St. Stephan (Vilnius)

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St. Stephan in Vilnius
Exterior view (facade design)

Exterior view (facade design)

Data
place Vilnius
builder Pietro Rossi
Construction year 1600-12 / 1801-06
Coordinates 54 ° 40 '9.2 "  N , 25 ° 16' 34.9"  E Coordinates: 54 ° 40 '9.2 "  N , 25 ° 16' 34.9"  E

The Roman Catholic parish church of St. Stephan (lit. Vilniaus Šv. Diakono Stepono bažnyčia , Polish Kościół Śwętego Stefana w Wilnie ) is a church in Vilnius, Lithuania and part of the former monastery of the Mariawitek order .

history

The parish church of St. Stephen was one of the first buildings at the gates of Vilnius (built thanks to the Jesuit Simon Wysocki), which originally served as the St. Lazarus hospital. At the same time, the cemetery for the plague and hunger victims who died in the hospital was built. Influential citizens were later buried in the cemetery. a. Professors from Vilnius University .

In 1715, in front of the church, there was a house of the Order of the Community of Brothers of Charity of St. Rocha (Rochici) , a Roman Catholic charitable men's congregation. Later, thanks to pastor Józef Stefan Turczynowicz , it became a Roman Catholic house of the Mariawitek order. The Sisters of the Life of Mary looked after the house of God until the second half of the 19th century.

When the Russians shot at Vilnius with cannons during the suppression of the Kościuszko uprising in 1794, the church burned down completely. It was built according to the design of the architect Pietro Rossi between 1801 and 1806, among other things with financial support from Tsar Paul I (Russia) .

In 1863, on the orders of Tsar Alexander II (Russia), the Mariawitek order was closed and the church and the monastery building were used as a prison from then on . In 1926 the craftsmen's guild used the former monastery building as a warehouse and stored building materials in the cemetery around the church. During the years 1918-1939 services were celebrated here, but after the Second World War banned. The church has been closed since then.

Renovations in 1975/1976 and at the beginning of the 21st century saved the church from further decay.

architecture

The parish church of St. Stephen has characteristics of the late Renaissance and the early baroque with a relatively simple outer facade. This makes it stand out in the design of the churches in Vilnius. In addition to the nave, the church has only one aisle on the south side.

On the southern side there is also the grave of the Polish-Lithuanian architect Wawrzyniec Gucewicz , who designed the Vilnius Cathedral .

gallery

  • North facade of the parish church

  • Tomb of the architect Laurynas Gucevicius

  • Restoration status 2012

Important clergy in St. Stephan

literature

  • Art. St. Stephan . In: Andrea Langer, Dietmar Popp (ed.): Baroque sacred architecture in Wilna. Decay and renewal. An exhibition by the Herder Institute Marburg in cooperation with the Humanities Center for the History and Culture of East Central Europe Leipzig . Herder Institute, Marburg 2002, ISBN 3-87969-304-8 , pp. 182-186.
  • Tomas Venclova : Wilno. Przewodnik . Wilno 2001. ISBN 9986-830-47-8 (Polish).
  • Adomas Honoris Kirkoras: Pasivaikščiojimas po Vilnių ir jo apylinkes. Vertė Kazys Uscila . Mintis, Vilnius 1991, pp. 195-200 (Lithuanian).
  • Vladas Drėma: Dingęs Vilnius . Vaga, Vilnius 1991, ISBN 5-415-00366-5 , pp. 368-369 (Lithuanian).
  • Juliusz Kłos: Wilno. Przewodnik krajoznawczy Juliusza Kłosa, Prof. Uniwersytetu St. Batorego. Wydanie trzecie poprawione po zgonie autora . Wilno, 1937, pp. 193-194 (Polish).

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Art. St. Stephan . In: Andrea Langer, Dietmar Popp (ed.): Baroque sacred architecture in Wilna. Decay and renewal . Herder Institute, Marburg 2002, pp. 182–186, here p. 182.