Smalvos Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary

In 1674, Kazimieras Podbereskis, judge of Breslauja, built a wooden church in Smalvos, consecrated in the honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the Bishop of Vilnius. In 1750, the church became a parish church of the Canons of Penitence. In 1857, the nobleman Plater rebuilt the church together with the parishioners.

Smalvos Church of Our Lady of Rosary is rectangular, built on a stone masonry foundation. Its presbytery is a bit wider than the central nave, featuring a triple apse and two low sacristies on both sides. The gable roof of the church is covered with tin, the roof of the apse has three sides, while the roofs of the sacristies are mono-pitched. Above the front façade there is a small tower. The rectangular tower has two sections, clearly divided by a cornice. The upper section is decorated with rhombic windows and has a pavilion roof with a cross. In 1982, the front façade was supplemented with an open two-level entryway with a triangular pediment, covered with a gable canopy with a decorative ornamented cross. The entryway is supported on pairs of rectangular profiled pillars. The second level has a balcony with a baluster and a double glass door with profiled edgings and a cornice, decorated with folk motifs. The rectangular windows of the church and the window in the pediment of the entryway are also decorated with profiled rims, edgings and cornices, characteristic to folk architecture. Such décor, just like the two-storey entryway, gives the church of Smalvos a folkish tinge. The double front door features a profiled rim and chevron pattern. The church itself is covered with decorative horizontal panels.

The richly decorated interior space is divided into three naves by six octagonal pillars. Neo-Baroque altars are adorned with elements of the order. The richly gilded great altar is decorated with a painting of Our Lady of Rosary, painted by Kazimieras Gorackis . The organ balcony features a neo-Classical organ, divided from the nave by a wall with rectangular openings at the bottom, fenced with openwork balusters.

The wooden belfry on the left side of the church, has three slightly decreasing sections and is inserted into the stone churchyard fence. The second section features decorative windows, while the third – sound openings, covered with uneven gratings. The belfry itself is covered with horizontal panels. The pavilion roof is covered with tin and decorated with a cross.

Detail