Baroque

The storied history of Lithuanian Baroque begins in the town of Nyasvizh, in present day Belarus. It was to here, in the late 16th, and early 17th centuries that Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł the Orphan, the chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, drew architects, sculptors and painters from all over Europe (in particular, Italy) to help rebuild the town. Already in the GDL, these artists were soon tasked with helping to restore the Grand Dukes’ Palace after it had been ravaged by fire in 1610. They also built the Royal Chapel of St. Casimir in Vilnius Cathedral. These artists included the architects Matteo Castelli (d. 1632), Giacomo della Porta (d. 1602), Domenico Fontana (d. 1607) and Francesco Borromini (d. 1667). Castelli in particular, was already renowned in his native Italy. This generation of artists then seeded a tradition that led to Vilnian Baroque, or the Vilnius Baroque School, instituted by Johann Christoph Glaubitz, an architect of German descent. Known as one of the last flashes of Baroque architecture in Europe, it was to lead to the creation of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, and the ​​Church of St. Catherine, both in Vilnius, the Basilian Gate (also in the capital), the wondrous Pažaislis Monastery on the outskirts of Kaunas. Meanwhile, the red brick Šiluva Church, built in the 18th century, is probably the last standing monument to Late Baroque sacred architecture.