified interior, rebuilt after a fire in 1760, represents the late baroque style with rococo decorations and frescoes depicting the life of its patron saint. The main altar illustrates the ecstasy of St. Theresa. Notably, the church served as a temporary resting place for the heart of Józef Piłsudski - Chief of State 1918–1922 and later as Marshal of Poland, playing a key role in restoring Poland’s sovereignty after World War I.

The Gate of Dawn visible in the background, built between 1503 and 1514, is the only surviving city gate in Vilnius. It houses a chapel with the miraculous icon of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn, one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Lithuania and a symbol of Vilnius. The icon draws pilgrims from around the globe, making the Gate of Dawn a spiritual center for both Poles and Lithuanians.

#wilno #vilnius #miasto #city #ulica #street #brama #gate #kosciol #church #litwa #lithuania #lietuva #architektura #architecture #photo #photography #sacralarchitecture

Church of St. Cosmas and Damian, Anusin, Poland

It is a wooden Orthodox church built between 1902 and 1904 on the site of an older church dating back to the late 18th century. It serves as the parish church for the Telatycze parish and is a typical example of log architecture from the southern Podlasie region. The church has a three-part structure with a three-story tower above the vestibule, an octagonal drum, and a characteristic onion-shaped dome covering the roof.

The interior of the church features an eclectic iconostasis from the early 20th century, containing icons of Baroque character. An unusual element of the decoration is the Stations of the Cross hanging on the side walls, which are rarely found in Orthodox churches. Around the church grounds, there is a stone slab with a mysterious, partially faded inscription combining Cyrillic and Greek alphabet characters, as well as a baptismal font located near a nearby stream.

#kosciol #church #cerkiew #prawoslawie #cerkiewprawoslawna #orthodox #orthodoxchurch #podlasie #polska #poland #temple #swiatynia #chrzescijanstwo #christianity #architektura #architekturasakralna #architecture #sacralarchitecture #woodenarchitecture #photography #fotografia

The St. Mary’s Basilica, Gdansk, Poland

The construction of St. Mary’s Basilica began in 1343 - it lasted 159 years! It was not until 1502 that the works were finally completed. The mighty and solid structure of the cathedral survived the difficult times of World War II, although it lost most of its equipment forever. Looking inside the basilica, we are overcome with delight and amazement. The ceiling seems endless, and the snow-white walls give the temple an even greater optical enlargement. At first glance, the interior is empty, there are no frescoes or special decorations. However, thanks to this, we focus more on the size of the temple and its most interesting works, of which there are really many here.

One of the greatest monuments of St. Mary’s Basilica are the Gothic altars, whose black and gold color contrasts beautifully with the white walls.

Another unique monument is the 550-year-old astronomical clock. This 12-meter clock shows not only the hours, but also the phases of the moon and the signs of the zodiac. It is the work of the artist H. Duringer from Toruń. Every day at 11:57 you can take part in the figure theater show of this unique astronomical clock.

#gdansk #kosciol #church #basilica #poland #polska #ulica #street #miasto #city #widok #view #streetview #oldtown #staremiasto #architektura #architecture #sacralarchitecture #architekturasakralna