Saint Anthony of Padua Church in Hnoyno is a former Orthodox Church of Saint Paraskeva, built between 1880 and 1883 in the northernmost village of the Lublin Voivodeship. The village stands on the Bug River, on the edge of the Podlasie Landscape Park “Bug Breakthrough,” and attracts visitors not only with its church: there is a high cliff with a viewpoint, sandy banks, and a seasonal ferry across the river.
The Church That Became a Catholic Church
An Orthodox church existed in Hnoyno before 1592. In 1633, a Uniate church was built on its site, founded by Karol Odrowąż. The Uniate parish operated until the liquidation of the Chełm Greek Catholic Eparchy in 1875, when the local population was forcibly joined to the Russian Orthodox Church. Between 1880 and 1883, a new brick church was built at the expense of the parishioners in a non-Russian style; on August 6, 1883, it was consecrated by the rector of the Orthodox parish in Janów Podlaski. The building was repaired in 1910.
The church belonged to the Orthodox community until 1947. After the deportation of the Ukrainian Orthodox population, it was taken over by the Catholic Church and dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua. A fragment of an ancient painting with the evangelists Mark and Matthew still remains on the vault, and there is a grave of a Uniate parish priest near the church. The village also has a neglected Orthodox cemetery with 19th-century tombstones.
The Village Above the Cliff
Hnoyno lies near the so-called Bug Breakthrough, opposite Niemirów on the Podlasie bank. There is a ferry here — the last ferry crossing on the Bug before the Belarusian border: the nearest car bridge is in Kozki, over 25 km away. A cliff several dozen meters high rises above the river, constantly eroded by the Bug, and from its top there is a view of the floodplain and river bends. There are fields for tents and bivouacs, a tourist shelter and parking, and nearby — the Hnoyno–Borsuki observation tower.
Film and Pavlyak
Local landscapes were filmed in the movies “Over the Neman” and “Devils, Devils.” And the actor Wacław Kowalski’s childhood passed right in Hnoyno — he played Kazimierz Pavlyak in the cult comedy “All Friends Here.” His family fled to Russia in 1915, like thousands of locals, and settled here after returning. In the village center there is also a monument to the January Uprising.
How to Get There
Hnoyno lies in the gmina of Konstantynów, about 9 km north of Konstantynów and 30 km from Biała Podlaska. Public transport is rare, so a car or bicycle is more convenient: the Green Velo bike trail passes through here. For Ukrainians, this is Poland, so a passport is required. The ferry operates in the warm season; check the schedule locally. The church is open during services. Nearby are the Podlaski Przełom Bugu Landscape Park, the church and the palace in Konstantynów, as well as the church in Staryi Pavliv.
