Description of the attraction
In the southern part of the Old Town of Vilnius, there is an ancient monument of architecture in the early Baroque style, the parish Roman Catholic Church of St. Teresa. It is located near the Ostrobramnaya chapel and the only city gate that has survived in the city.
In 1621 - 1627, the burgomaster Ignatius Dubovich and his brother Stephen built a wooden church in the monastery of the Discalced Carmelites. For several years from 1633 to 1654, near the Monastery of the Discalced Carmelites, a stone church was built on the site of a wooden church. For the construction of the church, the money was allocated by the Chancellor of Lithuania - Patsas, and the author of the project was Ulrich, who at one time built the Radvil Palace. The facade of the building was made of noble stone - marble, granite and sandstone. According to the assumptions, the main facade of the church was designed by the Italian architect - Constantino Tencalla. Lithuanian bishop Jurgis Tiškevičius consecrated a church in honor of St. Teresa in 1652. After the monastery was closed by the Russian authorities in 1844, the church was given over to the possession of the Catholic clergy.
The church burned several times in 1748 and 1749, the interior was especially badly damaged during a fire in 1760. During the restoration work, an arched vault was erected and a bell tower was built. The work was designed by Johann Glaubitz.
In 1783, at the expense of the Rogachev elder Michal Pocej, a chapel in the late Baroque style was attached to the church, which is the Poceev family mausoleum.
In 1812, Napoleon's army plundered and damaged the church, French soldiers set up barracks and a warehouse in the church itself. After the war, the interior of the church was completely restored according to the project of Glaubitz. Frescoes were painted again, statues of saints were erected. After the end of the war in 1812, Ruseckas renovated the interior of the church.
In 1829, a gallery was added between the Ostrobram chapel and the church. A continuation of the gallery was the wall that has not survived, which can be seen on the Vilchinsky lithograph from the famous "Vilnius Album". In the second half of the 19th century, during the renovation, the church was damaged, and it was restored only years later in the late 20s of the nineteenth century.
The church is one of the elements of the ensemble of the Carmelite monastery and is considered one of the first early Baroque buildings in Lithuania. The architecture of the temple is asymmetrical. The eastern side is a chapel and corridors, and the western side is a three-tiered bell tower. The central nave of the church is twice as wide as the side naves, reminiscent of chapels, and much higher.
The façade differs from other baroque churches in the city by its symmetry and is divided into two tiers. The lower tier is one third longer than the upper one. The middle of the lower tier is symmetrically divided by a niche in the form of a portal, decorated with two columns. In the center of the upper tier there is a window with elegant platbands and a balustrade. A high pediment with the coat of arms of the Patsev clan rises above the upper tier. The façade itself is set on a high sandstone plinth.
The interior of the temple is proportional and decorated. The main part of the interior is made up of nine altars, decorated with gilding and plaster figures of saints. One of the altars is made in the classicism style. The other eight are in the Rococo style of the mid-seventeenth century.
The main altar in the temple is considered the most outstanding in design and originality of all the altarpieces in the whole of Lithuania. It is adorned with the figure of St. Teresa with a bleeding heart. The side altars contain the faces of Saints Peter, John and Nicholas. The paintings were painted by the famous Lithuanian artists S. Chehavichius and K. Rusekas.
Previously, there were two chapels in the church - the Papal Chapel (in the name of the Lord Jesus) and the chapel of Our Lady of the Good Counselor. Under the papal chapel is the tomb of the Pocei dynasty. Nowadays, only one chapel functions - the Mother of God the Good Counselor. Services are held here in Lithuanian and Polish.
