St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Vilnius
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St. Peter and St. Paul's Church in Vilnius
is a Roman Catholic church located in the Antakalnis
neighbourhood of the city. Its interior has masterful compositions of stucco
mouldings by Giovanni Pietro Perti and ornamentation
by Giovanni Maria Galli of Milan
, and is considered a Lithuania
n Baroque
masterpiece.
built on a traditional cross plan with a lantern dome
allowing extra light into its white interior. The freestanding columns of the main facade were used for the first time in Lithuanian ecclesiastical architecture. The inscription surrounding the base of the dome (Tu es Petrus
et supra hanc petram edificabo ecclesia
m meam et portae inferi non praevale buntadversus eam) is the same as that of St. Peter's Basilica
in the Vatican
. The church is decorated with over 2000 religious depictions. The fresco
s are attributed to Johann Gotthard Berchhoff. The female heads opposite the St. Augustine
Chapel represent two sister nations: Poland
and Lithuania.
It is believed that the first wooden church was built on this location after Jogaila
's conversion. It was rebuilt at the end of 15th century, but was destroyed by a fire in 1594. Another wooden church was built between 1609-1616, but it also was destroyed during the wars with Russia in 1655-1661
.
The construction of the new church was paid for by the Great Lithuanian Hetman Michał Kazimierz Pac in celebration of the victory against the Russians
and the suppression of Lubomirski's Rokosz
. The Latin
inscription on the main façade REGINA PACIS FUNDA NOS IN PACE (Queen of Peace
, protect us in peace) corresponds with the intention, as well as with the founder's name Pac. Pac demanded to be buried beneath the doorstep of the main entrance with the inscription "Hic Jacet Pecator" (Here Lies a Sinner) on his tombstone, which was parted by the lightning and was set in the wall, right of the main portal. A large Turkish
war drum
(timpano
) is on display in the church. It was seized from the Ottomans in the Battle of Khotyn of 11 November 1673, won by the Commonwealth
forces, and granted to the church by Michał Kazimierz Pac.
The construction works of the present church started in 1668
under the supervision of Jan Zaor
from Kraków and finished in 1676
by Giambattista Frediani. The decoration works were unfortunately terminated in 1684 due to the founder's death in 1682, which prevented creating the main altar according to the original design. The decoration works were finally completed only in 1704.
The main altar, smaller than planned, was built in the beginning of 19th century by Giovanni Beretti and Nicolae Piano from Milan. It is dominated by the Farewell of St. Peter and St. Paul, a large drawing by Franciszek Smuglewicz
, installed there in 1805.
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
is a Roman Catholic church located in the Antakalnis
Antakalnis
Antakalnis is an eldership in the Vilnius city municipality, Lithuania. Antakalnis is one of the oldest historical suburbs of Vilnius City. It is located in the eastern section of Vilnius, along the right bank of the Neris River...
neighbourhood of the city. Its interior has masterful compositions of stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
mouldings by Giovanni Pietro Perti and ornamentation
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
by Giovanni Maria Galli of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, and is considered a Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
masterpiece.
Architecture
The church is a basilicaBasilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
built on a traditional cross plan with a lantern dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
allowing extra light into its white interior. The freestanding columns of the main facade were used for the first time in Lithuanian ecclesiastical architecture. The inscription surrounding the base of the dome (Tu es Petrus
Petrus
Petrus is a Latin name derived from the Greek meaning "rock", and is the common English prefix "petro-" used to describe rock-based substances, like petros-oleum or "rock oil." As the source of Peter, it is a common name for people from antiquity through the medieval era, and may refer to one of...
et supra hanc petram edificabo ecclesia
Ecclesia
-Ecclesia:* the Christian Church**See Church militant and church triumphant for ecclesia militans, ecclesia penitens, ecclesia triumphans* Congregation among many English-speaking Christadelphians....
m meam et portae inferi non praevale buntadversus eam) is the same as that of St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
in the Vatican
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
. The church is decorated with over 2000 religious depictions. The fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
s are attributed to Johann Gotthard Berchhoff. The female heads opposite the St. Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
Chapel represent two sister nations: Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Lithuania.
History
Jogaila
Jogaila, later 'He is known under a number of names: ; ; . See also: Jogaila : names and titles. was Grand Duke of Lithuania , king consort of Kingdom of Poland , and sole King of Poland . He ruled in Lithuania from 1377, at first with his uncle Kęstutis...
's conversion. It was rebuilt at the end of 15th century, but was destroyed by a fire in 1594. Another wooden church was built between 1609-1616, but it also was destroyed during the wars with Russia in 1655-1661
Russo-Polish War (1654–1667)
The Russo-Polish War of 1654–1667, also called Thirteen Years' War, First Northern War, War for Ukraine was the last major conflict between Tsardom of Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Between 1655 and 1660, the Second Northern War was also fought in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth,...
.
The construction of the new church was paid for by the Great Lithuanian Hetman Michał Kazimierz Pac in celebration of the victory against the Russians
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia was the name of the centralized Russian state from Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 till Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721.From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 a year...
and the suppression of Lubomirski's Rokosz
Lubomirski's Rokosz
Lubomirski's Rokosz, or Lubomirski's Rebellion , was a rebellion against Polish King Jan II Kazimierz Vasa, initiated by the Polish nobleman, Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski.In 1665-66, Lubomirski's supporters paralyzed the proceedings of the Sejm...
. The Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
inscription on the main façade REGINA PACIS FUNDA NOS IN PACE (Queen of Peace
Our Lady of Peace
Our Lady of Peace, Mother of Peace, Queen of Peace or Our Lady Queen of Peace is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Roman Catholic Church. She is represented in art holding a dove and an olive branch, symbols of peace. Her official memorial feast is celebrated on January 24 each year in...
, protect us in peace) corresponds with the intention, as well as with the founder's name Pac. Pac demanded to be buried beneath the doorstep of the main entrance with the inscription "Hic Jacet Pecator" (Here Lies a Sinner) on his tombstone, which was parted by the lightning and was set in the wall, right of the main portal. A large Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
war drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
(timpano
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
) is on display in the church. It was seized from the Ottomans in the Battle of Khotyn of 11 November 1673, won by the Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
forces, and granted to the church by Michał Kazimierz Pac.
The construction works of the present church started in 1668
1660s in architecture
-Buildings:* 1661 - Work begins on Versailles, near Paris.* 1662** King Charles Court of the Greenwich Hospital in London, designed by John Webb.** Pažaislis Monastery founded .* ca...
under the supervision of Jan Zaor
Jan Zaor
Jan Zaor was a Polish baroque architect from Kraków who lived in the 17th century and was active during the years 1638 to 1676. He is known for designing St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Vilnius .-Works:...
from Kraków and finished in 1676
1670s in architecture
-Buildings:* 1672 - Temple Bar in London is rebuilt by Christopher Wren.* 1673 - Badshahi Masjid in Lahore, Pakistan is built by Aurangzeb.* 1675** Bethlem Royal Hospital in London, designed by Robert Hooke.** June - Work on St...
by Giambattista Frediani. The decoration works were unfortunately terminated in 1684 due to the founder's death in 1682, which prevented creating the main altar according to the original design. The decoration works were finally completed only in 1704.
The main altar, smaller than planned, was built in the beginning of 19th century by Giovanni Beretti and Nicolae Piano from Milan. It is dominated by the Farewell of St. Peter and St. Paul, a large drawing by Franciszek Smuglewicz
Franciszek Smuglewicz
Franciszek Smuglewicz or Pranciškus Smuglevičius, October 6, 1745 – September 18, 1807) was a Polish-Lithuanian draughtsman and painter. Smuglewicz is considered a progenitor of Lithuanian art in the modern era. Some consider him as a spiritual father of Jan Matejko's school of painting....
, installed there in 1805.