The Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska had a Russian pilgrimage church built in Laa an der Thaya (Mistelbach district).
The Church of the Protection and Intercession of the Virgin Mary on the Nerl is one of the most important monuments of ancient Russian architecture and one of the most important pilgrimage churches in Russia. A replica half the size has been in Laa an der Thaya since September. Oleg Deripaska had it built in the immediate vicinity of the Russian military cemetery where his grandfather is buried. Deripaska's grandfather died as a soldier in the Red Army in the spring of 1945, when the Second World War was almost over, near Laa an der Thaya in the fight against the National Socialists.
“The stones are very well made. They were made by a stonemason in Russia and were transported to Laa, ”Schilowsky explained. Since 2014 the parts have been delivered from Russia with 70 semi-trailers.
The interior of the church is kept rather simple. "If you are looking for special treasures here, you will probably not find any", says Schilowsky, "it is - under quotation marks - a normal church." But there is still something striking: "The dome is gold-plated."