About the Church
The first chapel in Lenkimai was built as early as 1680. Later, in 1717, the Voivode of Vilnius donated a valakas of land, and parish registers began to be kept from 1704. A new church was built in the town in 1752, and a parish school was established in 1780. It is worth noting that this school became a state school from 1915.
The construction and reconstruction of the church continued from 1780 to 1816. During this period a masonry church was built, which was reconstructed at the parishioners' expense in 1848. The importance of the church is also shown by the fact that Bishop Aleksandras Beresnevičius himself came to consecrate it in 1881.
Architecturally, the Lenkimai Church of St Anne has a rectangular plan with one tower and an apse. The churchyard has a stone-and-brick-masonry bell tower, and its wall is also of stone masonry. Interestingly, the noted Lithuanian historian Simonas Daukantas contributed to the decoration of the church, buying it paintings and paying for the installation of the rear altar. In addition, his mother, Kotrinė Odinaitė, was buried in the churchyard in 1847, and 19th-century Lithuanian text can still be read on her gravestone.
Over its long existence the church has faced various trials. For example, the Lenkimai altarist Juozapas Kukevičius was accused in 1831 of supporting the uprising and was confined for a year in the Bernardine monastery in Kretinga. It was only in 1844 that an independent parish was established in Lenkimai, having previously been a filial church of Skuodas parish.
Today the Lenkimai Church of St Anne serves not only as a place of worship but also as a historic monument testifying to Lithuania's rich cultural heritage. For every visitor it recalls not only the past of the town of Lenkimai but also the people who, through their work and devotion, contributed to the building and nurturing of this church.
Gallery and Resources
Archive captions are shown in Lithuanian.
Spalvota, horizontalaus formato, dokumentinė nuotrauka lygiais kraštais. Nufotografuotas paminklas iš Lenkimų parapijos Kalvių kaimo kilusiam Lietuvos istorikui, rašytojui ir švietėjui, vienam iš pirmųjų tautinio atgimimo ideologui Simonui Daukantui (1793–1864), S. Daukanto g., Lenkimai, Skuodo r. sav. Fotografavo Julius Kanarskas, Kretingos muziejaus Istorijos skyriaus vedėjas, 1995 m.
Pastatytas 1993 m. priešais Lenkimų šv. Onos bažnyčią. Paminklo autoriai: skulptorius Regimantas Midvikis ir architektas Adomas Skiezgelas. Saugotinas kultūros paveldo objektas, turintis memorialinį ir dailės vertingųjų savybių pobūdį.
Dvasininkas, vilkintis juoda sutana, stovi prie įėjimo į bažnyčią. Mūrinės bažnyčios fragmentas užfiksuotas iš šoninio fasado pusės.