Anykščiai Church
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Church of Apostle Evangelist St. Matthew in Anykščiai () is a red brick
Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...
church in
Anykščiai Anykščiai (; see #Name, other names) is a ski resort city in Lithuania, west of Utena, Lithuania, Utena. The Roman Catholic Church of St. Matthias in Anykščiai is the tallest church in Lithuania, with spires measuring in height. Anykščia ...
,
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
. The Church is situated on the right bank of the
Šventoji River Šventoji (literally: feminine gender of ''the holy'') can refer to these objects in Lithuania: * Šventoji River, 246-kilometer long tributary of Neris * Šventoji River (Baltic), 73-kilometer long tributary of the Baltic Sea *Šventoji, Lithuania ...
. The twin
spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...
s of the church, each in height, make the church the tallest in Lithuania. The brightly colored stained glass windows were the creation of Anortė Mackelaitė, the well known stained glass artist of Lithuania, between 1971 and 1986.


History

Anykščiai was first mentioned in written sources in 1442. The first church built before 1500 was a wooden structure. Following the construction of the Catholic Church, the town was mentioned as a city with
Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (, , ; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages gr ...
in 1516. The church was destroyed by fire in 1566 and 1671, but quickly rebuilt. The decaying wooden structure was replaced by a brick church, built in 1765. An accompanying white four-storey
bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...
was completed in 1823. Following the construction of the
narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...
line between
Panevėžys Panevėžys () is the fifth-largest List of cities in Lithuania, city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, eighth-most-populous city in the Baltic States. it occupies with 89,100 inhabitants. As defined by Eu ...
and
Švenčionėliai Švenčionėliai () is a city in Švenčionys district municipality, in eastern Lithuania 10 km west of Švenčionys. The river Žeimena flows through Švenčionėliai. History On 10 July 1920, it was the site of a battle of the Polish– ...
in the 19th century, the parish was re-developed and the church was re-built over a ten-year period between 1899 and 1909. The original spires were in height, but they were purposefully destroyed during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. The falling towers also damaged the roof; the interior, including the main altar and portions of the archives, was devastated by a fire in 1928. This prompted reconstruction of the church. The spires were rebuilt, but their height was lowered by 5 metres. There is also a legend related to the Puntukas stone, a famous stone in Lithuania. According to this legend, the devil wanted to destroy the church by dropping a heavy stone on it. However, early crowing of a rooster prevented this happening and the stone fell away from the church. It is now a visitor attraction.


Architecture

The present church building consists of twin towers, both of which are 79 metres in height. The building was built in red bricks in the Neo-Gothic architectural style. The floor plan follows the basic principles of
cathedral architecture Cathedrals, collegiate churches, and monastic churches like those of abbeys and priories, often have certain complex structural forms that are found less often in parish churches. They also tend to display a higher level of contemporary ar ...
: it has two aisles and
groin vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: La ...
s. The church façade has stained glass windows which were installed between 1971–1986, credited to
Marija Mackelaitė Marija is a feminine given name, a variation of the name Maria, which was in turn a Latin form of the Greek names Μαριαμ, or Mariam, and Μαρια, or Maria, found in the New Testament. Depending on phonological rules concerning consecut ...
. Artistically decorated
altars An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in Christian ...
and the
pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...
s are seen inside the church. A statue of
St Matthew Matthew the Apostle was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. According to Christian traditions, he was also one of the four Evangelists as author of the Gospel of Matthew, and thus is also known as Matthew the Evangelist. The claim of his g ...
is installed behind the large cross in the main altar. Inside the church, apart many elegant altars there are also statues and paintings. The church also has a large organ which was bought in 1998 from Shirley Baptist Church,
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
. Rimas Idzelis, an amateur artist, installed
Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...
on the churchyard fence in 1982–1988. The church is surrounded by a park. In 1993 a monument was built for the Lithuanian poet and bishop
Antanas Baranauskas Antanas Baranauskas (; 17 January 1835 – 26 November 1902) was a Lithuanian poet, mathematician and Catholic bishop of Sejny. Baranauskas is best known as the author of the Lithuanian poem '' Anykščių šilelis''. He used various pen names ...
(1835–1902), native of Anykščiai and author of the famous poem '' Anykščių šilelis'' (The Grove of Anykščiai). Sculptor Arūnas Sakalauskas and architect Ričardas Krištapavičius were awarded the
Lithuanian National Prize The Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts (), established in 1989, is an award granted for achievements in culture and the arts. It has been awarded annually in six categories since 2006 (between 1989 and 2006 there were nine categories). ...
for the monument in 1994.


Notable people

Juozapas Čepėnas (1880–1976) was pastor of Anykščiai from 1938 to 1945. During that time he protested
the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
and
Nazi occupation of Lithuania The military occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany lasted from the German invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, to the end of the Battle of Memel on January 28, 1945. At first the Germans were welcomed as liberators from the repress ...
. Monsignor Albertas Talačka (1921–1999), former pastor of Anykščiai Church, bequeathed his private library of over 4,000 books and art collection to the town and parish of Anykščiai. The art collection is on permanent displayed of Center of Sacral Art in Anykščiai.


References


External links


Official website of Anykščiai parish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anyksciai Church Roman Catholic churches in Lithuania Buildings and structures in Utena County Tourist attractions in Utena County Objects listed in Lithuanian Registry of Cultural Property