Travel Guide Synkavičy (Сынковi̇чы)

The small village of Synkavičy is located 13 km from Slonim on the Hrodna-Vawkavysk route. There is a fortress church Saint-Michel, a jewel of Belarusian medieval architecture. Its origin is mysterious. It would have been built towards the end of the th century from a fortress already existing. The church harmoniously brings together the two eastern (Byzantine) and western (Gothic) trends that influenced Belarusian culture during its history. The thickness of the church walls and its majestic towers leave no hint of its initial defensive vocation. At the beginning of the th century, the church went to the Uniates, returning to the Orthodox people in the early th century. In 1926, the church became again uniate, but after World War II it was closed and turned into a vegetable deposit. Since 1993, the church has returned once again to the Orthodox people.