Photos

Svyato-Uspenska church in Poltava. Consist of the bell tower and the church per se (the building at back of the photo)

The church was built in 1776 and normally survived until 1929 when Communist decided to ruin it down.

Explosivies were put into buildings, the button was pressed and... the church went into the air, but the belltower was untouched! Incredible, but its walls, 1 m thick, sustained a devastating exposion! Somehow commy decided to leave the tower as it is.

It was standing abandoned alone until 2000s, when Poltava decided to rebuilt one of its main attractions. The church was rebuilt and the belltower is being renovated (you may see that the top is grey, unpainted yet).