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Kaunas | Sightseeing | Churches

Body of Christ Church
Completed in 1690, this often overlooked Baroque church next to the underpass connecting Old Town with Laisvės provides an interesting insight into the mindset of the occupying Soviets. Yet to be restored to its former glory, enter through the small door in the courtyard and have a look around. Used as a community centre among other things during the darkest days of atheism, much of the remaining Soviet-era glass and metalwork remains inside. The crumbing external features reveal a few tell-tale signs of the city’s past, including the just visible Garnisonkirche sign on the south-facing wall implying that the building was once used as the official house of worship for the German army, although which particular German army remains a mystery.
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Vilniaus 31

Mass 12:00, Tue 19:00 (Sept - Jun), Sun 19:00.
Christ's Resurrection Church
What probably rates as the symbol of contemporary Kaunas, this extraordinary white church up on the hill overlooking the city came about through an idea for a house of worship in praise of Lithuanian independence in 1922. Work began over a decade later to a design by the Latvian architect Kārlis Reisons (1894-1981) who designed the city’s Military Museum among other notable Kaunas buildings, although it wasn’t finished and consecrated until 2004. The main tower reaches 70m into the heavens and the plain albeit breathtaking interior has enough room for 3,000 worshippers. Used as a warehouse by the Nazis and a radio factory by the Soviets, the building was eventually handed back to the Catholic Church around the time of the country’s second independence in 1990 when work once again started on its completion. The tower and roof can be visited via a lift for 5Lt.
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Žemaičių 31b

tel. (+370) 37 22 92 22

Mass: 18:00, 09:30, 11:00, 12:30, 18:00. 
Holy Revelation Church
The city’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral, functioning as the country’s primary house of worship for the faith between the wars, stands next to its predecessor in the park immediately northwest of the bus station. Built between 1932 and 1935, the petite structure contains the usual array of golden icons plus a glorious painting of the Madonna from the Orthodox monastery in Sudervė and dating from about 1530. Its next door neighbour dates from 1850 and was built by unknown architects from St. Petersburg. A monument from 1923 stands outside, commemorating local Russian soldiers who died during WWI.
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Vytauto 38

tel. (+370) 37 20 95 63

Open 09:00-17:00
St. Francis Church & Jesuit Monastery
Completed in 1666, up in flames in 1732 and finally consecrated in 1759. A monastery and college were built a decade later, just five years before the Pope decided to abolish Jesuit Order altogether. The resident monks hung around for a while longer before the ensemble was handed over to the Franci [...]



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Rotušės Aikštė 7

tel. (+370) 37 42 30 98

Mass 17:00, Sun 10:00, 12:00, 17:00. 
St. George's Church & Bernardine Monastery
You can’t really appreciate this forlorn-looking Gothic building without taking into account its history. It’s had a rough ride since its beginnings in 1487. It’s been ruined by fire three times, suffered the wrath of the Moscow army during the war of 1656-1659 and then had a bit [...]



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Papilio 9

tel. (+370) 37 22 46 59

Mass Mon - Fri 18:00, Sun 10:30. 
St. Gertrude's
This compact Gothic beauty is worth seeking out if you're wandering up and down Laisvės. Built in the latter half of the 15th century, it rates highly on the small and cute scale. Be sure to have a look around the back where you’ll find  two rooms full of candles, one in the chu [...]



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Laisvės 101a

tel. (+370) 37 22 99 65

Mass 18:00 (except Sat), Sun 09:00, 11:00.
St. Michael the Archangel
Sat splendidly at the far eastern end of Laisvės, the imposing St. Michael the Archangel, known in the local vernacular as Soboras, started life in 1893 as a Russian Orthodox Cathedral, which explains its classic neo-Byzantine design, albeit with the unusual inclusion of Corinthian columns [...]



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Nepriklausomybės Aikštė 14

tel. (+370) 37 22 66 76

Services 12:00, Sat 10:00, Sun 10:00, 12:00.
Sts. Peter & Paul's Cathedral
Built in 1408, the main point of interest is that it’s the only Gothic church with a basilica floor-plan (as opposed to the usual cross-shaped plan) in the entire country. In 1921 in order to mark the importance of the Cathedral it was designated a basilica. Today it boasts nine separate alta [...]



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Vilniaus 1

tel. (+370) 37 32 40 93

Mass 07:00, 08:00, 09:00, 18:00, Sun 08:00, 09:00, 10:30, 12:00, 13:30, 18:00.
Vytautas Church
Like most churches in the country, Vytautas Church is a condensed history lesson. The Gothic structure was built by Franciscan monks at the beginning of the 15th century with the tower added a little later. Invaders took advantage of its central location, first by the Napoleonic army who stored amm [...]



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Aleksoto 3

tel. (+370) 37 20 38 54

Mass Tue, Wed, Thu , Fri 18:00, Sat, 10:00, 18:00, Sun 10:00, 12:00, 18:00.
Vytautas the Great Mosque
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania’s wars with the Golden Horde along the Black Sea coast led to Vytautas the Great’s resettlement of various Islamic and Judaic Tatars in Lithuania from the end of the 14th century onwards. The Islamic Tatars have been living in the country ever since, althoug [...]



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