Kaunas
Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...
Pažaislis Monastery
Monastery
Pažaislis Monastery and the Church of the Visitation (, ) form the largest monastery complex in Lithuania, and the most renowned example of Baroque architecture in the country. The church is the most marble-decorated Baroque church of ...
.
History
Originally, there were two places named Pažaislis in the same area. One of them was a
folwark
''Folwark'' is a Polish word derived from the German ''Vorwerk''. A Folwark or Vorwerk is an agricultural estate or a separate branch operation of such an estate, historically a serfdom-based farm and agricultural enterprise (a type of latif ...
owned by
Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac
Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac (; 1621–1684) was a nobleman and statesman of Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Chancellor (1658–1684) of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
He was the brother of Michał Kazimierz Pac, the Grand Hetman of Lithuania (1667& ...
. By the end of the 19th century it had 6 households with some 50–60 persons.''
Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland
The Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavic Countries () is a monumental Polish gazetteer, published 1880–1902 in Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns ...
'', vol. VII p. 960 /ref> Another was a manor across Neman.''
Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland
The Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavic Countries () is a monumental Polish gazetteer, published 1880–1902 in Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns ...
'', vol. I p. 5 /ref> Originally it was owned by the
Oborski Oborski, feminine Oborska is a Polish noble family name. Historically it originated from the nobiliary toponymic naming "z Obór" ("from Obory").
Józef Wolff
Józef Ludwik Wolff (born December 15, 1852, in Warsaw, died August 9, 1900, in Heidelberg) was a Polish historian, bookseller, heraldist and genealogist.
Biography
He was born into the family of a merchant and banker of Jewish origin, Ludwik ...
, ''Pacowie: materyjały historyczno-genealogiczne'', 188 p. 160 /ref> Initially, a wooden hermitage of
Camaldolese
The Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona () are a Catholic Church, Catholic monastic order of pontifical right for men founded by Romuald, St. Romuald. Its name is derived from the Holy Hermitage () in Camaldoli, high in the mountains of Tuscany, ...
was built there by Krzysztof Pac in 1664, on the hill called Mons Pacis in Latin (a hint to the
Pac family
The House of Pac or Pacowie (, , ) was one of the most influential noble families in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Numerous high-ranking Offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, officials of the Commonwealth came from their ra ...
; Literal trans'ation: "Peace Mountain"; , but it may also be read "Pac's Mountain"). Eventually it grew into the monastery. The same year Pac transferred the ownership of the whole Pożajście to Camaldolese and henceforth the place was known as Mons Pacis. In 1667 Pac further transfers to Camaldolese several other manors ( Duszmiany, Jackówek, etc.).
With the construction of the monastery the settlement grew and eventually became the seat of the . Pažaislis was incorporated into Kaunas in 1946.
A significant part of the neighborhood is occupied by the park named . It is part of the Kauno Marios Regional Park.
By the monastery, within the heath of Pažaislis, grows the , a
natural heritage
Natural heritage refers to the sum total of the elements of biodiversity, includes flora and fauna, ecosystems and geological structures. It forms part of our natural resources.
Definition
Definitions:
* Natural heritage refers to natural feat ...
object. It "succeeded" the original Pažaislis Oak, which was dying and removed from the list of natural monuments."Pažaislio ąžuolo pamaina" /ref>
During the construction of the
Kaunas Reservoir
Kaunas Reservoir (, Kaunas Lagoon, Kaunas Sea) is the largest Lithuanian artificial lake, created in 1959 by damming the Nemunas River near Kaunas and Rumšiškės. It occupies 63.5 square kilometers, which is about 0.1% of the total territory o ...
nearly all its territory northeast of the monastery was flooded. During the flooding the Peace Mountain naturally formed a peninsula, on which the monastery resides now.