About the Church
The Church of St Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist in Naujamiestis is an impressive architectural monument standing on the right bank of the Nevėžis. This church not only delights the eye with its appearance but also has a rich and turbulent history.
The first church in Naujamiestis was built as early as 1583, when Ostapas Valavičius founded an Evangelical Reformed community here and built a small wooden church. Later, in 1688, the Voivode of Trakai Marcijonas Oginskis established a Catholic parish and ordered a new church to be built. But fate was unforgiving to this church – it burned down more than once and was rebuilt each time.
The present masonry church, which we see today, took as long as nine years to build – from 1899 to 1908, to a design by the engineer Florijonas Vyganovskis. The building is in the Historicist style with Gothic Revival elements, and its facade is adorned with two tall towers. The church has a rectangular plan, is two-towered, with a three-sided apse and low sacristies.
During the First World War the church was damaged, but the local community managed to restore it. In 1934, on the initiative of the parish priest Juozapas Kirna, additional altars were installed inside the church, and the painter Vincas Dilka decorated it with frescoes and painted four pictures.
In 1944 the church was struck by disaster again – it suffered severely from an explosion on 24 August, but this time, too, it was repaired through the efforts of the parish. However, the hardest trial awaited on 16 August 2007, when a major fire broke out in the church during renovation. Both 50-metre-high wooden towers collapsed in the flames, and the largest bell of the Diocese of Panevėžys, cast at the Usačiovas brothers' foundry in Russia, fell into the church. The fire also destroyed the valuable organ, made in Königsberg.
It took six years after the fire for the church to be fully restored. In 2013 the towers were rebuilt – this time made of metal structures and clad in sheet metal, though almost identical in appearance to the former ones. The restoration work cost about 300 thousand litas, and the church regained its former grandeur.
Today the Church of St Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist in Naujamiestis not only reflects Lithuania's complex history but also symbolises people's persistence and determination to preserve their cultural heritage. Inside it one can see a three-nave structure with three oak altars, ornate stained-glass windows and a special atmosphere in which the spirit of former times intertwines with the marvels of modern technology.
The first church in Naujamiestis was built as early as 1583, when Ostapas Valavičius founded an Evangelical Reformed community here and built a small wooden church. Later, in 1688, the Voivode of Trakai Marcijonas Oginskis established a Catholic parish and ordered a new church to be built. But fate was unforgiving to this church – it burned down more than once and was rebuilt each time.
The present masonry church, which we see today, took as long as nine years to build – from 1899 to 1908, to a design by the engineer Florijonas Vyganovskis. The building is in the Historicist style with Gothic Revival elements, and its facade is adorned with two tall towers. The church has a rectangular plan, is two-towered, with a three-sided apse and low sacristies.
During the First World War the church was damaged, but the local community managed to restore it. In 1934, on the initiative of the parish priest Juozapas Kirna, additional altars were installed inside the church, and the painter Vincas Dilka decorated it with frescoes and painted four pictures.
In 1944 the church was struck by disaster again – it suffered severely from an explosion on 24 August, but this time, too, it was repaired through the efforts of the parish. However, the hardest trial awaited on 16 August 2007, when a major fire broke out in the church during renovation. Both 50-metre-high wooden towers collapsed in the flames, and the largest bell of the Diocese of Panevėžys, cast at the Usačiovas brothers' foundry in Russia, fell into the church. The fire also destroyed the valuable organ, made in Königsberg.
It took six years after the fire for the church to be fully restored. In 2013 the towers were rebuilt – this time made of metal structures and clad in sheet metal, though almost identical in appearance to the former ones. The restoration work cost about 300 thousand litas, and the church regained its former grandeur.
Today the Church of St Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist in Naujamiestis not only reflects Lithuania's complex history but also symbolises people's persistence and determination to preserve their cultural heritage. Inside it one can see a three-nave structure with three oak altars, ornate stained-glass windows and a special atmosphere in which the spirit of former times intertwines with the marvels of modern technology.
Gallery and Resources
Archive captions are shown in Lithuanian.
Bažnyčios, statytos 1908 m., bendras vaizdas iš toliau.
Miestelio bendras vaizdas. Matyti tiltas per Nevėžio upę ir tolumoje Šv. Apaštalo evangelisto Mato bažnyčia.