Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Church in Bikova (Gaigalava)

The church was built in 1825 with the funds of the parish and with the support of the local noblewoman Stanislava Benislavska.

The first wooden church in Bykov was built in 1794 with the support of the lords Rämer. In 1825, a stone church with two towers was built in its place. It was built with the funds of the parish and with the support of Stanislava Benislavska. In 1896, Bishop A.F. Simons consecrated the church in honor of the Heart of Jesus. Initially, the church had no towers, only at the beginning of the 20th century were two towers built in front of the church, later it turned out that they did not have strong enough foundations, so the towers began to separate from the church. The towers were pulled to the church with massive iron pillars, thus straightening them, but later the foundations were strengthened. The most extensive church improvement work was carried out during the tenure of priest Kārlis Gumpenbergs (1960-1978): the altar was decorated, the side altars were transformed into the Gothic style, the roadside and mission crosses were restored, etc.

The later Bikova parish, like all the parishes in Rēzekne, was served by the Jesuits of Rēzekne, and only at the end of the 18th century - the beginning of the 19th century did Bikova become a permanent parish.

The high altar of the church is decorated with the images of the two sons of Zebedee, above the altar are the figures of Saint Michael and the Queen of the Rosary, on the right altar – the images of Saint Joseph and John the Baptist, on the left – the images of Saint Peter, Saint Teresa and Saint Elizabeth. The church pleases the traveler with its white floor, Gothic forms and architectural form. (Cakuls, 1997)

The parish, within the framework of the project No. 16-01-AL15-A019.2201-000009 “Preservation of cultural heritage and related improvement of tourism services in Gaigalava parish of Rēzekne region” under the sub-measure program “Implementation of activities in accordance with the community-led local development strategy” of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development of the Latvian Rural Development Programme for 2014-2020, obtained public funding from the Latvian State Revenue Service and carried out the simplified renovation of the church facade. The Rēzekne region municipality and donors helped with co-financing.

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