Historical outline

The origins of the site date back to 1617, when the monastery in Trembowla was founded by Peter Ożga. The village is one of the oldest administrative units in the region. It was first mentioned in the 11th century.

At the outset, it is worth pointing out that the ensemble comprising the Carmelite church and monastery was the result of a complex construction process lasting several centuries. Despite the abundant archives that have been preserved, it is paradoxically impossible to determine the exact time of the temple's construction. It is known that it took place between 1630 and 1828. As Andrzej Betlej writes in his study, additional confusion is created by publications by monastic historians, who are not entirely consistent on many important points. One example is the information from 1817 about the 'bell tower at the monastery', which is not confirmed in official sources. Further impediments to a full and proper analysis were introduced by the rebuilding of the church, which took place at the end of the 20th century. Betlej also denies the first wooden incarnation of the temple in question, claiming that it must have been brick from the very beginning. Yes, the Carmelites did settle at an unspecified wooden building, but this information only adds to the ambiguity.

The 17th century was a time of invasions. In 1649, the monks were forced to leave the village to escape from the Cossacks and Tartars. However, they returned to Trembowla rather quickly. Already a year later, they erected a building to protect themselves from attack. During the invasion of 1672, the Turks inflicted massive devastation, destroying the church, monastery, brickyard and farm, but the monks survived the siege and returned to their "monastery cottages" a year later. According to historical sources, the construction of the monastery began in 1682. However, it is very difficult to form a precise calendar.

It is also worth noting the lack of clear data on the administration of the building over the years. In 1784, for example, parish services were moved to the Carmelite church. The presence of a parish priest in part of the monastic buildings resulted in an unclear division of duties and powers between the monks and the lay clergy, which consequently gave rise to many disputes. There were decades when there were priests on the premises, after which the state of affairs returned to the original formula and again the pastoral functions were performed exclusively by Carmelites. The very presence of monks at the site was also variable. A kind of sine wave was particularly evident in the 19th and 20th centuries, when, briefly speaking, there were intense negotiations not only about the functioning of the confraternity on the site, but also about determining the ownership of the building, its renovations, etc.

Until 1858, the diocese paid rent to the Carmelites. In turn, the monastery bore the cost of repairs. This contract lasted until 1869. In the early 1890s, the then archbishop suggested that the brotherhood withdraw from the town. In 1894, however, another contract was concluded (this time for ten years), which obliged the friars to make repairs.

As a result of structural turmoil, the church was closed in 1903 and the parish priest built a makeshift chapel on the grounds of the monastery. The following years were a time of renovation work. In 1919, a lease on the church was concluded for the next 20 years. The monks left the town, remaining the formal owners of the building. The Carmelites returned to Trembella in 1930 with plans to establish a novitiate in the complex.

During the Second World War, the monastery provided shelter for several priests who were fleeing attacks by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. It was abandoned at the beginning of 1945. The Carmelites managed to take some of the inventory with them, including the painting of Our Lady of the Scapular.

In 1946, some of the church furnishings were destroyed. The complex was developed by the Soviets in a way peculiar to them. A Christmas tree ornament factory was set up in the monastery and a warehouse for chemical materials in the church.

In 1987, a fire broke out in the church, destroying the rest of the furnishings. In 1991, the church was handed over to the Autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and a seminary was opened in the monastery.

Renovations adapting the character of the buildings towards features characteristic of Eastern churches largely obliterated the former style costume. At the end of the 20th century, two towers were added to the façade.

Architecture

The monastery complex is located in the centre of Trembowla, near the former market square. The grounds, roughly square in plan, were surrounded by a wall with hexagonal towers at the corners.

Church

The building was built of brick and stone and plastered. It consists of a basilic, three-nave, three-bay body and a slightly lower, closed triangular, two-bay chancel, which faces north-east. A massing was placed at the front, housing the porch on the ground floor and the music choir on the first floor. A vestry and treasury are attached to the chancel. There are crypts under the altar area.

From the outside, the three-axis façade on a low pedestal attracts attention. Its vertical divisions are carried out with pseudo-pillars. Above the central section is a triangular, slightly receding gable. A rectangular window, closed with a semicircle, is located above the staircase-accessible opening of the main entrance. The circular window above, asymmetrical to the axis, is a curiosity. A rectangular window in a semi-circularly closed niche is located in the gable area. The whole is topped off with a wrought-iron cross with a crescent. The windows in the other facades of the building are set in profiled frames decorated with winged angel heads.

The articulation of the side elevations of the nave is carried out with divided pseudo-pillars, supporting the beam.

In the centre, attention is drawn to the inter-nave pillars on a square plan, supported on the nave side by high composite pilasters. In the nave, the pilasters support a massive, broken beam above them. The eaves of the rainbow arch are shaped similarly. The altar section has no architectural divisions.

The nave and presbytery have barrel vaults with lunettes. The side aisles, the sacristy and the treasury have cross vaults, while the porch has cross-column vaults.

The music choir was enclosed by a cornice with a wooden parapet. Access to it led through a staircase in the thickness of the façade wall.

The most important elements related to the decoration and furnishings of the church included:

The painting decoration of the interior, unfortunately no longer extant today. It emphasised and complemented the articulation of the interior;

The main altar, dating from the second half of the 19th century. In its main field was a painting depicting the image of the Virgin Mary and Child, referred to as "Our Lady of Trembowels";

The side altar known as the "Altar of the Transfiguration", by Sebastian Fesinger, (completed by Jan Więckowski in 1761) dated to around 1751;

A side altar known as the 'Altar of St Teresa of Avila', by Sebastian Fesinger, (completed by J. Więckowski in 1761), dated around 1753.

Monastery

The convent building adjoins the temple to the north-west. The building was built of stone and brick and plastered. It has an L-shaped ground plan. It has two storeys and a basement. The corridor is located on the courtyard side. On the ground floor are the cells, the kitchen with refectory, the sacristy and the church treasury. The library and refectory functioned on the first floor. Windows in this section were used rectangular and some rectangular windows closed with a semicircle. The entrance openings were mostly rectangular. The elevations have no divisions. The roofs over the building are multi-pitched. They used to be covered with tiles and today are covered with the same metal sheet as the roof of the church.

In his study, Andrzej Betlej describes the technical condition of the church as good, while pointing out the transformation that took place in the 1990s, which went against all conservation principles. The original furnishings are missing from the site. The painting of Our Lady of the Scapular is located in the Carmelite Church of St Catherine in Gdansk.

Name: Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Convent of the Discalced Carmelites in Trembowla

Current name: Former Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Convent of the Discalced Carmelites in Trembowla

Division: architecture

Location: Ukraine, region: Ternopil, town: Trembowla

Author: unknown

Date of construction: 17th - 19th century

Technical data: Brick object, plastered