Church of St. Michael the Archangel / Šv. arkangelo Mykolo bažnycia (Vilnius) - Roman Catholic Churches on Waymarking.com

The Church of St. Michael the Archangel (Šv. arkangelo Mykolo bažnycia), belonging to the former Franciscan-Bernandine Convent Vilnius, is rare example of Renaissance ecclesiastic architecture in Lithuania.

The Church of St. Michael the Archangel was built by the Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Leonas Sapiega between 1599-1629 for a convent of Franciscan-Bernandine nuns, and also to serve as a family mausoleum. The construction lasted for thirty years, and the consecration ceremony took place on September 8, 1629. During the war with Moscow the Church was burned and plundered by Cossacks, however, it was restored between 1663 and 1373. The adjoining bell tower was built in the 18th century. In tsarist times the Church was closed down, but returned to the Sapiega family in 1903 and restored through their efforts. Later the Church was repaired once again.

The building of the Church of St. Archangel Michael has undergone little transformation since the beginning of the 17th c., and thus has to be regarded as a rare surviving example of Renaissance architecture in Vilnius. Its structure and architectural forms reflect the influence of both the then-fading Gothic style and Mannerism that had reached Lithuania; the tendencies of early Baroque can also be noticed.

In 1956 the Church opened as the Museum of Architecture. The interior of the Church is various and of great interest. The early 17th-century marble altar and a few 17th-century tombstones have survived. The one commemorating Leonas Sapiega and his two wives is the largest memorial in Lithuania. In 2009 the Church opened as the Church Heritage Museum (Bažnytinio paveldo muziejus).