Mosque of Ivye

In the beginning XV century The «high-born Batald» (as the local Tatars called the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt) settled Tatars in the Murovshchizna tract, brought by him after his campaigns in the Crimea. This is how one of the largest sieges in Belarus appeared. At first, the Muslim Tatars were content with ordinary premises, which they adapted to cult needs. However, large Tatar sieges sought to have separate religious buildings – mosques.
The mosque in the Muravshizna tract was built in 1882 at the expense of the owner of the town of Ivye, Countess Elvira Zamoyskaya. For this, the project of a mosque in Muravshchizna was drawn up and approved by the construction department of the provincial government, which is currently kept in the Central State Archives of Lithuania. Despite the strict requirements of the project, the mosque was built with significant deviations from it, using the traditional techniques of local carpenters. The original structure, walls and ceilings were not planked and painted.
In 1922, with money sent from the USA by emigrant Tatars, the minaret was renewed, a porch with two entrances was added, the walls were covered with boards and painted.
Since then, the mosque has undergone many renovations, until in 2014-2017, as a result of repair and restoration work, it acquired its present appearance, as close as possible to its original historical.
Ivye Mosque is a monument of wooden architecture with modern features, in 2007 it received the status of historical and cultural value. The only one of two dozen mosques that existed in Belarus in the pre-war years has survived, and during the years of Soviet power it was the only mosque in Belarus.