The Temple of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Catholic church in Smolensk, which is currently not functioning. Built between 1884 and 1896, the temple is made in neo-Gothic style and is a very interesting example of architecture. Unfortunately, the building is in an emergency condition, and it is impossible to get inside. However, the plans of the city authorities in partnership with the Polish authorities are to restore the building and transfer it to the faithful.

After the revolution, all religious institutions in Russia experienced difficult and tragic times, and the situation of the Catholic Church was aggravated by the conflict between Soviet Russia and Poland. In 1921, the seizure of church valuables began, by 1939 the Catholic community in Smolensk was actually destroyed, and in 1940 the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary was closed. In the 1950s, the organ was removed and scrapped, and once beautiful stained glass windows were knocked out and replaced with sheets of plywood.

However, despite such a difficult fate, the temple of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary became home to the Smolensk archive. It holds 740,000 files, including unique written historical records that survived fires and wars. But due to the emergency condition of the building, researchers are not allowed inside. It remains to admire the architectural details only from the outside.

As for the Catholic community, now the parish is located in the former house of the priest near the church - after reconstruction, a chapel and several rooms are equipped here for various needs of the parish.