Summary

The St. Ann Church in Obeliai: history and art

 

Povilas Spurgevičius

 

In mid-16th century, the town of Obeliai in Rokiškis District had already been represented by a church. Local archives upheld present a rather early view of the wooden church in the 17th century. Later, in 18th century, a new church had been built in Baroque style with splendour and magnificence and of its interior and exterior.

The architecture of the new stone church reflected the ideals of the Romanticism. It was built in 1861–1868 and burnt in 1899. The priest Vincentas Birutavičius with parish people had rebuilt it and added two lateral chapels. This two-tower church of cross-structure evidences free interpretation of the Gothic style traditions taken from the Old Gothic steeple forms. The inverse in the interior is formed by Neo-Gothic altars, which interpret directly olden traditions. A high two-tower façade fades into a wide panorama and becomes a dominant of the town and its environs.

The archives conserved present a culture valuable not only of this church and the town, but also of all Lithuania.