Hołoby - a village existing at least since the 15th century, known, among other things, for its Koziński manor house, was completely destroyed as a result of warfare at the beginning of the 18th century. A new village was established a few kilometres south of the former location. It was then that the construction of the palace and church began. Mieczysław Orłowicz described it as follows: "Once the estate of the Wilga, Podhorodecki and Ronikier families, later partly parcelled out to the Czechs. Currently, the estate of Mrs Mianowska. Adamczyk's restaurant, guest rooms at Lejkach and Szafir (with rest.). The main decoration of the village is the cross-shaped, baroque church, built in 1711-28 by Jozef Jeruzalski, Podstvile of Podlasie. The tower was damaged by the Germans during the war. Rococo frescoes inside, also partly destroyed. Next to it, a rectory with the appearance of an Old Polish manor house from the mid-18th century, with a double-pitched roof and a residential building, converted from the entrance gate to the now-defunct Ronikier palace. Four statues from 1711, one of which was destroyed during the war. Next to the village a colony inhabited by 70 German and Mazurian families".

Palace

There was also a palace of the Jaruzelski family in Hołoby, its construction began around 1711 on the initiative of the owner of the estate, Jozef Jaruzelski. The next owner was Chernivtsi voivode and senator of the Republic Ludwik Wilga (1750-1797). He extended the residence, erected new farm buildings, as well as a gatehouse with a winter garden. Wilga also established a new park with a pond. He was also the founder of the St George's Church. After his death, the palace became the property of his daughter Ludwika Józefa, who married Kajetan Bożydar Podhorodeński (d. after 1824), a colonel in the Kościuszko Uprising, major of the 3rd Regiment of the Front Guard of the Crown Field Bulwark in 1791. During their time, during the Franco-Russian War, the palace was the seat of Field Marshal Karl Filip Schwarzenberg (1771-1820). The next owner of the village and the palace was their son, who, involved in national affairs, took little care of the family estate and it slowly deteriorated. According to unconfirmed information, the palace burnt down around 1870. It is possible that it was then purchased by the Ronikier family. At the beginning of the 20th century the palace was owned by Maria Podlewska née Ronikier. It was on her initiative that it was rebuilt or reconstructed, a greenhouse was added, and a winter garden was established. Her heir was Maria Stanisława Podlewska-Mianowska, who owned the palace until World War II.

After the end of the Second World War, the building was used, among other things, as a community centre, a military hospital and later a civilian hospital, as well as a kindergarten or an orphanage. In the 1980s, the palace was handed over to the local kolkhoz "Przyjazn". After the collapse of the Soviet Union, its remains were looted.

Church

Around 1700, the construction of a church began, which was interrupted in 1708 as a result of warfare. Re-building, probably in a new location, began around 1711 on the initiative of Jozef Jaruzelski. Due to the magnitude of the construction work, it was not completed until 1728. The next owner of the village, Ludwik Wilga, planned for the church to be the site of ancestral burials. He funded two side chapels. However, on 24 April 1731, the church burnt down as a result of a lightning strike. It took seven years to rebuild. The interior of the church received a Rococo decoration by the Moravian artist Joseph Prechtel (1737-1799), the author of, among other things, the wall painting in Beresteczko depicting Pentecost (1777-1778) and the paintings in the church in Brahilov. In Hołoby he was the author of both polychrome and altar paintings. The church was consecrated in 1802. The temple was damaged during the First World War, and restoration of the church was undertaken in the interwar period. Restoration of the Prechtel frescoes was carried out in 1938 by Jerzy Ostrowski. After World War II, the church was used as a fertiliser warehouse, which led to its destruction.

The ensemble of three sculptures from the former manor-park complex in Hołoby

In the former centre of the village of Holoby, not far from the manor complex, there is an interesting sculptural ensemble. It was erected in the early 18th century, most probably in 1711, on the initiative of Józef Jaruzelski, Podskarbi of Podlasie. The sculptures depict the Blessed Virgin Mary and two saints of the Catholic Church - St John of Nepomuk (right) and St Anthony of Padua (left). They are set on high plinths, topped by hipped tiled roofs. The side sculptures extend to a height of about 5 metres and the central sculpture to about 10 metres. Another set of statues was located in the neighbouring village of Puszyn (Pohinky), along the former road to Kowel. From the 18th century, a procession was held twice a year - on 15 August and 8 September - from the Unitarian monastery in Pushyn to Holobah, during which people stopped at the statues.

During the First World War, the statue of the Virgin Mary was damaged. In 2023, the Polonica Institute carried out the restoration of the other two.