Monastery Pažaislis Monastery and the Church of the Visitation (, ) form the largest

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

complex in

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 ...

, and the most renowned example of

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...

in the country. The church is the most

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

-decorated

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

church of the former

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

. It is situated in the Pažaislis neighborhood of the Petrašiūnai elderate of

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 ...

, Lithuania, on a peninsula in 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 ...

. It was declared a cultural monument and a site of Catholic pilgrimage in Lithuania. In 2021, Pažaislis Church and Monastery Complex was awarded as the best

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an Film location in 2020 during the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival.

History

Image:Pažaislis Monastery interior 1, Kaunas, Lithuania - Diliff.jpg, Pažaislis interior Image:Decor of Pažaislis Monastery.jpg, Decor of Pažaislis Monastery Image:Pažaislis.jpg, Pažaislis Monastery in winter Image:Pazaislis Monastery (Kaunas, Lithuania, 2017).jpg, Pažaislis in winter Image:Pažaislis Monastery exterior, Kaunas, Lithuania - Diliff.jpg, Church of the Visitation in the monastery of Pažaislis, Kaunas Image:Pažaislis Monastery interior dome, Kaunas, Lithuania - Diliff.jpg, Dome and frescos inside the church Founded in 1664 by nobleman of

and Grand Chancellor of Lithuania, Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac, as a hermitage for the Order of the

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, ...

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 translation: "Peace Mountain"; ) on the estate bought from Oborski family that year.''

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
The main construction continued until 1674 and resumed in 1712. The monastery was designed by Pietro Puttini, Carlo Puttini and Giovanni Battista Frediani. Exclusive architectural solutions were used for the first time in Lithuania: a hexagonal church plan, and a concave facade (both heavily influenced by Borromini who used a more elaborate and refined hexagonal plan and also a concave facade for Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza and also for Sant’ Agnese in Agone, both in Rome) interior stucco work is ascribed to Joan Merli and the frescos to Michelangelo Palloni. Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac burned the monastery construction bills before his death, saying, "What I have given to God, let him alone know." and was buried in the monastery according to his testament. Writers of the time wrote that the construction cost 8 barrels of gold coins. In 1755 the addition of the towers and the dome was funded by the king's chamberlain Michał Jan Pac. The construction was completed in 1690, overseed by Michał Jan Pac. The monastery's church, decorated with highly polished marble, was damaged by the horses of Napoleon's army which was based in the complex. In 1832 the monastery was closed by the Russian authorities and later converted into an Orthodox church. The author of the

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

n national anthem '' God Save the Tsar'',

Alexei Lvov Alexei Fyodorovich Lvov (Russian: ''Алексей Фёдорович Львов'') ( – ) was a Russian composer., best known for the composition of the Imperial Russian National Anthem, ''God Save the Tsar''. Biography Lvov was born i ...

, was interred there in 1870. In 1915–1918 when the Orthodox monks had fled a German war hospital was established in the monastery. The leaving Orthodox monks has stolen many treasures from the monastery, including the St. Mass Cup, decorated with over 1000 gemstones (over 400

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

s, 300 rubies and 200

emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr., and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991). ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York ...

s). After 1920 the ruined monastery returned to Roman Catholics and was restored by sisters of the Lithuanian

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

of St. Casimir. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

authorities converted the church and monastery into an archive, a

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

and finally an

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The long ...

(in 1966). In 1990s the complex was returned by the newly independent Lithuania to the nuns of the convent and reconstruction work began. The monastery has the painting of Mary Belle Mother and Child, revered by the congregation, two bells of the church and St. Romuald titles, cast in the seventeenth century and the oldest church clock tower in

Music festival

Today the monastery is home to the annual international ''Pažaislis Music Festival''. It was started in 1996 and now lasts for three summer months and offers about 30 different concerts. The festival was visited by

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

twice. It features

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

of diverse genres and styles, ranging from

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

classics. Other concerts have taken place in many different venues across Lithuania, such as the

Kaunas Castle Kaunas Castle () is a medieval castle in Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. Archeological evidence suggests that it was built during the mid-14th century in the Gothic style. Its site is strategic—a rise on the banks of the Nemunas ...

Klaipėda University Klaipėda University ( or KU) is a university in the Lithuanian port city of Klaipėda. Overview Klaipėda University was formally founded on 1 January 1991, by a decree of the Seimas (the Lithuanian parliament). The new university incorpora ...

, and even the Pociūnai Airport. Image:The dome of the church of the Visitation.jpg, The dome of the church of the Visitation Image:Pažaislio ansamblis.Ensemble of Pažaislis.jpg, View of the ensemble from southwest Image:Pazaislio vienuolynas 2006-06-30.jpg, The Great Gates

References

External links

Church and Monastery of Pažaislis exterior video tour

in Bridges journal, March 1999.
Pažaislis Music Festival
Official website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pazaislis Monastery Buildings and structures in Kaunas Landmarks in Kaunas Benedictine monasteries in Lithuania Religious buildings and structures completed in 1755 Baroque architecture in Lithuania Tourist attractions in Kaunas Monasteries used as prisons