St. Lawrence Temple

d. Zolqua

The magnificent temple of St. Lawrence in Zholkva was built in the beginning. XVII century. on the project of Arch. P. Happy. It was conceived as the main temple of the city, the tomb of the Zholkievsky family and the pantheon of knightly glory. The founder of the city S. Zholkiewski, his wife and son, as well as the family of Danilovich and Jakub Sobieski (father of King Jan Sobieski) are buried in the dungeon, for which the Poles call the church "Little Wavel". The interior has preserved marble tombstones with sculptures by V. Zychlivyi: male figures in knightly armor, women in traditional long dresses. Also, the interiors were decorated with picturesque canvases of the XVII century: "Battle of Vienna", "Battle of Khotin", "Battle of Kalushin" (now they are in the Oleskoy castle). The Renaissance portal is decorated with images of saints, a sculpture of Archangel Michael is installed on the pediment. Near the church there is a late Renaissance bell tower, built in the XVI century. as a defense tower. It is adjacent to the preserved part of the city wall. In Soviet times, the Church of St. Lavrentija was closed, but now returned to the Catholic parish, restored by Polish specialists.