Mosar
A Vitebsk region village whose priest turned the church grounds into an elaborate garden of lawns and sculpture.
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The church of St Anne at Mosar was built in 1792 in a restrained classicist manner, and it would be one of many such village churches were it not for what surrounds it: from the 1990s the parish priest Jozas Bulka laid out the grounds as a garden, with clipped lawns, flower beds, ponds, a fountain, a stations of the cross running through the planting, sculpture, a small museum and a bell tower, maintained to a standard unusual anywhere and startling in a village of a few hundred people. The garden became a destination in its own right, and the priest, who died in 2010, is buried in it. His temperance campaign, which the village was also known for, is commemorated there.
What you actually see
- The garden - the lawns, beds, ponds and planting around the church.
- St Anne's church - the 1792 classicist building at its centre.
- The stations of the cross - the sculpture route through the grounds.
- The priest's grave - the burial in the garden he made.
When to go
June to September, when the planting is at its best; the garden is at its fullest in high summer. The church follows service hours. Winter strips the garden of its point.
Honest expectations
Outside the growing season there is little to see. The church interior depends on service times. The village has no facilities. It is a long drive from any city.
Nearby
Hlybokaye lies east; Sarya is north.
What to pack for Mosar
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.