Ivyanets is an urban settlement in the Volozhin district of the
Minsk region of Belarus. Located in a hilly and wooded area on the
Volma River, 31 km from Volozhin, 40 km from the Koydanovo station
on the Minsk-Baranovichi line, it is connected by motor roads with
Minsk, Dzerzhinsk, Volozhin, Stolbtsy, Novogrudok.
Historically, the plan of Ivyanets has developed according to the
traditional scheme: the network of streets originates from the
shopping area located in the middle of the settlement. Six streets
radiate out from the square. Three of them pass into the roads to
Rakov (now Sept. 17 st.), Stolbtsy (Komsomolskaya st.), Dzerzhinovo
(May 1 st.).
Church of St. Michael the Archangel ("White Church", 1740-1749, architect A. Chekhovich; restored in 1856-1860, architect V. Belyavsky)
The Church of St. Michael the Archangel
(Belorussian Kaszol Svyatog Mikhail Arkhanel) is a Catholic church
in the urban village of Ivenets, Republic of Belarus. Belongs to the
Ivenets deanery of the Minsk-Mogilev archdiocese. An architectural
monument in the Vilna Baroque style, built in 1740-1749. The temple
is included in the State List of Historical and Cultural Values of
the Republic of Belarus, consecrated in the name of Michael the
Archangel. A single architectural complex with a temple is the
residential building of the former Franciscan monastery and a
fragment of the wall with a tower and a gate. Located at: st.
Pushkin, 1.
History
In 1702, the Minsk steward Theodor
Anthony Vankovich invited monks from the Franciscan order to
Ivenets, allocating a plot for them to build a monastery and
donating substantial funds. The Franciscans first erected a wooden
temple, and then began the construction of stone monastery
buildings.
From 1740 to 1749, next to the wooden church, the
construction of a new stone church in the Vilna Baroque style,
designed by A. Chekhovich, was underway. The hill on which the
temple was built was reinforced with cobblestones. The builders
changed the course of the Volma River in the area adjacent to the
monastery so that it would not flood the monastery and the church
during floods. The construction was completed in 1749, but the exact
date of the church's consecration is unknown. The appearance of the
temple for the 250-year period of its existence has practically not
changed, with the exception of the tops of the towers.
After
the Polish uprising of 1830, the Franciscan monastery was closed,
and a boarding house for elderly Catholic priests was organized on
its premises. In 1856-1860, restoration work was carried out in the
church of Michael the Archangel. After the uprising of 1863, the
Russian authorities took a series of harsh measures against the
Catholic Church in the western regions of the empire, including the
closure of many Catholic churches and the transfer of their
buildings to the Orthodox Church. The Church of the Archangel
Michael was closed on December 12, 1868, in 1869 the building was
transferred to the Orthodox parish, onion-shaped domes were placed
on the towers.
Since 1920 Ivenets has been a part of Poland.
The building of the church was again transferred to the jurisdiction
of the Catholics. The bulbous domes were removed and the building
returned to its original appearance. Since the monastery has not
functioned since 1830, the Church of Archangel Michael served as a
parish church.
In 1939, the Franciscan monks returned to
Ivenets, who took over the church and the parish of Michael the
Archangel. During the Nazi occupation, two monks from the Ivenets
Franciscan community, Karol Herman Stampen and Joseph Achilles
Puhala, were executed by the invaders. On June 11, 1998, Pope John
Paul II beatified them among the 108 blessed Polish martyrs.
After the Second World War, the temple was closed, a grocery store
was located in its building, and later a procurement shop. In the
premises of the former monastery there was a school, and then a
production workshop of the Minsk Design Technological Institute.
In 1992, the temple was again transferred to the Catholic
Church, since 1994 the Franciscan monastic community has been
restored at the temple. Since 2003, restoration work has been
carried out in the temple.
In 2006, in the territory adjacent
to the temple, as a result of many years of searches, a 1.2-ton bell
was discovered, hidden in 1943 from the confiscation undertaken by
the German authorities.
On May 13, 2012, a monument to Pope
John Paul II was unveiled near the church.
The rector of the
parish of Michael the Archangel is the priest of the Minsk-Mogilev
archdiocese, Father Lech Bohanek.
Architecture
The Church
of St. Michael the Archangel is a basilica with a transverse
transept, in the plan it has a Latin cross. The façade is flanked by
graceful baroque five-tiered towers flanking a two-tiered pediment.
To the west of the temple there is an L-shaped 2-storey residential
building of the monastery (1741). The temple and residential
building are partially surrounded by a stone fence with a gate.
Catholic church of St. Alexis ("Red Church", 1905-1907)
The Church of St. Alexei (Belorussian Kaszol Svyatog Alyaksei) is
a Catholic church in the town of Ivenets, Minsk region, Belarus.
Belongs to the Ivenets deanery of the Minsk-Mogilev archdiocese. An
architectural monument, built in 1905-1907 in the neo-Gothic style,
is included in the State list of historical and cultural values of
the Republic of Belarus. Address: st. Pushkin, 1.
Story
The appearance of the Church of St. Alexei in Ivenets is associated
with the history of two other Catholic churches in Ivenets - Michael
the Archangel and St. Trinity. After the uprising of 1863, the
Russian authorities took a series of harsh measures against the
Catholic Church in the western regions of the empire, including the
closure of many Catholic churches and the transfer of their
buildings to the Orthodox Church. In Ivenets in 1868-1869, both
Catholic churches and a wooden chapel in the Catholic cemetery were
closed, after which the Catholics lost all religious buildings.
The situation in favor of greater religious tolerance began to
change only at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1903, services
began again in the cemetery chapel; in 1904, the authorities gave
permission to build a new Catholic church in Ivenets. It was to be
erected next to the Catholic cemetery and replace the wooden chapel
as a place of worship. In gratitude for the permission, the church
received the name of St. Alexei, the patron saint of the prince.
The construction took three years. On May 22, 1905, the
cornerstone was consecrated, and on December 3, 1907, the built
temple was consecrated. The temple was erected in the neo-Gothic
style of red brick, the author of the project was the architect
Mikhail Gotovsky, who was guided in the project by the Vilna church
of St. Anna.
On July 16, 1947, the church was closed. In 1962
it was transferred to the Minsk State Library named after Lenin,
where its archive was located. In the 80s of the XX century,
believers began to write requests to the authorities of the BSSR to
return the church to the parish. The efforts were crowned with
success, on October 14, 1988, the temple was returned to the Church,
on July 9, 1989, the Church of St. Alexei was rededicated. Since
1990, priests from the Franciscan order have served in the temple.
Architecture
The church has a Latin cross in plan, with a
pentahedral apse and rectangular lateral wings of the transept,
which protrude far beyond the walls of the longitudinal ship. A
two-tiered four-sided hipped-roof bell tower crowns the facade of
the building. The entrance portal is decorated with a pointed arch
and a rose window above it.
It is known since the XIV century as a private
settlement of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt, later belonged to
Prince Andrei Vladimirovich, the grandson of Prince Grand Duke
Olgerd, in the XVI and XVIII centuries to the Sologubs, and from
1808 to 1884 - Plevako.
Since 1793 as part of the Russian
Empire, a town, the center of the volost of the Minsk district.
In 1897 - 2670 inhabitants.
In 1918 it was occupied by
German troops.
In 1919-1920 there were Polish troops in the
town.
In 1921-1939 as part of Poland, the town of Volozhin
County.
Since 1939 as part of the BSSR, since January 15,
1940, an urban settlement, the center of the Ivyanets district.
In 1941-1944 under German occupation.
From April 1962 in
the Volozhin region, from December 1962 in the Stolbtsy region, from
1965 again in the Volozhin region.