Famous church to be ‘drawn’ in night sky on June 6th to mark the opening of the 10th Republican Festival of National Cultures
As the Vytautas Church (Vytautas’ Fara) was reconstructed several times during its history, there are plans to create several models of the church. The depictions will be created based on authentic historical data, drawings and photos. The relic will appear before spectators as a Catholic and as an Orthodox church, with the hosts telling the history of the construction and the destruction of the building. At a particular moment of the ceremony, the bells in the major operating churches in Grodno will begin to ring. The ceremony will involve the Grodno Kapella choir, as well as other choir groups and church hymns will also be performed.A sculptural composition will be installed on the site of the Vytautas Church in the form of a semi-destroyed arch with a memorable inscription. The monument is being created by Grodno sculptor, Sergey Bildyuk.
The Vytautas Church was blown up by authorities on November 29th, 1961. This was Grodno’s largest church and it was built under the instruction of Duke Vytautas in 1389, firstly as a wooden building, and later the Catholic building was rebuilt in stone during the time of Stephen Bбthory in the 16th century.
During its history, the Catholic property has caught fire several times. After the 1889 fire, the church was restored as the Orthodox St. Sophia Cathedral. In 1918, it returned to the Catholics, and church operated as a garrison Catholic church. Before its destruction, the building was used as a warehouse.
Later this year, another sculpture — Memorial Crosses — is planned to be installed near the Grodno Regional Drama Theatre to honour the lost churches. It will serve as a reminder for Grodno residents of the Catholic church of Bernardine (later St. Boris and Gleb Monastery) of the 17th-20th century, which was previously located on that site.
