Sarya Church

The church at Sarya was built between 1852 and 1857 by Ignacy Loyko as a memorial chapel to his wife Maria, and the result is an unusually delicate piece of neo-Gothic in red brick: a tall single tower over the entrance, steep gables, slender pinnacles, pointed windows and a wealth of moulded brick detail so fine that the building has often been described as lacework. It stands in a village of a few hundred people in the far north. It was closed and used as a store for decades, which damaged the interior, and was later transferred to Orthodox use and restored, with the exterior brickwork the principal survival.

What you actually see

• The brick detailing - the fine moulded work across the facade.
• The tower - the tall entrance spire over the west front.
• Steep gables and pinnacles - the vertical composition of the building.
• The village setting - the small settlement around the church.

When to go

May to September for the approach and the light; the church is open around service times. Morning and evening sun bring out the brick detail. The village is remote from any city.

Honest expectations

Interior access depends on services and on whether the church is unlocked. The interior lost most of its original fittings. The village has no facilities. It is a long drive from anywhere.

Nearby

Verkhnyadzvinsk lies southwest; Polotsk is southeast.