Raytsa - is a village of Karelichy district, Grodno region of Belarus. The main attraction of the village Raytsa is the Orthodox church of St. Barbara, which was built in 1817 from bricks and natural stone. The church in the village of Raytsa has a very unusual appearance. It looks like a small medieval fortress. Although, it is obvious that at the beginning of the 19th century, no defensive functions were built during construction.
Partly, this unusual for the Orthodox church appearance, due to the fact that the temple in the village of Raytsa was originally built as a Catholic church, and, in combination, a family burial vault in a fairly extensive manor complex, which was located in the village of Raytsa. This complex will be discussed later. In 1863, after the defeat of the corresponding uprising, the temple in the village of Raytsa was transformed into the Transfiguration Orthodox church. During the First World War, church bells and some other values were taken deep into Russia.
During the Second World War a shell hit the church. The fact is that the church is a high-altitude dominant of the village, accordingly it could shoot artillery. Later, the temple was also set on fire by partisans. In the middle of the 20th century, the Soviet authorities decided to demolish the dilapidated building of the temple in the village of Raytsa, which already then was empty without roofing and overlapping. Several explosions were made in the church, but massive walls of brick and natural stone, reaching a meter thick, stood, and finally the temple was never dismantled. The temple was just left empty and further destroyed under the influence of time.
In 2000, the restoration of the church in the village of Raytsa was started. In 2003, the church was re-consecrated in the name of St. Barbara. During all these events, the church in the village of Raytsa changed slightly, in particular, the sculpture of the Virgin Mary, which adorned the solid tower on the main facade, disappeared from the same tower, chimes and bells disappeared, and the buttresses strengthening the side facades were destroyed. Restoration of the temple continues. However, it is conducted only by the forces of the small parish of the church, therefore it is very slow. Nevertheless, there is a plan of complete restoration of the historical appearance of the church in the village of Raytsa.
Something has already been done, for example, on a perfectly restored main facade of the church in the village of Raytsa, a mechanical clock is again placed. However, unfortunately, when restoring the walls of the temple, only ordinary brick was used, instead of natural stone, from which survived fragments of walls were built, and the roof became tin, instead of tile. Nevertheless, all this is certainly habitual for Belarus, and is explained by the very limited financial possibilities of restorers. But the appearance of the inscription "2000" on one of the facades of the building is completely untypical and incomprehensible. Thus, until the next stage of reconstruction, the historical appearance of the church in the village of Raytsa is noticeably broken. Although the general positive impression of travelers and tourists from visiting this temple does not change this fact.
The church in the village of Raytsa is a very interesting landmark, an important architectural monument and an object of the cultural and historical heritage of Belarus. It is very picturesquely located on a high hill, from which an excellent view of the village. Next to the church is the plebania of the 19th century (the priest's house, the church administration and the household court) and two brama that were also built in the 19th century. After the war, when the church was destroyed, the building of the plebania was converted into a temple in which services were held. Now this building also serves the parish of the church in the village of Raytsa.
As already mentioned, in the village of Raytsa previously housed an extensive manor complex. Until now, apart from the church, this complex has preserved the manor house, fragments of the park and a very remarkable coat of arms. The manor house was built in the early 19th century, and today it is an interesting landmark of the village of Raytsa. This estate is interesting because its appearance is very typical for its time, while it is not bad preserved. Therefore, looking at the estate in the village of Raytsa, travelers and tourists can mentally dive into the atmosphere of the silent Belarusian provincial life of the 19th century. It is here that you can feel the almost imperceptible breath of that gentry Belarus, which, it seems, has long been gone.
At the moment the estate in the village of Raytsa is privately owned. Owners of the manor house are making attempts to completely restore and renovate it. It is planned to organize a museum here. In part, these plans have already been implemented, one of the premises of the estate is already an exhibition hall, with a rather poor exposition. Nevertheless, even in this condition, the estate in the village of Raytsa can be very interesting for travelers, and together with the church they form an excellent tourist atmosphere in this village.