Holy Cross Church

Kaunas, Lithuania

The monks of the Order of Carmelites bought several plots of land for the monastery in Kaunas near the Nemunas river in 1706. Some years earlier, the Holy Cross Church (Šv. Kryžiaus bažnyčia) was sanctified nearby in 1685 and consecrated in 1700. The church was built in the late Baroque style. It is a two tower building of Latin cross shape. The painting in the main dome represents the prophet Elijah. It was created in the second half of the 18th century. After the spread of cholera epidemic, Tsarist Russian government established the hospital on the first floor of the monastery in 1831.

The church and the monastery were closed in 1845 and since when were used as a store house for carts and harness. At the same time the interior of the church was vandalized. The St. Cross Church of Kaunas was returned to the believers only in 1881. During the renovation from 1885 till 1898, five new sanctuaries were built, the pulpit, the organ, as well as three new bells were installed. Tyrolean artist John Kerle decorated the vaults of the church with the seventeen compositions in 1898. The church was renovated once more in 1925-1934. The Holy Cross Church of Kaunas was included into the Registry of Immovable Cultural Heritage Sites of the Republic of Lithuania in 1996.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 1685-1700
Category: Religious sites in Lithuania

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Edgaras Butenis (2 years ago)
?
Oleg Kolbovskij (3 years ago)
Bietyfal and have many places to eat or drink
Dan Gonzales (3 years ago)
Beautiful Church.
Dina buntov (3 years ago)
Nice church.
Augustė M (4 years ago)
Its really cozy and not a lot of people come there so its pretty quiet
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Abbey of Saint-Georges

Saint-Georges de Boscherville Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey. It was founded in about 1113 by Guillaume de Tancarville on the site of an earlier establishment of secular canons and settled by monks from the Abbey of Saint-Evroul. The abbey church made of Caumont stone was erected from 1113 to 1140. The Norman builders aimed to have very well-lit naves and they did this by means of tall, large windows, initially made possible by a wooden ceiling, which prevented uplift, although this was replaced by a Gothic vault in the 13th century. The chapter room was built after the abbey church and dates from the last quarter of the 12th century.

The arrival of the Maurist monks in 1659, after the disasters of the Wars of Religion, helped to get the abbey back on a firmer spiritual, architectural and economic footing. They erected a large monastic building one wing of which fitted tightly around the chapter house (which was otherwise left as it was).