Christ the King Cathedral (Panevėžys)
The Cathedral of Christ the King in the Lithuanian city of Panevėžys is the episcopal church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Panevėžys .
history
A new Catholic church was to be built in Panevėžys as early as 1860, but this could not be implemented due to political unrest , as the Russian government had banned the establishment of Catholic churches. A small chapel could only be built in 1904. Until then, Catholic services were held in the Peter and Paul Church. After the diocese had been founded in 1926, it became necessary to expand the small chapel into a cathedral, which could be consecrated in 1930. Rytis Staikunas and the engineer Aleksandras Gordevicius were able to be won over as architects for the 55-meter-long church. Despite its early consecration, the cathedral was not completed until 1933.
description
While the 55 meter long and 27 meter wide neo-baroque church building is yellow on the outside, the interior is dominated by light blue. Elements of neoclassicism can also be found on the exterior. The 55 meter high tower, in which four bells from the bell foundry in Apolda hang, is integrated into the facade. There are also statues of Pope Pius XI on it. as the founder of the diocese and archbishop Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius , who are about three meters tall.
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The vault in the three-aisled interior was designed by Povilas Puzinas . On the richly gilded oak high altar is a statue of the King of Christ, which was created by Juozas Zikaras . The altar is crowned by a large canopy that stands on white pillars and is flanked by angels. From the St. Peter and Paul Church in Vilnius , some baroque sculptures from the 17th and 18th centuries were transferred to the new cathedral, which now adorn the interior. The large choir fresco , which measures 22 × 14 meters and shows the “Miracle of Polotsk”, is also striking . Ten churches from the Panevėžys diocese are painted in the choir. The wooden side altars are by Joseph Rifesser . While the left side altar shows a copy of the Sistine Madonna , the right side altar is consecrated to Francis of Assisi . The side altars are flanked by statues depicting Albert of Riga and St. Monica. The paintings show Francis helping Jesus crucified and a painting of St. Casimir . The vault frescoes of Puzinas show angel frescoes in the clouds and the four evangelists . He also created eight large paintings that hang in the nave.
The organ comes from the Königsberg organ builder Bruno Goebel .
Under the choir are the Kasimir Chapel and the crypt . The first bishop of Panevėžys, Kazimieras Paltarokas, also rests here .
Web links
- The city of Panevezys tourism site (English)
- panevezysinfo.lt (English)
- panevezys.lcn.lt (Lithuanian)
Coordinates: 55 ° 43 ′ 22.1 ″ N , 24 ° 21 ′ 22.5 ″ E