Vowchyn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Voŭčyn (Belarusian: Воўчын, Polish: Wołczyn) is a village in Belarus. It was the birthplace of Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last King of Poland.

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

In 1938, the body of Stanisław August Poniatowski was moved to the Holy Trinity chapel from the St. Catherine church in Sankt Petersburg. The tomb was despoiled and destroyed when the town was annexed by the Soviet Union in September of 1939.

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