Kirche Karpauen - schematic

The small KIRCH OF GROSS KARPOVEN was built in 1860, after the local church community separated from the parish of Trempen in 1847. However, the church stood unconsecrated until 1898. In the year of its consecration, a new church was opened – more spacious and roomy. However, after lightning set fire to the wooden tower structure in 1922, the tower was thoroughly rebuilt – this time in brick. The wrought-iron tower cross was crafted by master blacksmith Laumert from Darkemen.

The relatively small town of Karpoven had a school building, which had two classrooms since 1932. For a long time, the church and school were connected. In 1938, a mass renaming of settlements in East Prussia in the German style took place, resulting in Gross Karpoven becoming Karpauen.

During the fighting of World War II, the church was undamaged, and the territory was ceded to the Soviet Union. The new Polish Provisional Government initially intended for the village to fall under its administration, along with the entire Angerapp district. However, the Potsdam Agreement (Article VI) of August 1945 delineated the new Soviet-Polish border independently of the district's old boundaries, placing the settlement under Soviet administration. In June 1947, the village was renamed Nekrasovo, a common name in Russia, and simultaneously became the seat of the village council in the Ozersky District. The Polish renaming of the village to Karpovo in July 1947 was no longer in effect. From 2008 to 2014, Nekrasovo was part of the Novostroevskoye rural settlement.

As for the church, its building was used as a warehouse in the post-war years. A square gate for vehicle entry was punched into the northern wall. The windows and entrances were bricked up as unnecessary. Since 1995, the building has been abandoned and falling into disrepair. Currently, the church is covered with slate, the tower and altar are covered with crumbling tiles, the wooden roof elements have rotted, and some windows are boarded up. The main entrance is bricked up, and a hole approximately one meter in diameter has been punched into the lower part of the southern wall. A metal cross remains on the ridge of the tower.

Today, even in its abandoned state, the church's interior is incredibly impressive. The ceiling paintings, reminiscent of the sky, are simply mesmerizing. The Gothic vaults and windows seem to transport us to another world. By Resolution No. 132 of the Kaliningrad Region Government dated March 23, 2007, the church was designated a cultural heritage site of local (municipal) significance. But to this day, such grandiose objects as this church simply stand and are destroyed by time and external factors.