Here I present a little bit of #AbandonedVilnius
Former Monastery of Congregation of the Mission and Church of Assumption, and Monastery of Sisters of Charity nearby (Sanguszkowie Mansion)
The main source of my story http://vienuolynai.mch.mii.lt/V55-63/Vilnmisi.htm
Some information is taken from Baroque in Lithuania published by baltos lankos.
I have found no information about this church in English.
The prominent Baroque style monastery complex was started to built in 1695, just behind the former City Defensive Wall, near the Subačius Gateway, and it was finally constructed in the middle of 18 century. Its buildings, with graceful towers and pediments of the church and are located on so called a Hill of Saviour and seem to be one of the most expressive accents of the Vilnius panorama.
The complex consists of the church, the Sanguszkowie Palace (or Mansion), a monastery buildings, office building, a household buildings and a surrounding wall.
Missioniers, who started to settle in Vilnius, in 1685 received initial foundaintion land holding from a bishop Aleksandras Katavicius, just near the Neris, near the Green Bridge, and also a former Jencmeniskes (Eitminiskes) mansion in Nemenčinė parish.
Pamirsta.lt divides the history of the monastery into the following periods:
1) Sanguszkowie period (1640 - 1687)
2) period of Congregation of the Mission (1687 - 1844)
3) Period of confusion (1844 - 1941)
4) Period of the hospital and the repository (from 1941)
Sanguszkowie period
In 1687 Missionaries settled in and established a chapel in the Sanguszkowie mansion which had been donated to them by the wife Vilnius voivode Katarzyna Radziwillowa in 1686, in the Subacius suburb, where the whole ensembly arised later on. The tree-storey rennaisnace spacious and modest iterion mansion was built in 1640-1650 by the noble of the GDL, the suffragan of the Vilnius diocese, Hieronim Sanguszka. The mansion was bequeathed to the Bernardine monks who later passed it to the Radziwillowie.
Period of Congregation of Mission
The Missionaries started to initiate a building of a new church, to adopt the abandoned mansion space for the meeds of the monastery, and to form a possesions of the monatery. The most active during that initial period of the monastery forming were missionaries priests Bartolomėjus Tarlo, Povilas Gotkinas, Andrius Koršas.
The Church
In 1695 the monks started to build a church for a donation of the Latgala Army Commander Jan Teofil Plater and his wife Aleksandra.
The construction lasted for 35 years, because the building process faced a lot of obstacles: the lack of financial resources, city fire in 1706, when the roof was burned, the Swedish war in 1708, the epidemia in 1709-1710. The constrution was finalized thanks to fundations of various noblemen, such as the castellan of Naudardukas Antanas Novosielskis (he, and his brother Leonas are burried in the cellaers of the church. His donation assured the construction of the towers and the pediment in 1722.
The church was finally consecrated in 1730 by Vilnius suffragan Jurgis Ancuta and it was devoted to the Assumption.
A hill on which the church is constructed is called Hill of the Saviour.
The church itself was also frequently called in variuos documents as the Church of the Saviuor.
Exterior
The final period of the construction by Jan Christoph Glaubitz in 1750-1754. The towers are raised and new pediments created, a new vestibule is constructed in 1755-1756. These new ellements are decorated with roccocco mouldings.
Since then this late Lithuanian Baroque church distinguishes from other Lithuanain baroque churches because of its five-tier tapering towers, fancy siluette pediments, slim prportions. It is basilic type, tree-naves. Each narrow nave has two chapels. The chantel is ended with a semi-circular apse. There is 12-spaced-cellar under the church, which served only as a burrial place. The church is decorated with late baroque metal ornaments (vases, open-worked crosses) created in 1753 by Vilnius blacksmiths.
Incorporated into niches in the second tier of the main facade are wooden statues of Moses and David (created in the mid. 18th cen., roccocco style, wooden covered with polychrome), who symbolize the coming of Christ as the Messiah, and are link to the church name.
Interior
The interior, in comparison with the facade, is very modest (reflecting poorness and simplicity principles of the missionaries). In the opereting church there were 7 altares (in comparison there were 22 altars in Sts Johns' Church of the Jesuits constructed in 18th c.). The high altar of the Assumption is tree-trier, its tops is in the level of karnizas. According to data of 1804 it was wooden, on 6 collumns, decorated with carvings, guilded with gold and painted. In the centre of the high altar - painting of the Assumption, on the sides - 4 wooden guilded with golds sculptures related to missions - Sculptures of St John Baptizer, St. Stanislaw, St. Paul and St. Adalbert. In the upper trier of the altar - sculptures of Lord Jesus (in the centre) and St. Heryk and St. Casimir (on the sides) were located.
Side altars: Altar of Lord Jesus and Altar of Virgin Mary Name are also made of wood and barely ornamented. Four more modest altars were located in the chapels: (Apreiškimo Švč. Mergelei Marijai, Šv. Pauliaus, misionierių kongregacijos ir visos parapijos globėjo Šv. Tado ir Šv. Vincento Pauliečio).
Exceptional is the Chapel of St. Vincent de Paul - the founder and the ideologist of the congregation. The chapel is decorated with frescos painted in the mod - 18th cent. by Dominik Iwanowski, which depictt scenes from he life of the saint: St. Vincent de Paul among the Missionaries, St. Vincent de Paul in the Service of the King, St. Vincent de Paul with the dying Ludwig XIII, The Death of St. Vincent de Paul. The chapel is decorated with colons of artificial marbe in deep colours, asymetric roccocco ornaments. The walls of the chapel, cross vaults and the vaults of the nave are decorated with frescos with scenes from St. Vincent de Paul life but of other saints related to missionary activities.
There are 3 memorial plaques: to Michal and Katarzyna Jelenscy, made from stone in the 2nd half of 18th cent. framed with decorations of stucco mouldings, located on the both sides of entrance, and a plaque to Rafal Jelenski - kastelionas of Naugardukas, who died in 1780, made of marble in the 20's of the 19th cent. ordered by his sons, located on the southern wall, just under the choir of organs.
The monastery buildings
The activity of the Missionaries
The missionaries participated in cultural and educational activity. In the monastery (Sanguszko mansion), Vilnius diocese seminary operated (from 1773), where monks and clergymen were studying. Laurynas Gucevičius studied here in 1773-1775, and in 1775 he was teaching math. Missionaries seminary was famous for its library (it believed that it was the largest among Vilnius religious orders) with its valuable publications in Latin and Greek, publications of clergymen and classic authors, homilies of the missionaries, ant other manuscripts. The seminary was closed in 1844 together with the monastery. In the houshoulding wing of the monastery a diocese printing house was operating in 1799-1833, which was moved from the moanstery of Jesuits in Gardin, and it also printed Lithuanian books. From 1803 the parish school was operating, which was attended by 20 - 100 schoolchildren from poor families.
Period of Confusion: Monastery in 1844-1941, 1941 - nowadays
Photos of the abandoned church on pamirsta.lt
Nowadays and future plans
To be continued https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/lietuvoje/2/184308/misionieriu-vienuolyne-arkivyskupija-irengs-viesbuti-baznycioje-konferenciju-centra#wowzaplaystart=968000&wowzaplayduration=188000
and
http://m.diena.lt/naujienos/vilnius/miesto-pulsas/misionieriu-vienuolyne-atsiras-viesbutis-baznycioje-konferenciju-centras-826318
The complex consists of the church, the Sanguszkowie Palace (or Mansion), a monastery buildings, office building, a household buildings and a surrounding wall.
Missioniers, who started to settle in Vilnius, in 1685 received initial foundaintion land holding from a bishop Aleksandras Katavicius, just near the Neris, near the Green Bridge, and also a former Jencmeniskes (Eitminiskes) mansion in Nemenčinė parish.
Pamirsta.lt divides the history of the monastery into the following periods:
1) Sanguszkowie period (1640 - 1687)
2) period of Congregation of the Mission (1687 - 1844)
3) Period of confusion (1844 - 1941)
4) Period of the hospital and the repository (from 1941)
Sanguszkowie period
In 1687 Missionaries settled in and established a chapel in the Sanguszkowie mansion which had been donated to them by the wife Vilnius voivode Katarzyna Radziwillowa in 1686, in the Subacius suburb, where the whole ensembly arised later on. The tree-storey rennaisnace spacious and modest iterion mansion was built in 1640-1650 by the noble of the GDL, the suffragan of the Vilnius diocese, Hieronim Sanguszka. The mansion was bequeathed to the Bernardine monks who later passed it to the Radziwillowie.
Period of Congregation of Mission
The Missionaries started to initiate a building of a new church, to adopt the abandoned mansion space for the meeds of the monastery, and to form a possesions of the monatery. The most active during that initial period of the monastery forming were missionaries priests Bartolomėjus Tarlo, Povilas Gotkinas, Andrius Koršas.
The Church
In 1695 the monks started to build a church for a donation of the Latgala Army Commander Jan Teofil Plater and his wife Aleksandra.
The construction lasted for 35 years, because the building process faced a lot of obstacles: the lack of financial resources, city fire in 1706, when the roof was burned, the Swedish war in 1708, the epidemia in 1709-1710. The constrution was finalized thanks to fundations of various noblemen, such as the castellan of Naudardukas Antanas Novosielskis (he, and his brother Leonas are burried in the cellaers of the church. His donation assured the construction of the towers and the pediment in 1722.
The church was finally consecrated in 1730 by Vilnius suffragan Jurgis Ancuta and it was devoted to the Assumption.
A hill on which the church is constructed is called Hill of the Saviour.
The church itself was also frequently called in variuos documents as the Church of the Saviuor.
Exterior
The final period of the construction by Jan Christoph Glaubitz in 1750-1754. The towers are raised and new pediments created, a new vestibule is constructed in 1755-1756. These new ellements are decorated with roccocco mouldings.
Since then this late Lithuanian Baroque church distinguishes from other Lithuanain baroque churches because of its five-tier tapering towers, fancy siluette pediments, slim prportions. It is basilic type, tree-naves. Each narrow nave has two chapels. The chantel is ended with a semi-circular apse. There is 12-spaced-cellar under the church, which served only as a burrial place. The church is decorated with late baroque metal ornaments (vases, open-worked crosses) created in 1753 by Vilnius blacksmiths.
Incorporated into niches in the second tier of the main facade are wooden statues of Moses and David (created in the mid. 18th cen., roccocco style, wooden covered with polychrome), who symbolize the coming of Christ as the Messiah, and are link to the church name.
Interior
The interior, in comparison with the facade, is very modest (reflecting poorness and simplicity principles of the missionaries). In the opereting church there were 7 altares (in comparison there were 22 altars in Sts Johns' Church of the Jesuits constructed in 18th c.). The high altar of the Assumption is tree-trier, its tops is in the level of karnizas. According to data of 1804 it was wooden, on 6 collumns, decorated with carvings, guilded with gold and painted. In the centre of the high altar - painting of the Assumption, on the sides - 4 wooden guilded with golds sculptures related to missions - Sculptures of St John Baptizer, St. Stanislaw, St. Paul and St. Adalbert. In the upper trier of the altar - sculptures of Lord Jesus (in the centre) and St. Heryk and St. Casimir (on the sides) were located.
Side altars: Altar of Lord Jesus and Altar of Virgin Mary Name are also made of wood and barely ornamented. Four more modest altars were located in the chapels: (Apreiškimo Švč. Mergelei Marijai, Šv. Pauliaus, misionierių kongregacijos ir visos parapijos globėjo Šv. Tado ir Šv. Vincento Pauliečio).
Exceptional is the Chapel of St. Vincent de Paul - the founder and the ideologist of the congregation. The chapel is decorated with frescos painted in the mod - 18th cent. by Dominik Iwanowski, which depictt scenes from he life of the saint: St. Vincent de Paul among the Missionaries, St. Vincent de Paul in the Service of the King, St. Vincent de Paul with the dying Ludwig XIII, The Death of St. Vincent de Paul. The chapel is decorated with colons of artificial marbe in deep colours, asymetric roccocco ornaments. The walls of the chapel, cross vaults and the vaults of the nave are decorated with frescos with scenes from St. Vincent de Paul life but of other saints related to missionary activities.
There are 3 memorial plaques: to Michal and Katarzyna Jelenscy, made from stone in the 2nd half of 18th cent. framed with decorations of stucco mouldings, located on the both sides of entrance, and a plaque to Rafal Jelenski - kastelionas of Naugardukas, who died in 1780, made of marble in the 20's of the 19th cent. ordered by his sons, located on the southern wall, just under the choir of organs.
The monastery buildings
The monastery was formed in 1739 1751 by building new three-storey housings alongside the existing Sanguszko manson, which surrounded the church from the north side and, thus, formed a small closed yard. On the south, on both sides of of the church two one-storey wings were built - the office building and outbuilding. The missionary Jonas Šreteris is considered as a contruction project author and the constructor. According to 1830 data, the monastery consisted of 44 rooms for priests and clerics, 4 rooms for servants and craftsmen, 5 warehouses, a little warehouse for food and a cafe. During variuos periods of time up to 150 people lived here: the missionaries, church servants, seminarists, konviktorių and their teachers, poor noblemen, craftsmen and other servants.
The monastery buildings ensembly together with gardens were surrounded by a fence. And according to one of of the city visitors in mid-18the cent. "There were no more tidy gardens in Vilnius than those of the missionaries and visitationists". The missionaries in their possesions formed 2 fruits gardens with approximately 300 fruit trees, 5 ponds with carps and crucian carps. They had a little English garden for walks, with 2 springs and nine species of different trees.
There were numerous household buildings: a brewery, a sauna, a maltkiln building (sakyklinė), warehousings, 2 stables, a shed(pašiūrė), a barn (svirnas, daržinė), smithery (kalvė), laundry (skalbykla), space for carriages (vežiminė) and other.
The monastery buildings ensembly together with gardens were surrounded by a fence. And according to one of of the city visitors in mid-18the cent. "There were no more tidy gardens in Vilnius than those of the missionaries and visitationists". The missionaries in their possesions formed 2 fruits gardens with approximately 300 fruit trees, 5 ponds with carps and crucian carps. They had a little English garden for walks, with 2 springs and nine species of different trees.
There were numerous household buildings: a brewery, a sauna, a maltkiln building (sakyklinė), warehousings, 2 stables, a shed(pašiūrė), a barn (svirnas, daržinė), smithery (kalvė), laundry (skalbykla), space for carriages (vežiminė) and other.
The activity of the Missionaries
The missionaries participated in cultural and educational activity. In the monastery (Sanguszko mansion), Vilnius diocese seminary operated (from 1773), where monks and clergymen were studying. Laurynas Gucevičius studied here in 1773-1775, and in 1775 he was teaching math. Missionaries seminary was famous for its library (it believed that it was the largest among Vilnius religious orders) with its valuable publications in Latin and Greek, publications of clergymen and classic authors, homilies of the missionaries, ant other manuscripts. The seminary was closed in 1844 together with the monastery. In the houshoulding wing of the monastery a diocese printing house was operating in 1799-1833, which was moved from the moanstery of Jesuits in Gardin, and it also printed Lithuanian books. From 1803 the parish school was operating, which was attended by 20 - 100 schoolchildren from poor families.
In 1810 missonaries carrying out one of their congregation objectives - to help disabled and to care for education - established educational institute for deaf-mute people. A construction of a building was started on the foundings of St. Joseph and Nicodem presbitery and hospital (špitolė), however 1812 war stopped the construction. The construction of the institute was finished in 1835 according to the project of tzarist goverment. One of the founders and teachers of the institute was a missionary, proffesor of the German language, former director of deaf-mute institute in St. Petersburg - Anzelmas Zigmantas, who stayed in connections with a director of such institute in Vienna.
Konviktas - a Baby Jeus shelter for orphans and abandoned children - was operating alongside the monastery, established in 1788-1791. Trakai voivodess Jadvyga Zaluskytė-Oginskienė supported 21 schoolchildren, and the monastery - 14 children of poor noblemen.
Konviktas - a Baby Jeus shelter for orphans and abandoned children - was operating alongside the monastery, established in 1788-1791. Trakai voivodess Jadvyga Zaluskytė-Oginskienė supported 21 schoolchildren, and the monastery - 14 children of poor noblemen.
Monastery of Sisters of Charity
In 1745 by initiative of the Smolensk bishop Boguslaw Gosiewski missionaries established the hospital of the poor ones with a chapel. The founder donated its mansion on Savičiaus str., with all housholding buildings, surrounding lots, and 100 000 auksinas.
Missionaries, caring for establishing of the hospitals for the poor and homeless, invited Sisters of Charity from Poland, whose vows were to care and treat sick people. In the reconstructed building Monastery of Sisters of Charity settled down with a hospital and St. Elizabeth chapel. In the hospital up to 200 sick pele were treated. In 1812 the tzar Alekandr I visitd the hopital and he was enchanted by the work of the sisters and invited few of them to come to St. Petersburg.
The sisters of charity cared for St. Jacob hospital (from 1809) and Christ Child orphanage. In 1864 the tharist government banished the sisters from the orphanage, in 1867 - from the hospital.
In 1812 the church and monastery buildings sufferd a lot when the units of army stayed there. In 1839 in the monastery a prison was established for participants of 1831 uprising.
Missionaries, caring for establishing of the hospitals for the poor and homeless, invited Sisters of Charity from Poland, whose vows were to care and treat sick people. In the reconstructed building Monastery of Sisters of Charity settled down with a hospital and St. Elizabeth chapel. In the hospital up to 200 sick pele were treated. In 1812 the tzar Alekandr I visitd the hopital and he was enchanted by the work of the sisters and invited few of them to come to St. Petersburg.
The sisters of charity cared for St. Jacob hospital (from 1809) and Christ Child orphanage. In 1864 the tharist government banished the sisters from the orphanage, in 1867 - from the hospital.
In 1812 the church and monastery buildings sufferd a lot when the units of army stayed there. In 1839 in the monastery a prison was established for participants of 1831 uprising.
Period of Confusion: Monastery in 1844-1941, 1941 - nowadays
In 1844 the tzar closed the church and the monastery. The monastery buildings and lands were passed to city governement, the church inventory - to the diocese, the monks sent to other monasteries. After 18 yeras, in 1859 by the efforts of the missionaries the church was returned to bleivers, and saint mass was held here in restored spaces. The church was repeiared for several times in the 2nf half of the 19 th cent.
In the mid.-20th cent. the church was closed. The storage of the funds of the Lithuanian national musem was located there.
On 19 05 1993 the curch was returned to the Vilnius diocese, and it is temporary used by the Lithuanian national musem.
The monastery buildings had different purposes: war hospital in 1844, orthodox "konsistorija" in 1848, noblegirls institute in 1856, psychiatric hopital in 1859, charity organization „Dobrochotnaja kopeika” (1874), in 1915 buildings were returned to Vilnius minicipality,
The buildings belonged to the 2nd Hospital of the Vilnius city.
In the mid.-20th cent. the church was closed. The storage of the funds of the Lithuanian national musem was located there.
On 19 05 1993 the curch was returned to the Vilnius diocese, and it is temporary used by the Lithuanian national musem.
The monastery buildings had different purposes: war hospital in 1844, orthodox "konsistorija" in 1848, noblegirls institute in 1856, psychiatric hopital in 1859, charity organization „Dobrochotnaja kopeika” (1874), in 1915 buildings were returned to Vilnius minicipality,
The buildings belonged to the 2nd Hospital of the Vilnius city.
Photos of the abandoned church on pamirsta.lt
Nowadays and future plans
To be continued https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/lietuvoje/2/184308/misionieriu-vienuolyne-arkivyskupija-irengs-viesbuti-baznycioje-konferenciju-centra#wowzaplaystart=968000&wowzaplayduration=188000
and
http://m.diena.lt/naujienos/vilnius/miesto-pulsas/misionieriu-vienuolyne-atsiras-viesbutis-baznycioje-konferenciju-centras-826318
