Anykščiai Church
| Anykščiai Church of St. Matthew | |
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| 55°31′28″N 25°05′58″E / 55.52444°N 25.09944°ECoordinates: 55°31′28″N 25°05′58″E / 55.52444°N 25.09944°E | |
| Location | Anykščiai |
| Country | Lithuania |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic Church |
| History | |
| Founded | Original before 1500, rebuilt in 1899–1909 |
| Dedication | St. Matthew |
| Consecrated | December 8, 1914 |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Functional |
| Architect(s) | Nikolay Andrejev (Николай Андреев) |
| Architectural type | Neo-Gothic |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 64 metres (210 ft) |
| Width | 36 metres (118 ft) |
| Height | 36 metres (118 ft) |
| Number of spires | 2 |
| Spire height | 79 metres (259 ft) |
| Materials | Red brick |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Anykščiai Parish of Apostle Evangelist St. Matthew |
| Deanery | Anykščiai Deanery |
| Diocese | Diocese of Panevėžys |
| Province | Archdiocese of Vilnius |
Church of Apostle Evangelist St. Matthew in Anykščiai (Lithuanian: Anykščių Šv. apaštalo evangelisto Mato bažnyčia) is a red brick Neo-Gothic church in Anykščiai, Lithuania. The Church is situated on the right bank of the Šventoji River. The twin spires of the church, each 79 metres (259 ft) in height, make the church the tallest in Lithuania. The brightly colored stained glass windows were the creation of Anortė Mackelaitė, the well known stain glass artist of Lithuania, between 1971 and 1986.
Anykščiai was first mentioned in written sources in 1442. The first church built before 1500 was a wooden structure. Following the construction of the Catholic Church, the town was mentioned as a city with Magdeburg rights in 1516. The church was destroyed by fire in 1566 and 1671, but quickly rebuilt. The decaying wooden structure was replaced by a brick church, built in 1765. An accompanying white four-storey bell tower was completed in 1823.
Following the construction of the narrow gauge railway line between Panevėžys and Švenčionėliai in the 19th century, the parish was re-developed and the church was re-built over a ten-year period between 1899 and 1909. The original spires were 84 metres (276 ft) in height, but they were purposefully destroyed during World War I. The falling towers also damaged the roof; the interior, including the main altar and portions of the archives, was devastated by a fire in 1928. This prompted reconstruction of the church. The spires were rebuilt, but their height was lowered by 5 metres.
There is also a legend related to the Puntukas stone, a famous stone in Lithuania. According to this legend, the devil wanted to destroy the church by dropping a heavy stone on it. However, early crowing of a rooster prevented this happening and the stone fell away from the church. It is now a visitor attraction.
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Wikipedia