St. Anne's Church
St. Anne's
Church is one of the most beautiful and famous buildings in Vilnius .
It is presumed that the original (wooden) St. Anne's Church was built
in the 14th century by Ona, the wife of Vytautas the Great. The first
historical reference to St. Anne's Church dates back to 1394.
It is thought that the brick church was built during 1495 - 1500 through
the efforts of the Franciscans. This is a real late gothic masterpiece;
of which there are few comparable buildings in the entire world. The church
has reached our time almost unchanged and has become one of the symbols
of Vilnius .
The church is surrounded by many legends. The most popular story is that
Napoleon upon seeing St. Anne's Church, said that he would like to place
it in the palm of his hand and move it to Paris . The church, built using
thirty-three kinds of bricks, has already stood for five centuries in
the lee of the severe Bernardine gothic style, amazing everyone with the
courage and ingenuity of the masters who erected it. This amazingly light,
harmonious, and playful building is distinguished by the rhythmic composition
of its vertical and curved lines: above the portal there are no flat wall
surfaces, only pilasters, slim rod squares, three kinds of arches, and
elegant spires crowned with metal crosses. According to the art critic,
Vladas Drema, the ancient Lithuanian arms, i.e. the Pillars of Gediminas
(Gedimino stulpai) are highlighted in the composition of the fasade. The
side fasades and presbytery, with their high windows and openwork towers
are also very complex.
A neo-gothic bell tower (1873) designed by the architect, N. Tchiagin,
and built to replace the previous classical one, stands next to the church.
The Higher Castle Museum (Gediminas' Castle)
The red-bricked tower is preserved from the Higher Castle erected in the 13-14th centuries. Now in the tower, thematic expositions are arranged where one may have a look at the models of the previous ensemble of castles, armours, swords, ancient coins and other exposition that introduces to the history of Lithuania . One may have a beautiful panoramic view to the Old town and the towers of churches, city centre and Neris river valleys from the sightseeing site on top of the tower.
VILNIUS
Holiday type:
