A controversial chapel built by Ukrainian prisoners of war in Lockerbie is undergoing an £80,000 renovation to provide a religious and cultural centre for a new generation of Ukrainian refugees.
… chapel will be reconsecrated and open for religious services and other events by September 2022…
Scottish Construction Now writes:
The small prefab iron hut forms part of the Hallmuir POW Camp and was put to use as a chapel from 1947 by Ukrainian prisoners who had fought against the Soviet Union alongside Nazi Germany as part of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician).
The Friends of the Ukrainian Chapel, which was launched in 2009, struggled to raise funds….
The chapel has received funding from the Architectural Heritage Fund, South Scotland Enterprise and Historic Environment Scotland to replace its roof, windows, walls and carpets.
It is now hoped that the chapel will be reconsecrated and open for religious services and other events by September 2022. A barrack alongside the barrack will be redeveloped into a museum. The final phase of the project will involve the erection of a large Cossack cross.
Peter Kormylo, a 71-year-old Ukrainian whose father was a POW in the Hallmuir camp, said: “We are very excited…
“We now have the potential to create a proper little museum, to use the chapel and promote Ukrainian culture.”
