VILNIUS - In Your Pocket

60 what to see
being almost completely rebuilt in 1864 only to suffer major
fire damage during WWII. Reconstructed in 1949, the building
closed in 1961, opening a year later as a museum of painting
before being returned to the Orthodox Church on May 31, 1991.
Unusually for a Russian Orthodox Church in Lithuania, services
are conducted in Lithuanian once a week on a Sunday. J
Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit (Stačiatikių Šv.
Dvasios Cerkvė) C-5, Aušros Vartų 10, tel. (+370) 5 212
77 65. Dating originally from the mid-16th century but predominantly
now the combined work of the city’s most renowned and
prolific religious architect Johann Christoph Glaubitz (Jonas Kristupas
Glaubicas, ca. 1700-1767) who spent four years on the
rococo design between 1749 and 1753 and later 19th-century
Neo-Byzantine modifications, the entire ensemble is comprised
of the church, a free-standing bell tower, monastery and convent
although it’s the church interior that’s of most interest, being
positively bursting with frescos, icons, a magnificent cupola and
rich blue and green colours. A particular quirk of the church’s
crypt saw it being chosen in the middle of the 19th century as
the final resting place of the supposedly incorruptible Saints
Jonas, Eustachius, and Antanas, couriers of Algirdas whose
remains are displayed dressed in white at Christmas, in black
during Lent, in red on all other occasions with the exception of
June 26 when they’re put on display entirely naked. Q Service
08:00, 17:00, Sun 07:00, 10:00, 17:00. J
Reformed Evangelical Church (Evangelikų
Reformatų Bažnyčia) A-3, Pylimo 20, tel. (+370) 5 279
10 52. The origin of the Protestant Church in Lithuania, whose
three traditional strongholds still exist in Biržai, Kėdainiai and
Vilnius, dates back to John Calvin’s lifetime in 1557, although
this particular church, considered one of the finest examples of
Neo-Classical architecture in the country, was built considerably
later between 1830 and 1835. The work of one of the best
local Neo-Classical architects of his day Karolis Podčašinskis
(Pol. Karol Podczaszyński, 1790-1860), the church was closed
by the Soviets in 1953, eventually becoming a cinema, a fact
the church now betrays courtesy of the cinema seats still in
use. Q Service in Lithuanian Sun 11:00. J
St. Anne’s Church (Šv. Onos Bažnyčia) D-3,
Maironio 8. Unquestionably one of the city’s most famous
landmarks and quite rightly so, the history of St. Anne’s starts
with the alleged construction in the 14th century of a wooden
house of worship on this spot in honour of Ona, the wife of Vytautas
the Great. The first historical records of a church here
date from 1394, although the current Gothic masterpiece is
believed to have been built between 1495 and 1500 to a
design by the Bohemian architect Benedikt Rejt (1453-1534),
most famous for designing parts of Prague Castle. Unlike
other historical churches in Vilnius, St. Anne’s has managed
to escape the ravages of time almost unscathed and is arguably
the least changed of them all. Composed of 33 different
styles of brick assembled into a delicate and intricate whole,
the effect is simply quite stunning. It’s been said the façade
incorporates the Pillars of Gediminas, one of the country’s
earliest symbols, although this is hardly clear from looking
at it. The interior is surprisingly free of ostentation, although
this is hardly needed due to the spectacular design of the
structure. The free-standing bell tower has nothing to do with
the original design, being built only in 1873. A visiting Emperor
Napoleon in 1812 famously if somewhat apocryphally noted
he’d like to take the building back to Paris in the palm of his
hand. Q Mass 18:00, Sun 09:00, 11:00. J
St. Casimir’s Church (Šv. Kazimiero Bažnyčia)
C-4, Didžioji 34, tel. (+370) 5 212 17 15. St. Casimir’s
in many ways represents a microcosm of Lithuania itself.
Founded by the Jesuits and dedicated to Lithuania’s patron
saint Prince Casimir Jagiellon (1458-1484), construction
on the mighty building began in 1604 and was completed
in 1635. Burnt to the ground just 20 years later when the
Russians invaded in 1655, conflagration visited twice again
within the next century in 1709 and 1749 before the architect,
mathematician and astronomer Tomas Žebrauskas (Pol.
Thomas Zubrówka, 1714-1758) restored it to more or less
the form it’s seen in today. Over the centuries the church
fell into the hands of the Augustinians, Napoleon’s Grande
Armée, the Russian Orthodox Church (who significantly
altered its appearance), the Lutherans (who used it as the
garrison church for the occupying German Army during WWI)
and others, including the Soviets who turned the whole place
into a museum of atheism no less. Returned to the Catholic
Church in 1988, the building was consecrated in 1991 and
has since undergone a massive renovation project, restoring
its predominantly Baroque style with Gothic and Renaissance
touches. Of particular interest inside are three late Baroque
altars and a recently discovered 17th-century crypt containing
dark bas-reliefs featuring miscellaneous religious motifs.
Q Mass 17:30, Sun 09:00 (Russian), 10:30, 12:00. J
St. Nicholas’ Church (Šv. Mikalojaus Bažnyčia)
B-4, Šv. Mikalojaus 4, tel. (+370) 5 262 30 69. Predating
the country’s conversion to Christianity by some seven
decades, Vilnius’ oldest surviving church was built in 1320 by
German merchant immigrants. Mentioned for the first time
in 1387, the impressive, classic red brick Gothic exterior
remains pretty much as it looked the day it was finished with
the interior having received numerous changes and additions
over the centuries. During the disputed annexation of the
Vilnius region during the two World Wars, this was the only
church in the city open to the city’s small Lithuanian-speaking
Catholic community. Q Mass 08:00, 18:00, Sat 09:00, Sun
08:00, 10:00, 14:00. J
St. Nicolas’ Church (Šv. Nikolajaus Cerkvė) C-4,
Didžioji 12, tel. (+370) 5 261 85 59. The forerunner to
this church supposedly dates back to the second decade
of the 16th century, belonging from 1609 until 1827 to the
Uniate Church. At some time during the 18th century the
original church burnt down and was replaced soon after in the
Late Baroque style. At the height of the tensions between
the Russians and several other ethnic communities in the
city, the church was confiscated on the orders of General
Muravyov and converted into a Russian Orthodox church
with several Neo-Byzantine additions made in 1865. With
its predominantly Catholic tower and typically Orthodox
dome the church is one of the most peculiar looking houses
of worship in the capital. Q Services Sat 09:00, 17:00,
Sun 09:00. J
Sts. Johns’ Church (Šv. Jonų Bažnyčia) C-3, Šv.
Jono 12, tel. (+370) 5 268 71 55. Built at the same time
as Lithuania’s conversion to Christianity in 1387, albeit with
numerous radical alterations through the centuries, the
vast and imposing Sts. Johns’ Church was given to the
Jesuit Church in 1571 by Zygmunt II August (Žygimantas
Augustas, 1520-1572). On the dissolution of the Jesuit
Order in 1773, the church was handed over to the adjoining
University. The present building, which contains elements
of all of the major architectural styles associated with Old
Town boasts an extraordinary and predominantly Gothic
interior whose crowning glory is its organ of which parts
date back to an organ that came from the Belarusian city of
Polotsk in 1831. The organ, the largest in country and that
received a complete overhaul in stages between 1974 and
2000, is used extensively in classical concerts the church
is now famous for. Q Mass Tue - Thu 18:00, Sun 11:00,
13:00. J
Vilnius In Your Pocket vilnius.inyourpocket.com