Rumšiškės Chapel of St. Anne

During the construction of Kaunas Hydroelectric plant, a part of Rumšiškės town found itself in a territory flooded by Nemunas. The wooden church of St. Anne and the church of Rumšiškės were also included in this territory. Therefore, in 1958-1959 it was decided to move them to a different location. During the Soviet period, the chapel stood on the eastern side of the new cemetery, because a sculpture “A victorious soldier” by Bernardas Bučas, dedicated to the soviet soldiers, was standing in the area where the current chapel stands. During the period of Awakening, the sculpture was blown up and the chapel was moved in the available area from the edge of the cemetery. Next to it, a famous poet, Jonas Aistis, is buried.

The church was built by folk artists in 1840. It resonates the forms typical of the folk architecture with its moderate architectural expression. The small chapel is built on a stone masonry foundation, is of a rectangle plan with a triple apse. The gabled roof is covered with shingles and the profiled ends of the rafters are left in the wide garret. An open porch with a single-pitch shingle roof extends throughout the whole length of the front façade. It is supported by profiled posts. The walls are cladded vertically, with narrow strips, which cover the board connections. Small arch windows, framed in rectangular architraves are installed on the lateral façades. The front façade is without windows only with wide double-leaf doors. A small square turret rises above the triangular front façade panel. The turret is cladded horizontally, with triangular openings. The shingle roof is hipped, of a pyramid shape. It is crowned with a decorative cast cross. The church of Rumšiškės is left unpainted, as this emphasises the expressivity of the building even more.

Detail