Tytuvenai Monastery

Description

Tytuvėnai’s Church of Our Lady of the Angels and Bernardine monastery complex are among Lithuania’s largest and most significant specimens of 17th and 18th century sacred architecture, reflecting as they do a multi-layered harmony of the gothic, mannerist and baroque styles. The ensemble consists of a church, a courtyard with the Holy Steps Chapel, and the stone wall of a two-story monastery. The main altar of the church features a painting of the Mother of God and Child which is famed for special.

The first church in the town was built in 1555. The construction of the monastery was initiated by Andrius Valavicius and his family, who returned to the Catholic faith after a wave of Counter-Reformation. The construction plans were prepared in 1614, but the construction started only after the death of Andrius Valavicius in 1618. Works were sponsored by Jeronimas Valavicius, the treasurer of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1633 the main part of monastery and church was completed. In 1772–1780 a courtyard was build, in which Stations of the Cross were placed.