Churches of Vilnius

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All Saints’ Church (RC) Anne’s Church, St. (RC) Arkikatedra (RC) Augustin’s Church(RC) Ausros Vartai (RC) Bartholomew, St.(RC) Bernadine Monastery(RC) The Three Crosses(RC) Dvasios baznycia, Sventos (C) Church of the Holy Mother of God (RuO) Church of the Holy Cross (RC) Church of the Holy Spirit (RC)	Sts. Johns Church (RC) Jono baznycia, Svento (RC) Virgin Mary’s Church(RC) Kalvariju Church (RC) Kalvariju baznycia (RC) Casimir’s Church, St. (RC) Catherine’s Church, St. (RC) Kazimiero baznycia, Svento (RC) Constantin and St. Michael’s Church, St. (RuO) Kotrynos baznycia, Sventu (RC)	Kryziaus baznycia, Sventu (RC) Mikalojaus baznycia, Svento (RC) Missionaries’ Church(RC) Gates of Dawn (RC) Nicholas’ Church, St. (RC) Onos baznycia, Sventos (RC) Peter and Paul’s Church, Sts. (RC) Petro ir Povilo baznycia, Svento(r-k) Piatnitskaya Church(RuO) Pokrovskaja, St.(RuO)	Romanoff cerkve (RuO) Romanoffs’ Church (RuO) Skaisciausios Dievo Motinos cerkve(RuO) Tereses baznycia, Sventos (RC) Therese’s Church, St. (RC) Church of the Holy Trinity(RC) Trys kryziai (RC) The University Church (RC) Vilnius’ Cathedral (RC) Visu Sventuju baznycia (RC)	Flagships Anne’s Church, St. Katherine’s Church, St. The Gates of Dawn Peter and Paul’s Church, Sts.
				RC: Roman Catholic RuO: Russian Orthodox

The University Church - Sts. Johns’ Church, Svento Jono baznycia The University Church was built 1387-1426 and the University added a few years later. The church tower was erected 1600-1610. The church has burnt several times, and been exposed to war, but has always been rebuilt. The latest restoration was in the 18:th century. Occupying dictators had it closed and the teachers deported several times during history, but it has always reopened and continued its duty. For example: during the Soviet years the church served as science museum. The church has 10 altars, but earlier it had 23! 13 of them were removed in the beginning of the 19:th century. The front of the University Church faces the Skargos, Didysis kiemas, the Skarga’s Yard or the Great Yard. The first university rector’s name was Skarga. Another popular view of the church front, that I am not alone to photograph. It is in all the brochures. Skarga’s Yard photographed from the top of the clock tower. The jumble of buildings is apparent in this picture of the church front. To the right is the lecture hall Alma Mater Vilnensis. The church tower, Vilnius’ highest, 68 meters, photographed from the street, a picture printed in some books about Vilnius.   The altar looking its best, right before a wedding with lit candles in rows along the aisle and everything covered in flower petals. Another picture of the altar, with the lights on. Great! Amazing. The church has ten altars in all. The organ is newly renovated, and very well done, too. St. The chapel of St. Anne with gold, gold and more gold, left and right. This is a detail of St. Anne’s altar with the reliquary. It was hidden for the Russians, but is now displayed newly polished and splendid. Who has seen an all-black altar? It was a first for me. Very difficult to photograph. St. George and the dragon, a Christian legend that is popular in the Baltics too, stands to the left of the altar. St. Florian, patron of the firemen... is to the right of the altar. Note the wooden water. To the right is a collection of all the golden goodies. Vilnius’ Cathedral - Arkikatedra Vilnius’ Cathedral the Basilica is on Cathedral Square. The church was used as an art museum by the Soviets, but was quickly converted to church again, as Communism disappeared. It is strange to walk around inside this majestic building, and, being aware of the country's cruel history, to see the guide point to the paintings on the walls, and tell: “This is N.N. who was killed by the KGB, and this is N.N. deported in 1950, and this...” The cathedral has been rebuilt several times since the end of the 14:th century, the last time was in 1783 by Laurynas Stuoka-Gucevicius, a famous Lithuanian architect. The Cathedral front is well known to all who have been to Vilnius. The bell tower is 52 metres high and free-standing in front of the church. It is the only item still standing of the medieval castle wall. The Cathedral is majestic as it rests on the newly renovated Cathedral Square in the evening sun. Looking up into the ceiling outside the great gate, unveils some beautiful friezes. Turning down the camera shows the height a little better. The bell tower in between two pillars. The belfry from the street. It’s the only thing remaining of the old castle wall. The three saints on the rooftop have their own story. They stood there before occupation, when the Soviets removed and crushed them. After Communism an artist made new ones. It took some time, but after seven years they were back on duty again. Some say they have grown in the meantime. The great gate, with a little girl rushing out into the sun. Around all the outer walls are several classicist sculptures of Moses in niches. Almost night, and the floodlight is beginning to work. The bell tower is also lit up. Now it's all dark and the light on the three saints on the roof looks good. Interior The organ is restored and looks great. Note the figurines at the top. The isle, looking down towards the gate, shot through a hole to the left of the main altar. The main altar, previously known as the Vytautas altar, because king Vytautas is buried downstairs, along with other Lithuanian kings. During occupation the Cathedral was an art museum. Most of the paintings are gone now. Still, there are a lot of paintings. Left isle, as seen from the altar end. At the far end is the entrance to St. Casimir’s Chapel. Virgin Mary’s Chapel. Jonas Basanavicius (1851-1927), was a doctor and freedom fighter, working for Lithuania’s freedom from tsarist Russia in 1918. He is more or less a father of the people. He was instrumental in starting the Lithuanian parliament in 1905 and founded a national democratic party. He also collected stories in the same style as the Brothers Grimm and greatly affected contemporary literature. As a painter he has depicted old Vilnius in many copperplates. St. Casimir’s Chapel, Sv. Cazimiero kapella St. Casimir’s chapel, Lithuania’s patron saint. He has his own church too. Before mass the lights are on and everything looks nicer. The dome is decorated just right. It offers a minute of silent pleasure. A statue of Vladislaus, king of the Polish and the Swedish. Indeed. As Casimir was a holy man, his relics are able to cure the ill. Here is the scene where a blind man is cured at St. Casimir’s coffin. The Chapel’s gate from the inside. The silvery, upright chest, below the relics chest, hides a painting of Casimir with three arms. The third arm is impossible to erase, legend has it. Let’s zoom a little. And it is true: Casimir has three hands on the painting under the relic chest! So perhaps the legend is true, that tells of the painter first painting the saint’s right hand badly and then painted over it and repainted in another position. To his horror, the next day he saw the original hand appear again! The legend also says that the badly painted hand can’t be painted over, but will always return. I am not prepared to step up and test this. The Gates of Dawn - Ausros Vartai The most holy place in Vilnius, and the only piece left of the old northern city wall is the town gates. During Soviet time there were plans to build a highway, beginning at the Cathedral Square, through the Old Town (which was to be flattened), knocking down the Gates of Dawn, and onwards to Minsk, in present-day Byelorussia. Happily, the Soviet Union broke down in time, before these terrible plans were realised. The room where the icon hangs, has high windows facing the street below, and when pope John Paul II visited Vilnius in September 1993, it was from this room that he greeted the masses. In 2004 the chapel had been painted blue, although there are no historical proof of it ever having been blue. This happens to be all the city guides’ favourite spot Most city tours end here at Ausros vartu street with a visit to the chapel, and then everyone is free to wander around the Old Town. Most of them walk straight into one of the many cafés. See the buns department. If you extend your zoom or get closer to the balcony, you can see the Madonna through the open windows. An early wide-angle trial done on silver film, with high contrast. This Madonna close-up is a little faked. I have enhanced the contrasts of the face and hands for better viewing. The sanctuary is one small room only, with one large painted icon, clad in gold plates. The room is considered the most holy place in Vilnius. The painting behind the gold plates is a Western renaissance masterpiece by an unknown artist, painted on wood boards. The gold was added later. The room is never empty. There are always worshippers kneeling, although outside this image. The walls of the room are clad in silver plates, with tens of thousands of hammered-out, cut-off arms, legs and hearts, symbolic offerings to Virgin Mary in thanks for faith-healing. It does look mighty strange. Rumour has it that there is a secret chamber behind the icon, housing all the jewels and other goods that was sacrificed through the centuries. The Soviets didn't find it. Another close-up of the Madonna. There is a large version too. Yum! An upright panorama of the altar from the far end of the room. Here are the strange, hammered-out silver plates close-up. There’s lots of silver, in fantastic formations. But it’s slightly faked. The brass shines through where the silver is worn. Perhaps the silversmith got his part, too? “Mater Misercordiæ” the painful motherly love, it says on the frieze blew the clock, that would in fact need some restoration. View down the Ausros Vartu from the balcony, the view that the Pope saw when he was there in 1993. But mainly, the Ausros vartai is a gate through the city wall. This is what it looks like from the outside. Well, it isn’t painted blue on this side, at least. You see the opening where the iron gate would fall down. At the top is the Lithuanian coat of arms since 1366, the Vytis, a white knight. The doves like it in the sun in a niche outside the Ausros Vartai. Ausros Vartu Street pictured from inside the gate. And if you go further down the street, past St. Therese’s and look back you can’t see Ausros Vartai for all the tourists. St. Church of St. Therese - Sventos Tereses baznycia Sharing a wall with the Ausros Vartai is the Church of St. Therese During the Soviet years, when the Cathedral was used as art museum, St. Therese was used as cathedral. St. Therese’s Church from Ausros Vartu street. Note the Ausros Vartai in the background. St. Therese’s Church at sunset. The sun shone through the stained glass windows and made nice coloured patterns on the floor, but I had to let them go, in favour of the church's other splendours. It is decorated in rose and gold and looks magnificent, although it is slightly dark. The main altar and up along the walls. The golden figures whizz around, heaven opens, the sun shines... yes, all the goodies at the same time. Here is a side altar with a magnificent, gilded painting of Mary and the child. This ceiling is simply too much. The ceiling as it changes into richly decorated walls. Here’s just one of the extremely well preserved portals. I have never heard the organ, but it looks like it’s capable of some fine bass notes. Not far from St. Therese is a great café, where you can go after your eyes have had theirs, to let the stomach have its fill. The Church of St. Anne - Sventos Onos baznycia No doubt the best-looking church facade in Vilnius.. The St. Anne's is said to be the most beautiful church in the whole of Lithuania, and I cannot but agree. It is also said that Napoleon wanted to bring it home “in the palm of his hand,” but that story seems to be told of all churches where Napoleon once set foot. Well, he didn’t take St. Anne’s with him, but took some other stuff from Vilnius. St. Anne’s Church from Maironio Street. The church front must be the most complex and beautiful brick construction conceivable, with thin arcs and projections. Notice the horizontal, spiralling beams. The red bricks look much redder in dramatic evening sunshine. You zoom like crazy to get all the wonderful details. Small bars, metallic flags, spiral pillars, profiled bricks. Perfect symmetry, 45-degree angles and everything crowned by a typically Lithuanian cross. The church, belfry and Bernadine Church behind. A little sideways, with my back to the bell tower. Here, we’re standing at the gate of the Bernadine Church, seeing the back end of the St. Anne’s. The Bernadine Church is right behind the St. Anne’s. It is presently undergoing restoration. As you go farther away on Marionis Street, it is obvious that the St. Anne’s can easily fit within the Bernadine Church. St. Anne’s Church ha a free-standing belfry looking slightly silly in comparison. The bell tower is kind of heavier. It’s built by another master, and he just simply wasn’t as good. You can find an infinite amount of fantastic angles. You can also see how thin and fragile the brickwork is. 33 different types of brick were used. A picture of Christ above a little niche in the wall, where someone has put flowers. There are details everywhere. The Bernadine Church behind St. Anne’s in a fantasy-provoking under-up-shot. The interior is very round-ish and looks quite “heavy”. The side altars are just too big. They look very massive. Note the blue spots if light. The stained glass is mostly blue, throwing wonderful blue spots of light everywhere. The vicarage, the office or whatever, in a garden to the left of the main building. From some distance, shot from the top of Gediminas’ Tower, the church looks like this. The St. Anne’s in the middle of the picture can be hard to discern for a non-St. Anne-ologist. The Bernadine Church is to the left and the angular building to the right is what is left of the Bernadine abbey. Adomas Mickevius (Mits...), a Lithuanian poet who has written beautifully about Vilnius in Polish... ...so much that the Polish started to view Vilnius a Polish city. Here he is, dreaming, to the right of the abbey. But all he did was adjusting to his customers’ demands. Polish was the language of choice then. St. Church of St. Nicholas - Svento Mikalojaus baznycia St. Nicholas’ church at Mikolajus gatve is Vilnius’ oldest. It is mentioned already in 1387 but was probably built a few years earlier. It seems to have stood up against time quite well. It remains unchanged in Gothic style, from the time when Lithuania was christened. It is obvious that St. Nicholas’ is very old. It is dark and the ceiling is low. The sun’s rays, the spidery sticks painted in the ceiling, give a feeling of “Wow, something is coming out of the brick”. The walls are almost featureless and the organ loft is all white. There have been lots of paintings here. Left side altar. There were paintings on these walls before. The altar is quite modest. And all black, which is unusual. And hard to photograph. There’s another hard-to-shoot altar here. Right side-altar. Look at the angels’ golden wings. An ancient wall leaning in all directions surrounds the church. The church is consecrated to Vytautas the Great. He’s staring at us from the wall. It was he who christened Lithuania. This church is really old. It is obvious because the wall is curved outwards from age. The Church of the Holy Spirit - Sventos Dvasios baznycia The building begun in 1501, but is has burnt several times since. The latest renovation, in late Baroque and rococo happened 1752-1760. The Baroque organ was added in 1777 built by the master Casperini Gottlieb. Napoleon pinched parts of the interior in 1812 as he was running from the Russian army, but it was returned in 1815. The church was open during the Soviet years, but the nearby monastery was closed. It is now the main church for the Polish in Vilnius. The church has 3-4 floor beneath the ground, used as shelters during wars and epidemics. During the e.g. 1930’s a whole storey full of desiccated corpses was found. A bit further down the Dominikonu gatve is the Church of the Holy Cross. The church is built into the building along the Dominikonu gatve. In the front is a Christian bookshop. During mass the light is different. The church has 16 altars. Where have they put them? As you get inside, you just stand there with your mouth open. The Lord sits on an arch in the air over the main altar. First you think that the ceiling is all in rose... but then you se that it’s rose and sunny yellow. The dome is 49 metres high. Look at all the detail! The main altar, well you can hardly see it. It’s almost too good. Left side altar. With its front clad in silver and gold plates. The holy family painted on glass. Let us get closer to the right side altar... We raise our eyes and lenses towards the ceiling... and check out the exquisitely detailed sky with angels and everything at the top. Left rear altar, a bit dark and secluded. The right rear altar is also badly lit. In the middle of the church is an altar with a constantly lit picture of Christ. “Jezu, ufam tobie” means “Jesus, we trust you”. “Jezu, ufam tobie“ means “Jesus, we trust in you“. St. Constantin and St. Michael’s Church (The Romanoff Church) - Romanoff cerkve On Basanavicius Street, a bit away from the city centre, you’ll find the Russian Orthodox church built to commemorate the 300:th anniversary of the reign of the Russian Romanoff tsar dynasty. The citizens of Vilnius informally calls it The Romanoff Cerkov. The church was built between 1911-1913 and the tsar could enjoy it in the then free Lithuania until the family was brutally murdered by a Bolshevik death squadron one day in July 1918. Cerkov is the Russian word for church, but the Lithuanians take great care to differentiate between cerkve (Russian Orthodox church) and baznycia (Catholic church). Isn’t it yummy? Doesn’t it look like some pastry with green mint topping? Newly renovated on the outside, it shines in white and green. All the scrolls make you think of something Arabic. It is good enough to eat. Just give me a big enough spoon. “God bless and save mankind” the old Cyrillic writing above the door says, more or less. Inside its sparsely decorated, not at all like the rich sobors that are probably getting money from Moscow to... show an attractive facade, such as the sobor in Palanga. Perhaps the Romanoff’s aren’t all that popular in the Kremlin? The Church of the Holy Mother of God - Skaisciausios Dievo Motinos cerkve Right by the bridge to Uzupis over the river Vilna is the white sobor (rus. cathedral) The Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Mother of God. It was built between the years 1511 - 1522 and has since been employed as military barracks, and during Communism as a museum of anatomy and veterinary arts. And it is so extremely white it is hard to expose properly. Another story tells that the church was built in the 15:th century on the initiative of Julijona (Juliana)... the wife of Grand Duke Algirdas. She is also buried here. And look out for the aggressive beggars outside. Especially the guy who claims he is an orphan! The excessive iconostase from various angles. First, from the right. And then in front in a “worshipping shot” with the camera on the floor and me kneeling behind. Finally from the left. Admire the beauty. The walls in the room are all yellow and green, very much like a Swedish bathroom from the 50’s. If everything looks a little greenish it’s because of the bathroom-coloured ceiling. And my, were people wondering what I was up to. But I don’t care. Too much 1950’s tint for my taste. The didn’t have the standard old Russian baba, walking around, fixing flowers and nagging you about not to make any pictures, but there was a suspiciously staring priest. If I want to lie on the floor to get a steady picture, that’s what I will do. St. Church of St. Casimir - Svento Kazimiero baznycia St. Casimir is the patron saint of Lithuania. He was a kings son, a Christian person who died very young (about 25 years). His remains are revered as miraculous and many claim to have been healed by him. Well anyway, the Jesuits started building the church in 1604, using builders from Vilnius. The church has burned many times and was latest rebuilt 1749-1755. It was changed into a Russian-Orthodox church in 1864, and the crown was removed in favour of a bulbous dome. An iconostase was put in front of the altar, etc. In 1925 it was back to Catholicism again, and in 1842 the crown was back. During the Soviet days the church was used as a Museum of Atheism. You don't say? Today it is the patron of youth. The classicist building to the right in the first picture was once the City Hall. During an evening walk the sun illuminated St. Casimir’s Church, a baroque masterpiece from the 17:th century. The picture kind of threw itself at me, ordering to be photographed. Note the fancy crown on top of the tower. One must admit Vilnius has style, compared to concrete-Stockholm. The church has no ordinary bells. Instead it has a wind-driven carillon, like wind chimes. If you stand in the doorway and can’t get in, as when I took this picture, it looks like this. The next year the church was open and all the splendour was there, for my shutter to snap at. “Majestic” is a grave understatement when it comes to this main altar. The organ: small, compact. Everything is creamy white. Have a look at the dome. It’s cream colour, too, probably because the paintings were destroyed. The side altar is just as majestic as the main altar. You hardly know which one to choose. All Saint’s Church - Visu Sventuju baznycia ”All Saint’s Church” literally means a church for all conceivable saints, all at once. Hence the enormous amount of side altars. A real Christian pantheon. Where the Visu sventuju gatve, (All Saint’s Street) crosses the Rudininku gatve is the All Saint’s Church, just recently restored and opened (2004). The rose facade is decorated with spirals à la Princess Leia’s hairstyle. To the right of the main altar you’ll find a side chapel. Left front side altar, consecrated to St. A. The main altar is really inflated baroque style, almost like an enormous old-style bathtub. Right front side altar, consecrated to St. E. Left side altar #1, consecrated to St. A. In the ceiling above the altar Trinity is peeping down from a blue sky with sunbeams and fat angels around. Right side altar #1, consecrated to St. F. Left side altar #2, consecrated to St. B. And this is the whole shmere, 11 altars in all. Right side altar #2, consecrated to St. G. Left side altar #3, consecrated to St. C. Even though the ceiling is not painted, it is über-powering. Right side altar #3, consecrated to St. H. Left side altar #4, consecrated to St. D. The organ, with angel’s trumpets and all. Oops, I must’a missed an altar there... Any suggestions for the saints involved? The Church of the Holy Cross - Sventu kryziaus baznycia The Church of the Holy Cross on Dominikonu gatve was opened in 2004, unbearably modern inside. Terrible! I can but regret the massive damage that must have been behind the complete modernisation. Right next to it is the Church of the Holy Spirit . This church is just a part of the wall of a larger building right by the University. Inside the walls are completely devoid of medieval illustrations. Everything is flattened. The altarpiece is psycho-modernistic, empty, the guess-it-yourself model. I found only this one painting of the Madonna, but it was nauseatingly modern. Why?

St. Church of St. Catherine - Sventu Kotrynos baznycia Here a new jewel in Vilnius’ crown! If you were to vote for the most beautiful church in town, St. Anne’s would still win, but St. Catherine’s beauty makes me gasp in amazement, and hopefully the rest of the world, too. A great second place. Yes, it is close on St. Anne’s heels. I can but congratulate the restorers. The pride of Vilniaus gatves ! The scaffolding is almost gone from St. Catherine’s. It shines in rose and looks newly polished. It will be nice when it’s finished, but that will be some time yet, because of the catastrophe inside. Man! Dig this! Enjoy the typically Lithuanian crosses with wavy sun-rays. In 2006 the restoration had come so far as to allow it to be used as a concert hall. The eye of the Trinity is back in order and the beams are once again radiating. Maria welcomes you to Paradise, although a bit dented. 2005 This is what it looked like in 2005, with scaffolding still in place. This is a backyard where there once was an abbey. A picture taken from the lawn in front (note the beams sticking out from under the roof). One’s breath is taken away when one steps over the planks and into the hall. I hard to believe something can be so utterly destroyed. The restorers seem to have a good chance of restoring everything to its former glory. Much more than in other churches. Some figurines seem to be hanging in their original places in the ceiling, seemingly untouched. All the altars have had their fronts busted in. In hate, or in search of hidden treasure? Much of he original paint and gold is left, but the sun rays are sagging around the face of the Lord above the main altar. The damp-stains indicates that the church was without windows for many years. The organ has had its pipes stolen, but should look like this one. A Latin text that was magically spared, but the figure that probably was in the alcove to the left, is gone. Right side altar, busted and broken. A motor! It was probably not part of the original furnishing, but used as part of de Communist desecration of the building.

Kalvarijos Church - Kalvariju baznycia Kalvarijos gets two stars in the book - well worth a detour - and it gets 5 stars for absolute stillness. You’ll have to take microbus 5 some distance into the Vilnius suburbs to get to the ancient suburb of Jeruzale, so named after the final station of Jesus’ walk to Golgata (in Jerusalem). The Calvary ends here at Kalvarijos Church. Far out in the countryside when the church was built. A seven kilometre walk along 32 stations in absolute countryside idyll far away from the rumbling buses and wailing car alarms. Here, the birds twitter, the flickers trough the birch leaves. Whatever is, silence. The ears buzz all by themselves, surprised by the sudden silence. Kalvarijos Church, fifteen minutes walk from the bus stop. Up along the towers. The Calvary temples, the stations, lie along a path the believers should traverse to feel Christ’s suffering for themselves. And if you can’t budge it, there are some ten stations around the church. They stand along the old road to the church and up along the terribly long and slightly derelict main stairway. And this is the last outdoor station. Just ignore the sour Polish ladies sitting everywhere, always nagging you not to make pictures. Make a few extra shots just to tease them. If you are even more tired, all stations are available as paintings around the church walls. Nice, fine, light greyish green organ. A concentrated organ. But it’s the ceiling that makes your jaw drop. The cream yellow altar is proud too, but your eyes wander back to the ceiling. Rear ceiling. Perfectly restored. Sigh. Middle ceiling Double sigh. The front ceiling above the altar. Left side altar. Not only is it nicely lit (but the ceiling needs fixing)... ...it also has a fantastic flower bouquet. The Madonna altar The churchyard on the slopes around the church, are ancient and a veritable jumble... seemingly without order. 21:st century mixed with 18:th century. The churchyard seems to have been mainly used by the Polish. This one is old. 1700-something. Notice the metal Madonna. The presentation end with a child’s grave. They always weigh heavy on your heart. “Ici repose Georges Ledoux ” who turned 8 in 1892. Children are always happy, gladdening their parents. And when they suddenly pass away there is no greater sorrow. A cherub is probably always suitable. The Swedes occupied parts of Lithuania in 1622 and Vilnius’ bishop was out and about to hide some of the cathedral goodies around Vilnius. Unfortunately the Swedes caught him. Thanking God that he was let off with his life he had the Calvary temples built. It took seven years to build both Kalvarijos Church and the temples, the latter in wood. The stations burnt and were replaced with stone temples in the 18:th century. The were again destroyed by the Soviets in 1963, but are more or less restored today.

The Church of Sts. Peter and Paul - Svento Petro ir Povilo baznycia I have saved the best for last! A bit out of the way from the city centre, at the end of Antakalnis gatve is the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, the church in Vilnius with the most adorable interior. The construction was begun in 1668, sponsored by a M. K. Pacas, a Lithuanian nobleman, to celebrate Vilnius’ liberation from Russia. The architects were Italian, working for a Lithuanian builder. Pacas himself is buried beneath the doorstep of the main entrance, and his grave bears the inscription HIC JACET PECATOR: ”Here lies a sinner”. The interior consists of some 2000 baroque white plaster figures. Pacas happened to die before the church was finished and the money ran out, so e.g. the altar looks quite meagre. Nevertheless, the church is a baroque pearl. You won't find anything surpassing it. What St. Anne's is on the outside, Sts. Peter and Paul is on the inside. Here, a Christian can get all he can take of glory and extravagance, altars, icons, symbolism, but everything gets better still if you offer the church-guard a few litas so they can afford to turn he lights on. If you make only 25 pictures it's derision, 50 is a great beginning, and a hundred is about right. Bring a tripod. 1 1 14 20 20 20 15 13 9 18 20 17 13 12 15 16 7 9 11 8 11 11 3 3 11 6   4 2 5 6   The upper row, overviews, with and without lighting, and exteriors 1. Exterior 2. Pacas’ tombstone 3. The organ 4. Statue of St. Christopher carrying Christ across the river, Vilnius’ patron saint 5. Statue symbolising death 6. Chapel in the round room inside the right hand tower 7. Left side altar 8. Right side altar 9. Left side altar 10. Right side altar 11. Middle of the decorated ceiling 12. The pulpit 13. Wall ending in pillar 14. Left front side altar 15. The dome 16. The votive ship 17. Right front side altar 18. Left front smallish altar 19. Right front smallish altar 20. The main altar There are several stories concerning the altar-piece (20), or the lack of it. One of them has it that Pacas had an altar made out of pure gold (or gilded perhaps) somewhere in Europe, and that it was to be taken to Vilnius aboard a ship. The ship sank in the Baltic Sea and the votive ship was hung in the dome for remembrance. Now, that’s really something to thank God for.

The Three Crosses - Trys kryziai The three crosses on a hilltop in the Mountain Park (Kalnu Parkas) close to Vilnius centre are also part of Lithuania's religious history. When the Soviet Union occupied the country, the crosses were blasted, removed and buried. Very few modern Lithuanians have seen the original crosses, and even fewer knew where they were buried. One if the first things on the agenda when the Soviet Union started to soften, was to make copies of the crosses and erect them at the original site. It is believed that three monks were crucified here in the 13:th century. The crosses are a symbol of Christianity in Lithuania, the country that was heathen longer than any other European country, all the way to 1387. Lithuania had a religion somewhat like the good old Nordic Aesir cult, but with partly different deities. Unfortunately, the crosses are at the top of a steep hill, and it's not so easy to make an overview of them. Nice from behind like this, but the not so nice, blasted crosses lie nearby. They have been placed on a little hill along with all the recovered pieces of the fundament. You can read “1959” off the fundament, but not much more. The broken concrete is more than just broken concrete, it stands for an attempt to subdue the people’s thoughts... ...and souls with violence and dynamite. And it failed. Here are the blasted crosses to remind everyone what they looked like, so that no one can forget what happened. I can hear all the Communists gnash their teeth. Here are some of the views to see from The Three Crosses. View towards the Bernadine Church with its abbey, and St. Anne’s Church. A close-up of St. Casimir’s Church and the crown. In front of it, the Augustin’s Church waiting to be restored, and in front of that, the Church of the Holy Mother of God at Uzupis. View towards the Old Town, Vilnius’ University and the University Church. Far away we see the TV Tower beyond the Vingis park. Gediminas Tower is in the front. The Three Crosses are visible from all over the city centre. With you telephoto lens on you can get a nice picture of the pair doing something in front of the crosses.

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