Description of the attraction
On Elжbietaanska Street, near the St. Elжbieta Hospital, there is a small church of St. Joseph, which until the 19th century was called the Church of Saints Elash and Eliseus.
Its history is closely intertwined with the activities of one monastic order. In 1467, the Holy Fathers-Carmelites began the construction of a monastery on the site of the St. George's leper colony. It was built for a long time, with long interruptions due to various wars and religious disputes. By 1480, only the presbytery and the chapel for confession were built, which were part of the future Church of St. Joseph. At the beginning of the 17th century, the western monastery building appeared.
40 years later, all the buildings that make up the monastery were seriously damaged by fire. Then the restored church was almost completely destroyed by the Protestants. Hardworking Carmelites rebuilt their shrine again, while the facade of the church was decorated in a magnificent baroque style.
In 1734-1835, Russians, French and Germans from Prussia alternately lived in the monastery. When the Carmelite Order was abolished in 1840, the Church of St. Joseph became a parish church.
And in 1945, tragedy struck. Along with the temple, 100 people were burned, who were hiding there from the horrors of war. The church lost its vault and almost all of its furnishings.
In 1947, the restoration of this temple began and continued until 1970. The church was decorated in a modern manner. Among the ancient artifacts, the central altar of St. Joseph, several confessionals and a baptismal font dating from the middle of the 18th century have been preserved in it.
