Jeannie's Travel Addiction

Orthodox Church of St. Paraskeva

June 1, 2019

Vilnius has  LOTS of churches.   Church steeples can be seen, in one direction or another, on every  street you  walk down. Visitors are welcome in all churches and free of charge to see inside.   During the time  of 1940 – 1991 when the Baltic States were under  Soviet  Occupation, private churches were ordered  to be shut down.  Most were then used for other Soviet purposes.  After 1991, when the Baltic States  regained their independence, the churches were returned to the appropriate religion and  most were restored and reopened.   Here are a few of the churches I visited……..

Vilnius Cathedral, the main basilica in the city, was  built in the 18th century.  It  is well known for it’s  St. Casimir  Chapel and  crypt that contains the remains of 2 Grand Dukes.

The  domed ceiling of St. Casimir’s Chapel is  intricately  beautiful.

Vilnius Cathedral and Belfry.

St Johns Church, located on the Vilnius University campus, was  originally built in  1426,  reconstructed  in 1749 and  more structures were added  on in the 19th century.

Gates of Dawn, the last standing of 5 – 16th century gate to Old Town……

houses the “Chapel of Mary, Mother of Mercy” and a painting of  the  Madonna.  It is a  site of  prayer and pilgrimage and thought to bring about  miracles.

The Gothic  Church of St. Anne was built with red brick  in 1500.

The Bernadine Church is located directly  behind St. Anne’s.

Church  of St. Anne’s alter.

Bernadine’s Church was built in 1525, and  in  1770’s  wooden alters and confessionals were added to the interior,  some of which still remain.

St Casimir’s Church has an especially beautiful interior.

The domed ceiling over the alter.

St. Casimir’s alter

Bird of the day – a white stork.  This  is from the day I arrived in Vilnius from Riga via a bus.   Along the way I kept noticing a stork or two  pecking around in the farmer’s  fields.   I stopped counting after I saw 20 of them, but of all the photos I took (from a moving bus) this was the best photo of the bunch.

Storks winter in Africa and then migrate to parts of Europe, including the Baltic States for breeding. They  build  a large stick nest , sometimes as large as 6 feet in diameter, which can last for years.  They return to the same nest year after year, although do not necessarily mate for life.

Storks are a sign of good luck and fertility , therefore farmers welcome them to their property and sometimes mount a wooden wagon wheel on a post to aid in the stork’s nest building.

Thanks for reading!

Hope you enjoyed!