Saint Nicholas Church, Vilnius, Lithuania

Saint Nicholas Church is mentioned in document for the first time in 1387. In 1901-39 the Church of St. Nicholas was the only church in Vilnius where the mass was held in Lithuanian. By the same token it was a centre of Lithuanian culture (its famous dean Kristupas Čibiras was killed in 1942 during a bombing raid).

After the World War II, the Cathedral of Vilnius was closed and the Curia of the Archdiocese of Vilnius was moved to the St. Nicholas Parish building and the Church of St. Nicholas in fact performed the functions of a cathedral.

During the Soviet occupation a statue of the patron of Vilnius, St. Christopher, was erected in the church orchard (sculptor Antanas Kmieliauskas, 1959); it was an obvious act of resistance, as the city's coat-of-arms with St. Christopher's figure was banned at that time.

Archaeologists believe that the original church survived till the present day. Externally, the church represents the Brick Gothic style, while its interior has been renovated several times. The church belfry was built in the 17th century in the Baroque style. Its façade is flanked by two stocky buttresses with cut-off tops. The triangular pediment with niches has been recently renovated accentuating its original Gothic character. In the interior, four elegant octahedral pillars support web and star vaults. The high altar holds a painting of St. Nicholas with a silver setting from the 16th century. The church is adorned with two sculptures: a polychrome statue of St. Louis from the Gothic period, and Vytautas' bronze bust erected in 1930 (sculptor Rapolas Jakimavičius).

References:

Wikipedia

Religious sites in Lithuania

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.

MUHAMMAD WAQAS (5 years ago)
Awesome bubble tea, i spend two days here and come here to drink both days twice time a day

Alejandro Sakovich (5 years ago)
Hello, I’m Argentinean and I’m looking for my relatives, I hope someone can help me or maybe meet my family. These are the details of my grandfather - Name : Petras Julijam Sakovich ius - date of birth : kedainiai apps 30/11/1899 passport number : 620 - serija 10299 , my e-mail is : mas@gargroup.com.ar

David Davidson (5 years ago)

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Church of St Donatus