Church of St. Peter and St. Paul - Vilnius, Lithuania - Roman Catholic Churches on Waymarking.com

The church of St. Peter and St. Paul is located in the Antakalnis neighborhood, a bit out of the historical center. It's usually considered a symbol of Lithuanian Baroque.

It's quite possible that there was a wooden church on this location built immediately after Jogaila's conversion. In the late 15th Century it was rebuilt, destroyed by fire in 1594. There was a second wooden church, destroyed during the war with Russia (1655-1661).

The church that we can see on the location nowadays was financed by Hetman Michal Kazimierz Pac.

From Wikipedia:

"(...) in celebration of the victory against the Russians and the suppression of Lubomirski's Rokosz. The Latin inscription on the main façade REGINA PACIS FUNDA NOS IN PACE (Queen of Peace, protect us in peace) corresponds with the intention, as well as with the founder's name Pac. Pac demanded to be buried beneath the doorstep of the main entrance with the inscription "Hic Jacet Pecator" (Here Lies a Sinner) on his tombstone, which was parted by the lightning and was set in the wall, right of the main portal. A large Turkish war drum (timpano) is on display in the church. It was seized from the Ottomans in the Battle of Khotyn of 11 November 1673, won by the Commonwealth forces, and granted to the church by Michal Kazimierz Pac.

The construction works of the present church started in 1668 under the supervision of Jan Zaor from Kraków and finished in 1676 by Giambattista Frediani. The decoration works were unfortunately terminated in 1684 due to the founder's death in 1682, which prevented creating the main altar according to the original design. The decoration works were finally completed only in 1704.

The main altar, smaller than planned, was built in the beginning of 19th century by Giovanni Beretti and Nicolae Piano from Milan. It is dominated by the Farewell of St. Peter and St. Paul, a large drawing by Franciszek Smuglewicz, installed there in 1805.

Hanging from the interior of the dome near the main altar is a boat-shaped chandelier made of glass beads. It was made by Latvian craftsmen and installed in the church in 1905. The chandelier refers to the fact that Saint Peter was a fisherman."

Type of Church: Church Status of Building: Actively in use for worship Dominant Architectural Style: Barroque Diocese: Vilnius Address/Location: Church of St. Peter and St. Paul Vilnius, Lithuania Relvant Web Site: [Web Link] Date of organization: Not listed Date of building construction: Not listed Associated Shrines, Art, etc.: Not listed Archdiocese: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   04/19/2019 Wilina visited it