Church of Vytautas the Great

One of the oldest churches in Lithuania, the Church of Vytautas the Great stands on the bank of the Nemunas river at the edge of Kaunas old town, a slender brick Gothic building steeped in the founding history of the country's Christianisation. It is dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary but universally known by the name of the medieval grand duke who founded it.

Tradition holds it was built around 1400 on the initiative of Grand Duke Vytautas the Great, reputedly in thanks for surviving the disastrous Battle of the Vorskla River. That makes it one of the earliest brick churches in Lithuania and a rare survivor from the first generation of Catholic building after the nation's late conversion. Its tall, narrow form, buttressed walls and pointed windows are textbook brick Gothic, close in spirit to the churches of the Baltic Hanseatic world.

The church has endured a turbulent history. Its riverside position left it exposed to repeated flooding, and under Russian imperial and Napoleonic occupations it was pressed into use as an ammunition store and even an Orthodox church, before being restored to Catholic worship. A high-water marker on the wall records the levels reached by the Nemunas in major floods.

For visitors it is a quiet, atmospheric stop at the western end of the old town, a short walk from the castle and the central Town Hall Square along the river. The interior is simple and calm, with Gothic vaulting and a restrained altar, and can be seen outside services with the usual courtesies. There is generally no admission charge. Its riverside setting and early date make it a rewarding contrast to the grander baroque and modernist landmarks elsewhere in Kaunas.