Explore Wonderful Ausros Vartu Street in Vilnius Old Town 5 Great Tips

Ausros Vartu Street Vilnius Old Town

basilian-monastery-gate-vilnius-old-town ausros vartu street
Basilian Monastery Gate Ausros Vartu Street

In Ausros Vartu Street, beyond the Philharmonic building is a striking masterpiece of late Baroque architecture. The elegant gate of the Basilian Monastery from 1761 is by a design by Johann Christoph Glaubitz. The relief composition of the Holy Trinity on the pediment anticipates the name of the courtyard sanctuary.

Construction of the church and monastery started on the site where, according to legend, three of Duke Algirdas’ courtiers, Anthony, John, and Eustatius were hung from an oak tree.

A Wooden Church Becomes A Monastery

Algirdas’ wife Julianne built a wooden Orthodox church in their memory in 1347. The present-day church descended from one in 1514 by Constantine Ostrogsky. In 1608-1827 it belonged to the Uniate Basilian monks. The monastery held a prison at the beginning of the 19th century.

Incarcerated in its cells were members of the Philaret and Philomat movement. These included the poet Adam Mickiewicz and Ignacy Domeyko. The latter emigrated to South America and became Chile’s first minister of education. Mickiewicz’s cell is also known by the name of the “Conrad Cell” after the principal character in his poem, Forefathers’ Eve.

Address Ausros Vartu Street 7, Vilnius Old Town

 

Russian Orthodox Church in Ausros Vartu Street

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Russian Orthodox Church in Ausros Vartu Street

The Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit keeps relics of the three martyrs Anthony, John, and Eustatius. Sources show that the building of a monastery and church started here in the mid-16th century.

The present-day edifice dates from 1638, and Glaubitz it in 1749-1753. In its form, the church’s elaborate rococo iconostasis is reminiscent of a Catholic altar. Every June 26th, the faithful celebrate the transfer of the relics of the three martyrs.

Church of the Holy Spirit Vilnius Opening hours & Practical Information

Address Ausros Vartu gatve 10, Vilnius Old Town
Telephone +370 5 212 7765
Opening hours
Monday-Sunday: 10:00-17:00

Church of St. Theresa Vilnius & Monestary of the Barefoot Carmelites

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Church of St. Therese Vilnius Old Town

Continuing towards Ausros Gates, one passes the Church of St. Theresa of Avila. This is an example of early Baroque, from 1633-1650 by a design by the Italian architect Constantino Tencalla. The Discalced Carmelites were responsible for building the church.

The Discalced Carmelites is the Order reformed by St Theresa of Avila and St John of the Cross in Spain. Members obeyed the strict monastic ‘rule’ of St Albert and their proper Constitution. These monks were the most known in the field of mystic theology.

Saint Theresa

The writings of St Theresa and St John of the Cross are informative masterpieces on mysticism up to these days. In 1626, the Discalced Carmelites came to Vilnius and in 1737 they established the Lithuanian province of St Casimir. In 1760-1764, Motiejus Sluščianskis from Vilnius decorated the interior with frescoes representing the life and activities of St Theresa.

Church of St Therese after the uprising

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Church of St Therese Vilnius – interior

After the uprisings of 1831 and 1864, the tsarist authorities closed all the monasteries belonging to the Discalced Carmelite Order. Later, in pre-war Lithuania, the monasteries opened again. Its interior is resplendent with 18th-century ornamentation – murals, sculptures, and relief work which form an intricate expression of the tradition of Carmelite devotion.

The church has works by painters Szymon Czechowicz, Kanuty Rusiecki, and others. The adjacent Monastery of the Barefoot Carmelites houses a spiritual center and a guest house.

Monastery of the Barefoot Carmelites

The monastery and the first small wooden Church of St. Theresa nestled near the Chapel of the Gates of Dawn began operating in the second half of the 17th century and was replaced by the masonry church that we know today.

Since the Pacai family funded the construction of the monastery buildings, they emerged near the defensive wall of the city in the territory of three residential quarters. Today most of the world’s Catholics have heard of the icon of the Gates of Dawn Madonna, but only a few know that the Barefoot Carmelites started spreading the news about it.

Address Ausros Vartu gatve 14, Vilnius Old Town
Telephone +37052123513

Gates of Ausros Vartu (Gates of Dawn)

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Gates of Ausros Vartu Vilnius Old Town

The remaining short fragment of Ausros Vartu Street runs along with the Church of St. Theresa. It ends at a gateway crowned by the most famous and beloved Vilnius sanctuaries – a tiny chapel with a painting of the Mother of God. The gateway, one of five in the wall erected around the city at the beginning of the 16th century, led to Medininkai, mentioned in historical sources in 1514. According to sources the wall began at Ausros Vartu and encircled an area of 85 ha.

Outside it lay the 15th-century suburbs of Uzupis, Antakalnis, Lukiskes, and Rasos, and the domains of the surrounding estates. The name “Ausros” (“of the dawn”) accompanied the spread of the cult of the Mother of God, associated with the image of Mary as the “dawn star”.

Address Ausros Vartu gatve 14, Vilnius Old Town
Telephone +370 5 212 3513

Painting of the Mother of God Vilnius

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Mother of God – Ausros Vartu Vilnius

The painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary, acknowledged as miraculous in the mid-17th century, dates from 1620-1630. It was rendered in tempera on oak planks after a design by the 16th-century Flemish artist Marten de Vos. It was later painted over in oil. Its gilded silver raiment appeared in the 18th century after the Carmelites became responsible for the care of the painting. The friars built a wooden, later a brick, chapel for the painting above the Medininku gate.

Present Form

The chapel acquired its present form in 1715. In 1829 it got Neo-Classicist features, the Eye of Providence inside a triangular pediment. A Latin inscription “Mater Misericordiae, sub-Tuum Praesidium confugimus” (“Mother of Mercy, we pray for your protection“) appeared on the facade around the same time. An 8-day church festival known as the “Great Protection” is held in November in honor of the Mother of Mercy of Ausros Gate.

In 1927 the painting got crowns blessed by the Pope. About 8,000 silver votive objects dedicated to the Mother of God cover the chapel walls in return for her intercession and protection. During his visit to Lithuania in 1993, Pope John Paul II led the rosary prayers in the Ausros Gate Chapel.

 

 

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