Churches and Monasteries

Culture Architecture Churches and Monasteries

The Church in Merkinė

Perhaps the oldest church in Dzūkija

The first church is believed to have been built from the fortress before 1387. The church in Merkinė is mentioned in 1392, 1496. renewed. 1442 the grand duke of Lithuania Casimir donated wealth to the church. Other rulers supplemented them in 1516 and 1582. The Dominican monastery (founded by Mayor Christopher Steponis) was established in 1607, in 1615 a brick church was built.

1676 a Jesuit monastery was established, and a church was built (under the care of the Hetman Mykolas Pacas). 1648 partially masonry and plastered parish church walls, pediment built, vaults re-folded. 1655 the church was demolished, until 1674. repaired. Merkinė parish in 1744. owned 66 villages on both sides of the Nemunas. 1725–1773 there was an incomplete Jesuit college; 1774 it came to the Dominicans, who in 1776. established a school (operated until 1831 as a county school).

1822 July 16 during the town fire, the rectory and all 3 Catholic churches (parish, Dominican, Jesuit) burned down. After 1831. uprising in 1832 the church of the closed Dominican monastery was handed over to the parish, the police and the border guard were established in the monastery. 1843 In 1856, priest Kajetonas Aleknavičius built a rectory at his own expense (he spoke Lithuanian with the parishioners). The church was slightly rebuilt. 1884 the church was built according to the project of M. Strebeika.

Liškiava architectural ensemble

Liškiava has been mentioned in written sources since 1044. People in the vicinity of present-day Liškiava lived as early as the second millennium BC. The first small wooden parish church in Liškiava was built in 1450. It should be noted that the parish of Liškiava never belonged to the Dominicans. The parish had its own church and pastor all along. 1697 April 22 Vladislovas Jurgis Kosyla and his wife Kristina wrote all their wealth in a will to the Dominican monastery so that it would pray for the deceased only son Florijonas and for themselves. After consulting with the Seinai Dominicans, Vladislovas Jurgis Kosyla decided to establish a new Dominican monastery in Liškiava and to build the Church in honor of the St. Trinity. The will of 1699. August 17 approved by the Grand Duke of Lithuania August I. 1699. from Seinai, six Dominicans came to Liškiava and settled in the palace of Liškiava manor. But the families of Kosyl were not hospitable to them. The first Dominicans to arrive were beaten and expelled from Liškiava. And only in 1703. The Supreme Tribunal of Lithuania returned the inherited property to the Dominicans, and they settled firmly in Liškiava.

The Dominicans built a valuable 17th century late baroque architectural ensemble. The construction of the church and monastery ensemble began in 1703 and fully completed in 1741.

Since 1989 until 2013 the pastor of Liškiava was the canon Valius Zubavičius. During those years, the church and monastery buildings were restored and turned into a true sanctuary of beauty and art.

The Church of St. Apostles Simon and Judas Tadas in Marcinkonys

In 1770 the first wooden church was built in honor of the apostles Simon and Judas Tadas. But after standing for almost 100 years, it burned down. The current wooden church, built in 1880, is also dedicated to St. Apostles Simon and Judas Tadas.