Sightseeing ORTHODOX CHURCH OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (STAČIATIKIŲ ŠV. DVASIOS CERKVĖ) 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 freestanding 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.QJ‑11, Aušros Vartų 10. Service 07:00, 17:00, Sat 07:00, Sun 07:00, 10:00. J ST. CASIMIR’S CHURCH (ŠV. KAZIMIERO BAŽNYČIA) 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 (14581484), 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,
Church of St. Nicholas
64 Vilnius In Your Pocket
© Vilniaus Šv. Mikalojaus parapija
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.QJ‑10, Didžioji 34, tel. (+370) 52 12 17 15, www.kazimiero.lt. Open 16:30 - 18:30, Sun 08:00 14:30, Mass 17:30, Sun 09:00 (Russian), 10:30, 12:00. J ST. NICHOLAS’ CHURCH (ŠV. MIKALOJAUS BAŽNYČIA) Pre-dating 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.QI‑10, Šv. Mikalojaus 4, tel. (+370) 52 62 30 69, www.mikalojus.lt. Mass 08:00, 18:00, Sat 09:00, Sun 08:00, 10:00, 14:00. J ST. NICOLAS’ CHURCH (ŠV. NIKOLAJAUS CERKVĖ) 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.QJ‑10, Didžioji 12. J STS. JOHNS’ CHURCH (ŠV. JONŲ BAŽNYČIA) 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. Note that the church is part of the Vilnius University complex and can’t be visited seperately: you will need a ticket from the university itself.QJ‑9, Šv. Jono 12, tel. (+370) 52 12 17 15, www.jonai.lt. Mass Tue, Wed, Thu 18:00, Sun 11:00, 13:00. J vilnius.inyourpocket.com