Historical outline

At the beginning of the 17th century, Jerzy Wiśniowiecki, then owner of Bialy Kamień, castellan of Kiev, wanted to establish a Roman Catholic parish in the village. Initially, a modest church was built, based on a single-nave structure and a gabled roof. Five years later Prince Wiśniowiecki died, and as he left no descendants, the estate became the property of Prince Jeremi Wiśniowiecki, known to fans of Henryk Sienkiewicz's prose as "Jarema" and the father of the future King of Poland, Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki. The new owner, together with his wife Gryzelda (de domo Zamoyska), expanded the parish to eight villages. In addition to Bialy Kamień, it began to include such villages as Bełzec, Bużek, Czeremosznia, Poczapy, Skwarzawa, Usznia and Żulice. Troubled years came soon after. The building suffered significant damage from invasions by Tartars and Turks.

The temple was only rebuilt in 1737. The church acquired a modern, for the time, Baroque appearance. The consecration took place shortly afterwards and the building was dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The inscription on the facade portal reads: "Anos Dni MDCCXXXVII Dic XXV octobris", which is still there today. Another reconstruction took place in 1766, which not only enlarged the building by adding an apse and a vestry. A wall with an entrance gate, a belfry and a chapel were also added. The modesty of the original design initiated by Jerzy Wiśniowiecki was now a thing of the past. The temple impressed researchers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries long afterwards. However, this does not mean that it did not require care. In 1910, the building received another restoration. During the Second World War, the Germans converted the building into a weapons and ammunition warehouse. Between 1944 and 1946, most Polish families moved from Biała Kamień to the Recovered Territories.

Kamień to the regained territories. They were replaced by Ukrainian families. After the war, the building served as a fertiliser warehouse and garage. It was not until 1963 that the church was recognised as a historical monument, and in the 1970s restoration began, which lasted until 1982. It was then that the building was taken into care by the Lviv Art Gallery. A museum was opened there, but with communist associations. For a while in the early 1990s, the White Stone Church was a tourist attraction functioning as one of the most important in the area. However, the building was closed in 1996 and has remained in a state of disrepair ever since.

Architecture

The building can be found in the eastern part of Bialy Kamień. It is located at the former market square. The church, now in a state of disrepair, was built on a cruciform plan, in the Baroque style, but not without influences from the Renaissance. The walls were built of brick with the addition of white stone blocks. The foundation of the church is made of hewn stone blocks. It is a single-nave building, consisting of a three-sided chancel, a transept with rectangular arms and a sacristy with a rectangular ground plan. The interior walls are decorated with pilasters with Tuscan-type capitals. The vaulting is of the cross-column type, and the windows in the nave and chancel are closed with a segmental arch. The music choir is made of brick and consists of three arcades supported by pillars with Tuscan capitals. There is a stone floor in the chancel, which was laid during a renovation in the early 20th century.

The exterior elevations are decorated with pilasters with stone bases and Corinthian capitals. The roof is currently in a dilapidated state. Interestingly, underneath the building there is a system of cellars and tunnels, which probably connect to the nearby castle.