Description of the attraction
The Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary in Slonim is part of the architectural complex of the Bernardine monastery. In 1645, Konstantin Yuditsky donated money for the construction of a monastery for the saints who lived in Vilna at that time. He promised his parents that he would build a monastery and move the Bernardine sisters to Slonim. The Bernardines moved in 1648 and settled in a wooden monastery built for them.
In 1664, the construction of the temple began, which was completed 6 years later. In 1696 the church was consecrated by the Archbishop of Vilna Constantin Brzhostovsky. In 1751, the modernization of the dilapidated and outdated church began. It was the heyday of the Rococo style. Five magnificent altars were erected. The altars and interior decoration for the Bernardine church were made by the famous master Johann Gödel. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed this magnificent building. In the form in which the church has survived to this day, it was built in 1793. The construction was supervised by the architect I. Ovodovich.
In 1864, the tsarist government banned the admission of new sisters to the monastery. The monastery was gradually emptied. The building was dilapidated without proper maintenance. In 1905, a decree on freedom of religion was issued, signed by Nicholas II. Already in 1907, the first sisters arrived at the monastery, who undertook the restoration of the building on their own. First of all, a school and a boarding school for girls were opened, which Slonim badly needed.
During the war, two nuns were shot by the Nazis, the rest were expelled by the Soviet authorities after the end of the war. From the end of the war to the present day, a hospital has been located within the walls of the monastery. Quite recently, the monastery and the church were again handed over to the Catholic Church and the nuns returned to their monastery in Slonim. Now the temple is functioning.
