No 30394
Church
Church Latvia, Latgale, Krāslavas novads

The Piedruja Roman Catholic Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary

Located on the right bank of the Daugava, the church can be seen from various parts of Piedruja.  The first wooden church was built at the instruction of Prince Jan Stapekha in 1632, and it burned down in 1759.  The Baroque stone church that is there now was built in 1759 with its two towers, and it may have been designed by an Italian architect.  The towers stand 27 m high, and under the church is a cellar.  The towers have three bells – the largest one dates back to 1711, the middle-sized one was manufactured in 1896, and the smallest dates back to 1619.  The largest bell weighs nearly 0.4 tonnes.  Inside the church are many important cultural and historical monuments, including a central wooden altar with a painting of the assumption of Mary, three 18th century altars, a pulpit from the early 19th century, St Anton’s altar, a fresco of the Holy Trinity, church dishes from the 17th century, etc.  The building is surrounded by a large garden with a stone fence and stone repositories at the corners of the garden.  Two priests, Kazimirs Konvalevskis and Broņeslavs Stefanovičs are buried here.  Stefanovičs played a major role in the restoration of the church after World War I.  The Piedruja congregation first emerged during the first half of the 17th century.

Distance from countries capital city289 Season1-12