The Schönsee Church today contrasts with Petershagen, and we visited at the end of a
day that began with Petershagen.
This church was built in 1909 as possibly the most ornate Russian Mennonite church.
It had frescoes on the ceiling, detailed buttresses, and ornate gateposts. The
building could seat 700 and soon had 745 members.
It was only about a decade later, after the civil war, that the building was turned
into a granary. Some time later there was an attempt to turn it into a gym, and
steel trusses were installed; the money to finish the project was never found, and the
building continues to decay --trees growing in the former sanctuary.
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