The Holy Spirit Convent is an Orthodox monastery in the city of Viciebsk. It is located on vulica Talstoha. It was founded in the 14th century. The monastery has a Home Church of the Princess St. Olga Equal-to-the-Apostles.

According to some sources, the monastery was founded in the late 1380s by Princess Uĺjana Aliaksandraŭna, the widow of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Aĺhierd, who built the main temple of the monastery – the Church of the Holy Spirit. It is believed that Uĺjana took vows in the monastery in about 1393 under the name of Marta and after her death was buried in the monastery.

In 1618, the question of turning the monastery into a Uniate Basilian monastery arose. But this was finally realized only after the war between Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1654–1667).

After the Council of Polack in 1839, which abolished the Uniate Church, the Basilian monastery was transferred to the Orthodox and became the Holy Spirit Convent again. By the middle of the 19th century, the monastery had fallen into disrepair. In 1855, only six nuns lived there. Soon, the monastery was closed – first there was a women's prison here, and then – a women’s spiritual school.

With the establishment of Soviet power in 1918, the building of the former monastery was occupied by the Gubernia Executive Committee. In 1947, the Holy Spirit Church was destroyed by the communist authorities.

In 2001, the Holy Spirit Convent was restored. Currently, it is located in the building of the spiritual and cultural center, where the Church of the Princess St. Olga Equal-to-the-Apostles and monastic cells are located. The territory of the monastery is gradually being restored.

The monastery is located in a stone building of the 19th century. It has a developed three-dimensional composition, three wings of different sizes. The building is divided into a number of sections with independent entrances, mainly from the courtyard. The architecture uses elements of classicism.

Publication date: 11.02.2021.

---

For convenient navigation through the landmarks, use the FREE mobile program