Off The Beaten Path

So I was forced to try a new road the other day because of construction. And much to my surprise, I found this little gem;

A church in a field in the middle of nowhere Saskatchewan.


 I drove this area millions of times, but never took this road, had no idea this magical castle-like church even existed. We had to pull over, take photos and just take it in. The kids even asked to come back this way again so we could see it a second time. We were star struck.

I had to do a little research on it. This is a century old fully restored Bekevar Church made by the Hungarian settlers of the area.
HISTORICAL RESEARCH LINK
COOL PHOTOS LINK

I found a great blog post HERE about it and Perry tells about the magic of this church just beautifully. It was built in 1911 and is a character itself in the heritage of the area. Imagine the social gatherings here. The love affairs that blossomed, the marriages, the deaths, and the hauntings.

Yes hauntings. I was delighted to read about the ghost stories that stem from it. It's rumoured that a male spirit protects it and does some fun things with the bell. You can read about them HERE, HERE, and HERE.
Much to my delight, Perry got a hold of me and shared another story! He wrote a poem about it on his blog, HERE. This one is about a woman who catches a ride and leaves her gloves behind. AH! I love it.

As you can see, I'm not the only one who thought this place was magical. So many have written about it, taken photos, and I'm so glad I found it. Its presence on the open prairies made me think that it was a character all of its own in one of my stories. Hmmm. inspiration never got much easier than that!

Ever get off the beaten path to find out how ignorant you really are?

13 comments:

Spanj said...

I adore detours, they so often bring up the most surprising things.

But also, if you want to see something new, walk your own street, and look up. Us humans so rarely look up and when I do I'm always noticing little architectural details I never noticed before.

Oh and always carrying a camera is good too. Good job you had one on you, and enjoy your trip back there again.

Jess said...

What a wonderful surprise! This place is captivating, and I love that it has all that history within its walls. Thanks so much for sharing~ makes me want to explore today!

E. Arroyo said...

I have to learn to pay attention, and this is a perfect reason why. Great post.

Unknown said...

What a gorgeous church!

Places like that inspire stories for sure. :)

Golden Eagle said...

That looks like a really interesting place!

DUTA said...

That's what I call a place with character.
It happens to me too to get surprised.

Every year before our High Holidays I go visit the graves of my parents at the local cemetery. It's an hour walk (to and fro).

Last year, I got lost in my thoughts, and suddenly I found myself in a magic little alley bordered by lovely trees and quaint houses. It was a surrealistic sight. I was always near that alley, never entered it before.

Charmaine Clancy said...

It does look like a princess castle!

writing and living by Richard P Hughes said...

Sometimes the road less traveled is full of gems.

J.L. Campbell said...

Tanya, it kind of looks like something out of a fairy tale.

Victoria Lindstrom said...

Tanya - I love to hear serendipitous stories like yours - what an amazing old church. Thanks for the insight into some of your local history - really cool!

Jeremy Bates said...

Haha. The haunting stories are very interestingly creepy. I like exploring places and learning about their histories.

Vicki Tremper said...

How cute! And it's haunted. And has a life of its own. What an awesome find!

Teresa Cypher said...

That is just beautiful! And magical, Tanya. I wonder how many stories have been inspired by this church? If a face can launch ships--then this church can launch stories. ;-)

I love how you wonder about the love affairs, marriages, births, deaths.

I've always thought that a modern take inspired by Edgar Lee Masters' "Spoon River Anthology" would be very cool. A church...a cemetery such as this would be excellent inspiration. :-)

Yesterday, inspired by another tweet, I tweeted that the best adventures are found on back-roads--er...something to that effect. :-) I see you've had one!