Church of St. Anne

The Church of St. Anne stands on Maironio Street on the bank of the Vilnia river in the Old Town of Vilnius, Lithuania, next to the Bernardine Church and monastery complex. It was built in the late 15th century, with construction dated to roughly 1495 to 1500, in the Flamboyant Gothic style, and replaced an earlier wooden church on the site. The facade is its defining feature: roughly 33 different shapes of moulded red brick, arranged into pinnacles, turrets, arches and tracery, give the three-towered front a lacelike appearance. The upper facade rises in a central gable flanked by two smaller towers, and the interior is more modest, with a single nave, a Gothic vault, and a later Baroque and neo-Gothic furnishing. The church's brickwork was a technical achievement of its time, and the building has been a model for architects and later restorers. It escaped the fires that devastated Vilnius in the 16th and 17th centuries, although it was repaired several times. Major restoration took place in the 19th century, when architects including Karl Schinkel were consulted for proposals, and later in the 20th century. During the Soviet period the church was used for storage by a state body, but returned to worship afterwards. Behind it, the larger Bernardine Church, built in the 16th century, is a separate monument with a defensive tower and cloister walls, and the combined complex is considered one of the most photographed groups of buildings in Vilnius. The church stands close to Gediminas Hill and the Literatų Street, which has an art display. Inside, visitors can see altars, a pulpit and some paintings. The site is an active Catholic church, and it is generally open daily. A visit takes 15 to 30 minutes, and most of the appeal is in viewing the exterior from the opposite bank or the small park.