There are several architectural historical monuments of the 19-20th centuries in the Belarusian city of Vileyka. However, only two of them can be called the brightest representatives of that period – they both are located in the very heart of the city, at the same square named after Lenin, opposite each other. This is very symbolic, taking into account the fact that during that time a confrontation between the Catholic and Orthodox churches was going on (both constructions are temples, one is Catholic and another is Orthodox).

Even today the stone temple is the highest building in Vileyka. It is considered to be the central landmark of the city. The construction works started in 1906 according to a project of a famous German architect, August Klein. It was finally finished in 1913. At that time, it was consecrated and given the name «Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross» in honor of a Christian celebration Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord.

The three-nave shrine with an outstanding transverse nave and a five-sided apse combines features of the Neo-Romanesque and Neo-Gothic styles. From aside the temple seems older, because it was stylized as old – that was a characteristic feature of the 19th-century religious buildings. For example, the pointed arches at the ends of the transverse nave refer to the Gothic buildings of an earlier period. This majestic construction is crowned with a high side tower. The church interior was decorated with paintings that look like mosaic arabesques.

The Catholic temple was damaged for the first time during the first years after its opening: it was bombarded at the time of the First World War. At that time, the city was a part of Poland. In 1928, the church was reopened for parishioners after a fundamental restoration.

After the Second World War, the church was closed for some time. Then it was declared an architectural monument, and an exhibition hall named after a Russian-Belarusian artist of the 19-20th centuries, Nikodim Silivanovich. However, in 1990, the church was returned to Catholics, restored, and opened for the public.