Corpus Christi Church, Niasvizh, Belarus

Niasvizh Catholic Corpus Christi church was built in 1587–1593 according to the design of the Italian architect Giovanni Maria Bernardoni at sponsorship of Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł. The Jesuit church in Niasvizh was the first construction in Baroque in the whole territory of Rzecz Pospolita.

The temple interior is richly decorated with paintings. The frescoes were performed in 1750-1760s with participation of the artist Ksawery Dominik Heski (restored in 1900–1902). The frescoes embrace 40 individual compositions depicting Saints, allegorical scenes and biblical stories. The fresco compositions include cartouches with the Bible stanze and references. There is K.D. Gesski’s picture 'The Lord's Supper' (1753) in the main shrine. In addition to the paintings, the church interior contains a lot of plastic images, i.e. bás-reliefs and bust gravestones of the 17th – 19th centuries, marble altars and monuments.

There is a choir with an organ above the temple entrance. An entrance into the family crypt – a burial vault of the Radziwills – is located next to the bás-relief under the altar of Christ. There are over seventy burials of the mighty dynasty in the semi-basement.

References:

Niasvizh.by

Religious sites in Belarus

Address

Zamkavaja vulica, Niasvizh, Belarus

See all sites in Niasvizh

Details

Founded: 1587-1593
Category: Religious sites in Belarus

More Information

niasvizh.by

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Nesvizh Castle (0,6 km)
Nesvizh Town Hall (0,2 km)

Mir Castle (29,2 km)

User Reviews

Eugene (3 years ago)
Amazing!

Ola (5 years ago)
Very beautiful place, not far from Nesvizh castle.

Daiva Garneliene (5 years ago)
Nothing special from outside. But everything turns out then you come inside. You can’t imagine such beauty. Everthing is left authentic from the 16th-18th centuries: incredible murals and paintings. There is Radvilas family mausoleum in the underground of this church. Descentans of this family have been buried here since 16th century till now. The founder of this church - Nicholas Christopher Radvila “The Orphan” is resting here too.

Donatas Kiltinavičius (5 years ago)
Under construction

Анна Рахманина (5 years ago)
Невероятно красиво и внутри, и снаружи. Раннее барокко. Внутри росписи чудесные, некоторые с 3D эффектом (таким, что реально обмануться можно). Само убранство тоже потрясающее. Много чего интересного, лучше идти со знающим человеком. Когда я посещала, во всю шла реконструкция, многое было недоступно, но даже это не испортило впечатление, а увиденного было достаточно, чтобы ахнуть от восторга. Потрясающе!!!

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Photo from Flickr, copyright mixteri

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Corpus Christi Church