Julia Egger
The Russian Orthodox Church temple has been raised in Austrian town of Laa an der Thaya, Memory-Austria website reports. It is dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel.
The church is located at the cemetery where almost 500 Soviet soldiers were buried after the liberation of the country from the Nazis during the Second World War at the Eastern Front. The names of almost half of the militants are unknown. The burial place was made in the spring of 1945. After the war soldiers from nearby settlements were reburied here.
There is also the grave of famous businessman Oleg Deripaska's grandfather. He died on the eve of the Victory Day at the age of 27. The entrepreneur allocated funds for the new temple construction. Authorities issued permission to build a church almost 10 years ago. Recent work was completed not so long ago. Construction materials were delivered to Austria from Russia.
A masterpiece of ancient Russian architecture, the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl, was taken as a model. The idea to build a copy of this particular temple belongs to Metropolitan Hilarion who then served in Vienna.
The ceremony was attended by the Russian Ambassador in Vienna Dmitry Lyubinsky, Oleg Deripaska, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, the clergy of the Vienna and Austrian diocese and city residents.
Russkiy Mir
