Historical outline

The village is situated on the Seret River, 8 kilometres north-west of the much larger Trembowla. Strusov was also known as "Strussow", and in the even more distant past also as Podbohurodzice or Podbohorodycze and Podbohorodyczyn. The oldest mention of this village dates back to the 15th century. The first owners of the estate include the Kierdej family (15th century) and the Struss family (of Korczak coat of arms). The latter family founded a town in the village in 1568, which was named "Strussów" after their surname.

In the 17th century, the town passed into the ownership of the Potocki family. The years 1648-1655 were very turbulent. Cossack and Turkish invasions severely affected the condition of the town. In 1716, Strusów belonged to Bernard Grabianka (of Leszczyc coat of arms), still being a town devastated by brutal attacks. It rose from ruins in the first half of the 18th century.

Later, the estate was once again ruled by the Potocki family, then by the Rzewuskis, the Lanckorońskis, the Baworowskis, and in the inter-war period by the Dunin-Borkowskis.

Craftsmen and artists were active in Strusowo. In the first half of the 17th century, there were bricklayers, carpenters, a goldsmith's workshop in the town, and in 1747 the statutes of the guilds of coopers, potters, wheelwrights, boilermakers, blacksmiths, saddlers, carpenters and locksmiths were approved. Above all, however, Strusów was famous for making beer and pipe pipes. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, there was a stonemasonry centre in the village, and in the inter-war period, the sculptor Ludwik Ziemski was associated with Strusów.

At the end of the 18th century, the Lanckorońskis built a magnificent classicist palace, surrounded by an extensive park complex, open to the townspeople. Unfortunately, the building was severely damaged and looted during the First World War.

It is said that a Roman Catholic parish was already functioning in Strusowo at the height of the 16th century. However, historical sources do not confirm this thesis. At the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, there was a chapel in the village, which was served by Carmelites from Trembowla.

A documented pastoral unit in the Strusov area functioned, most likely in the form of a branch or chaplaincy, in the second half of the 18th century. Later the unit was elevated to the status of an independent parish, but there is a lack of hard data and exact dates in this regard. Certainly, the parish must have existed officially in the early 19th century. By the end of the century it included such villages as Bernadovka, Darachów, Nałuże, Neutitschein, Ruzdwiany, Tiutków, Warwaryńce and Zazdrość.

Information on the actual origins of the sacred building in Strusov is also not entirely clear. It is said that there was already a chapel in the village in the 18th century. However, according to sources, it did not meet the needs of the forming parish. The building went through various stages of adaptation and development. Eventually, however, it was converted into the Baworowski family burial chapel and was probably destroyed during the First World War.

At the end of the 19th century, the construction of a new church building began and was consecrated in 1902, with the church taking the name of Our Lady of the Rosary. Interestingly, the finishing work then continued for several more years. According to sources, the church was not yet completed in 1908. It remains to be assumed that the First World War must have slowed down the work or led to some damage. However, it is known that in the interwar period the building was already in good condition.

The last parish priest left the village in 1945 and some of the furnishings were saved. In 1990, the church was returned to the faithful and today bears the name of St Anthony.

Architecture

The building is located at the entrance to Strusov on an artificially levelled terrace. It consists of a three-nave, five-bay hall-like body (the central nave is wider than the side ones) and a two-bay, three-sided closed presbytery, which faces north-west. Attached to the body, at the front, is a massif, the main part of which is formed by a tower with a square ground plan. It contains a porch on the ground floor and a wooden music choir on the first floor. The tower consists of four storeys of varying heights, which are separated by cornices. The ground floor storey, which contains the opening of the main entrance, is surmounted by a low attic and a high triangular gable (with a round window in the field), which crosses the second storey and reaches the lower part of the third storey. In the field of the latter is a rectangular window in a flat frame and above it a clock face in a moulded frame. Rectangular panels are located on the sides. The last, fourth storey, consists mainly of rectangular windows closed with a pointed arch (a pair in the front, one on each side). Attention should also be drawn to the corners between the tower and the body of the church, as well as to the square vestry, which is attached to the altar area.

The facades of the annexes on the sides of the tower are two-storey, separated by cornices, which are an extension of the cornices of the front tower.

In his study of the building on these parts, Michal Kurzej writes:

"The lower storey of each is surmounted by a triangular gable, cutting into the second storey. In the ground floor, on the axis of the diagonal sections of the façade, the openings of the side entrances; their frames and doors are arranged similarly to those of the main entrance; in the tympanums (architectural details which are usually ornamental recesses - editor's note), medallions with reliefs: on the left, the Head of the Virgin Mary, on the right, the Head of St Joseph. On the axis of the second storey, there are rectangular windows closed with a pointed arch, filled with stone grilles. The whole is crowned with small triangular gables with trifoliate panels in the fields, framed by stone pinnacles (usually slender towers ending in a spire, which are a decorative element - editor's note) on pedestals, topped with florals" (architectural details in the shape of flowers - editor's note) .

The side elevations of the nave and the altar area are framed by two-bay buttresses and closed by a prominent profiled cornice. The buttresses are decorated with triangular pinnacles. The façades of the sacristy are closed with a profiled cornice.

Above the nave is a gable roof with an additional slope to the north-west. This section also features small dormer windows topped with triangular gables. The altar area has a gable roof, which changes to a pyramidal roof when closed. The sacristy is covered with a gable roof. All are covered with sheet metal. The gables (north-west) have wrought-iron openwork crosses.

The tower is topped by a tall pyramidal helmet (covered with tin scales in the shape of rhomboids), which is crowned with a doubled knob with a cross. Similar helmets appear above the annexes.

In the interior, the inter-nave pillars on plinths capped with a profiled cornice catch the eye. In turn, there are similar-looking half-pillars at the main walls. At the side walls of the altar area there is a pair of low half-pillars topped with sections of beam and Tuscan-style capitals. The arcade of the iris and the arcade between the nave and the upstairs room are pointed arches. Almost all parts are covered with cross vaults. There is a lunette vault above the chancel closure, and ceilings are used in the porch and the annexes flanking it and in the sacristy.

The building is dominated by rectangular, pointed-arch windows. A circular window is used at the front.

The most important elements related to the decoration, furnishings and surroundings of the church are or were:

• The painting decoration of the interior which is not only a decorative feature, but also emphasises and imitates the articulation;
• The main altar dated to the end of the 19th century, with sculptures depicting, among others, the images of Christ Crucified, St. Peter and St. Paul (polychrome wood);
• Sculptures including: Christ Crucified (dated 18th century, polychrome wood) , Christ Crucified; Our Lady Immaculate (dated early 20th century, polychrome wood); Saint Anthony of Padua with Child (dated early 20th century, polychrome plaster).

As Michal Kurzej writes in his study of the building, the well-preserved church in Strusowo is an example of the consistent application of Neo-Gothic forms. "Of the furnishings preserved in the church, the sculpture of the Virgin Mary with decoratively draped folds of robes stands out for its relatively high artistic level. Also noteworthy are the relics of goldsmithing, the oldest elements of which date from the 18th century."

Name: Parish Church of Our Lady of the Rosary in Strusowo

Name currently in operation: St Anthony's Church in Strusowo

Division: architecture

Localization: Ukraine, district: Ternopil, locality: Strusiv

Author: Unknown

Date of construction: Consecration 1902.

Technical data: Brick building