About the Church
The church of St Joseph at Lukšiai is an impressive masonry church with Gothic Revival features, in Šakiai district. The first wooden church here was built in 1735 by the Veliuona elder Adomas Tadeušas Chodkevičius; it was at first a filial church of the Veliuona parish, and later of Sintautai parish.
The present masonry church was built in 1860–1862 and 1870–1877 to a design by Leopoldas Salkovskis, architect of Kalvarija county, with construction led by J. F. A. Bojanovskis. It is a church in the Historicist style with Gothic Revival features: cruciform in plan, with one tower, an apse, three naves and cylindrical vaults. The churchyard is enclosed by a masonry wall with two corner chapels and three iron gates.
The writer Antanas Tatarė is associated with Lukšiai: he served as parish priest here in 1839–1855 and founded a parish school in 1845, at which Jonas Basanavičius studied in 1864–1866. The interior is adorned with gilded side altars, a pulpit, stained-glass windows created in 1986 by the artist Vytautas Purlys, and historic wall paintings.
The present masonry church was built in 1860–1862 and 1870–1877 to a design by Leopoldas Salkovskis, architect of Kalvarija county, with construction led by J. F. A. Bojanovskis. It is a church in the Historicist style with Gothic Revival features: cruciform in plan, with one tower, an apse, three naves and cylindrical vaults. The churchyard is enclosed by a masonry wall with two corner chapels and three iron gates.
The writer Antanas Tatarė is associated with Lukšiai: he served as parish priest here in 1839–1855 and founded a parish school in 1845, at which Jonas Basanavičius studied in 1864–1866. The interior is adorned with gilded side altars, a pulpit, stained-glass windows created in 1986 by the artist Vytautas Purlys, and historic wall paintings.