A.Staniūnaitis

All categories What to do? History, culture, art Lithuania for spiritual travelers: sacred places and pilgrimage experiences Religious Museums, Expositions and Sacred Spaces Sacral Art Exposition

March, April, October, November II-VII 10:00 – 18:00; May-September I-VII 10:00 – 18:00; December-February III-VII 10:00 – 18:00

Kęstučio St. 4, Trakai

May-September 8 €; October-April 6 €

Sacral Art Exposition

museums

Pilgrimage

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Trakai is renowned not only for its Island Castle – the only Gothic island castle in Lithuania and in Central and Eastern Europe – but also for the Trakai Peninsula Castle, surrounded by three lakes.

Today, visitors can explore its restored towers and visit the Sacral Art Exposition located within the castle grounds.

A recreated monastery kitchen in the exhibition’s basement offers a glimpse into everyday life at the Peninsula Castle in the 18th century. After the castle lost its former importance, Dominican monks were allowed to settle here, and one of their first actions was to establish a monastery.

Today, around 200 sacred art objects are displayed in the restored former chapel: liturgical vessels, vestments, altar furnishings, works of religious art, and bells. The main display case features a collection of sacred sculptures from the 17th to the first half of the 20th century from Lithuania and Western Europe. Among the preserved Lithuanian folk wooden sculptures, depictions of the Crucified Christ, the Virgin Mary, St George, St Florian, and St John of Nepomuk predominate.

Trakai Tourism and Business Information Centre recommends paying special attention to an 18th-century monstrance decorated with the image of the miraculous Blessed Virgin Mary of Trakai with the Child, the unique seal of the Trakai Dominican Monastery from 1709, and a chalice (liturgical cup) crafted by Vilnius goldsmiths in the second half of the 16th century.