About the Church
The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Piedruja stands at the centre of the Piedruja settlement, Krāslava municipality, on the bank of the Daugava, opposite the Belarusian town of Druja. It is a cultural monument of national significance.
The first wooden church here was built in 1632, in honour of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania's chancellor Leonas Sapiega. After it burned down, the present Baroque, twin-towered masonry church was raised in 1759, from earlier endowment funds and through the efforts of canon Karolis Karpis; it is 34 metres long, 13 metres wide and 13.5 metres high, with towers reaching 27 metres.
The church has four altars in Rococo decoration. At the centre of the wooden high altar is a trompe-l'oeil painting of the Assumption of Mary, with a fresco of the Holy Trinity above it; carved figures of St Casimir and St Stanislaus stand nearby. The church has three bells (the largest, weighing 24 poods, cast in 1771) and rich 18th-century stucco decoration.
The first wooden church here was built in 1632, in honour of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania's chancellor Leonas Sapiega. After it burned down, the present Baroque, twin-towered masonry church was raised in 1759, from earlier endowment funds and through the efforts of canon Karolis Karpis; it is 34 metres long, 13 metres wide and 13.5 metres high, with towers reaching 27 metres.
The church has four altars in Rococo decoration. At the centre of the wooden high altar is a trompe-l'oeil painting of the Assumption of Mary, with a fresco of the Holy Trinity above it; carved figures of St Casimir and St Stanislaus stand nearby. The church has three bells (the largest, weighing 24 poods, cast in 1771) and rich 18th-century stucco decoration.