Epiphany Church in Ostroh, Eastern Orthodox church building in Ostroh, Ukraine.
The Epiphany Church in Ostroh is a stone church with defensive features, built in the Gothic style. Its rectangular core had four pillars and three apses to the east, with towers and buttresses. The 1886 reconstruction kept this plan but replaced the Gothic portals, pointed window frames and trefoil gables with simplified forms; only the lower part of the north wall with loopholes survives from the original.
The building was founded in the 1520s by nobleman Konstanty Ostrogski and served for over a century as a center of religious life. Its role as an active place of worship ended in 1636 when it ceased operations.
The church is named for the Epiphany feast and served as the Ostroh princes' family church. In 1636 Anna-Aloiza Ostrozhska had it closed after a conflict with Ostroh residents, and it stood empty for 250 years. Since December 1989 it has again belonged to the Orthodox community, and services resumed in January 1990.
The building sits in central Ostroh and is accessible on foot while exploring the town center. The sturdy brick structure can be viewed from the outside, allowing visitors to examine its exterior features and architectural details.
The 1886 "restoration" by architect V. Tokarev had the ruined walls dismantled to their foundations; only the lower part of the northern wall with loopholes survives from the original church. The rebuilt church kept the rectangular four-pillar plan and three apses but lost the Gothic portals, pointed window frames and trefoil gables.
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