Chelmska Mountain is a picturesque hill, the focal point of which is the majestic Late Baroque Basilica of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary towering over the city. Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The church was designed on a Latin cross plan as a three-nave building with a transept. The central part of the temple is crowned by a dome with a lantern, while two high towers are covered by decorative helmets topped with crosses with crescents. The exterior, richly decorated facade is in the late Baroque style, while the interior retains a more calm and orderly character. The interior is devoid of its original shape and furnishings, in its condition after reconstructions in the 20th century. (without polychrome and Baroque decor).
The most important element of the basilica is a copy of the famous image of Our Lady of Chelm located in the main altar. Another valuable monument is the 18th-century antepedium depicting the scene of the homage paid to the image of Our Lady of Chelm by King Jan Kazimierz and the knights after the Battle of Beresteczko.
The history of the place dates back to the Middle Ages. The first temple, the Orthodox Church of the Mother of God founded by Prince Daniel Romanovich, existed here as early as the 13th century. Today’s basilica was built in the 18th century on the initiative of Bishop Philip Volodkovich, according to a design by architect Pavel Fontana. In 1765 the solemn coronation of the image of Our Lady of Chelm took place here.
In the 19th century, after the liquidation of the union, the Orthodox Church took over the temple, and the building was rebuilt in the Byzantine-Ruthenian style. A characteristic element of this reconstruction was the onion-shaped finials of the towers. After Poland regained its independence, the church returned to the Catholics, and in the 1930s the parish of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was established. In 1988, Pope John Paul II elevated the church to the dignity of a basilica minor.
