VILNIUS - In Your Pocket

58 what to see
Vilnius Picture Gallery (Vilniaus Paveikslų Galerija)
C-3, Didžioji 4, tel. (+370) 5 212 42 58, www.ldm.lt.
Housed inside the charming 17th-century Chodkevičiai (Chodkiewicz)
family palace, this splendid little museum is of the type
in which a menagerie of middle-aged ladies shuttle you around
from room to room like a pinball. Ignore them if you can, and
enjoy a great collection of local painting, drawing and sculpture
plus a couple of rooms stuffed full of exemplary furniture, all of
it representing the last several hundred years of achievement.
They also put on temporary exhibitions here, of which some
are well worth checking out. QOpen 11:00 - 18:00, Sun 12:00
- 17:00. Closed Mon. Admission 6/3Lt. J
Churches
Bernardine Church & Monastery (Bernardinų
Bažnyčia ir Vienuolynas) D-3, Maironio 10, tel. (+370)
5 260 92 92. Once forming part of the city’s original defensive
walls and constructed on the site of an earlier wooden church
dating from the middle of the 15th century at the behest of
an order of Bernadine monks, the current vast Gothic church
with Baroque and Renaissance additions dates from the early
part of the 16th century onwards. As the old photographs on
display show, the church interior was truly breathtaking before
the Soviet authorities took control of the building, handing it
over to the Vilnius Art Institute who among other things allegedly
incorporated parts of the interior into the works of art the
academy was producing. Returned to the monks soon after
independence, a mammoth restoration project continues to
this day. Current highlights include 14 magnificent rococo
altars and the oldest known crucifix in the country, dating
from the 15th century. The neighbouring monastery is the
oldest part of the ensemble. Once famed for its extensive
library and independent-minded monks, the monastery was
closed soon after the failed Uprising of 1863 and turned into
a barracks for tsarist troops before falling into the hands of the
city’s Art Academy at the end of WWI. The building now houses
the Vilnius Art Academy. Q Mass Mon, Tue, Thu 07:30, Wed
07:30, 18:00, Fri 07:30, 18:00, Sat 09:00, 18:00, Sun 09:00
(English), 10:30, 13:00, 17:00. J
Church of Sts. Michael & Constantine (Šv. Konstantino
ir Michailo Cerkvė) H-4, J. Basanavičiaus
27, tel. (+370) 5 212 17 90. Built in 1913 at the very end
of tsarist rule within the city as part of the 300th anniversary
celebrations of the Romanov Dynasty, this rather absurdlooking
Russian Orthodox church is famed hereabouts for its
garish green domes. On closer inspection, the church, which
supposedly incorporates elements of both the Rostov and
Suzdal styles, is a beautiful design, as early postcards showing
the original dome designs attest. The interior is relatively plain,
and only really recommended for serious enthusiasts.
Church of the Apparition of the Holy Mother of
God (Znamenskaya) G-3, Vytauto 21/1, tel. (+370) 5
275 13 75. Built in 1903 and topped with several beautiful
Neo-Byzantine cupolas, this is one of the best loved Russian
Orthodox churches in Vilnius. Among the numerous icons
hanging inside are potted plants that make the place feel
really alive. Next to the icons are special prayers for each
saint, but as everything in the church is written in Old Church
Slavonic you’ll need a translator to help work them out. The
church was fully restored inside and out in 2009 Q Service
Sat 16:00, Sun 09:00.
Church of the Holy Cross (Šv. Kryžiaus Bažnyčia)
B-2, S. Daukanto 1, tel. (+370) 5 260 93 47. On the other
side of the Presidential Palace from the University, this charming
little church’s history dates back to 1543 and the building
of a chapel on the site to commemorate the martyrdom of a
group of 14th-century Franciscan friars. Slowly added to over
the centuries, including the attached Bonifratri Monastery, the
church is now more or less late Baroque in appearance with a
few rococo flourishes, and is notable as being the only church
in Vilnius converted from an ordinary house rather than being
purpose-built. The small interior is well worth having a peep at
if the main doors aren’t bolted as they usually are, the most
outstanding feature being the painting, Holy Virgin Mother
of Snow on the high altar, a copy of which can be found on
the fresco over the main entrance. The small square in which
the church is located also features a stylised, Soviet-era bust
of Laurynas Stuoka-Gucevičius (1753-1798), Lithuania’s first
serious architect who was responsible for the contemporary
look of the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Stanislaus & St. Ladislaus
among other buildings in the city. Q Mass 17:15, Sun 09:30,
12:00.
Church of the Holy Mother of God (Skaisčiausios
Dievo Motinos Cerkvė) D-3, Maironio 14, tel. (+370)
5 215 37 47. Originally dating back to the middle of the 14th
century, this slightly unusual-looking church which also functions
as the city’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral and that as such is
often referred to as the Cathedral of the Theotokos in Vilnius
owes much of its partial Neo-Byzantine design to reconstruction
work completed in 1522. In 1808, soon after the start of
tsarist rule in Vilnius, the building fell into the hands of Vilnius
University who divided it into two floors, constructing a library,
classrooms and dissection rooms for anatomy classes inside.
In 1842 soldiers moved in as the church acted as a barracks
before it took on several other uses before General Muravyov
and his brother had it restored to its current Georgian appearance
and used as a house of worship towards the end of the
1860s. Q Service Sat 09:00, 17:00, Sun 09:00. J
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