Vowchyn

Ruins of Church of Holy Trinity

Voŭčyn or Volchin (Belarusian: Воўчын, Polish: Wołczyn, Russian: Волчин) is a village in Kamenets Raion, Brest Region, Belarus. It was the birthplace of the last king of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski, Wincenty Korwin Gosiewski, and Zygmunt Vogel.

History

In the early 18th century, a palace complex was built at Wołczyn by Prince Fryderyk Michał Czartoryski. It belonged to the Czartoryski and Poniatowski families. The only standing remains are the ruins of the 1729 Chapel of the Holy Trinity, which in Soviet times was used as a fertilizer warehouse.

In 1938 the remains of Stanisław August Poniatowski were moved to the Holy Trinity Chapel from St. Catherine's Church in Saint Petersburg. When the town was annexed by the Soviet Union in September 1939, the tomb was despoiled and destroyed. Church of Holy Trinity is reviving. The belfry with the old clock are at the top now, still further restoration is needed.

In 1995 the king's remains were moved to St. John's Cathedral in Warsaw.

External links

• (Polish) Wołczyn in the Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland (1893)
• (English) Andrea Simon "Bashert: A Granddaughter’s Holocaust Quest", University Press of Mississippi, Jackson, 2002, ISBN 1-57806-481-3