This Gothic Revival Catholic church, built in the 1880s, is the most architecturally unusual building in Irkutsk — its pointed arches and brick facade look more like something from Krakow than from Siberia. The church is known locally as the Polish Church because it was financed and built largely by Polish political exiles, followers of the January Uprising of 1863 who were deported to Siberia en masse.
The interior is plain but active — services are held in Polish and Russian, and the congregation is a mix of Polish descendants, Catholics from other ethnic groups, and curious visitors. The building is a short walk from the embankment and well worth the detour for its historical resonance.