Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary

In Western Ukraine in the Ivano-Frankivsk region is a small town of Gorodenka. The history of the city begins in the 3rd millennium BC, when these lands were inhabited by the Trypillian people. After the Tatar horde burned the city of Kolomyia in the 17th century, Gorodenka became a strategically important center.

In the 18th century, its large-scale urban development began. The city passed into the possession of the Polish tycoon, political and military leader Nikolai Pototsky. In 1743, Nikolai Pototsky erected a Catholic church in Gorodenka, the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.

The Catholic shrine was built in the baroque style and is now a national architectural monument. The author of the church was the Ukrainian architect Bernard Meretin. When you come closer, you will notice that the Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary is a three-nave basilica made of brickwork. Three naves have a different form of structure. The middle nave is low and overlapping in the system of cross vaults, while the lateral ones have a dome structure. The facade of the building slightly protrudes forward, which is achieved thanks to the towers, somewhat offset to the center of the building. Facade decoration refers to the Corinthian order. The Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary is equipped with spacious vaulted cellars. Its choirs are represented by small balconies, densely placed along the walls of the Catholic church. External sculptural details on the casing of windows and balcony balustrades have similar images with St. George's Cathedral, which was also designed by Bernard Meretin. The cells were attached to the arch of the Catholic church at different levels. Compositional temple is designed as a one-story building from the north and one-story - from the south.

In the 30s of the 19th century the bell tower was completed, the ringing of which is heard before the beginning of the divine service. Also, the defensive fence around the church was replaced with a small crenellated fence. In the courtyard of the temple stands the figure of the Virgin Mary, made by the great Ukrainian sculptor Johann Pensel.

Go inside the Catholic shrine and pay attention to the frescoed masonry, which has been preserved here since the 18th century. The carving of the pulpit, the main altar above which the Mother of God is depicted, the iconostasis and two small altars belong to the sculptor Johann Pinzel.

The Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary is located on Vladimir the Great Street, 1. To the city of Gorodenka you can get from the regional center of Ivano-Frankivsk by car, from the bus station by bus or by shuttle bus.