Information about the object:
The Church of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius is one of the most important monuments of the city and at the same time one of the least known in terms of its construction history.

According to legend, the first church on this site was built under the rule of Gediminas in 1323. In 1408 Grand Duke Vytautas founded the parish church of the Holy Spirit on the same site, which was handed over to the Dominicans by Grand Duke Alexander in 1501. The Dominicans built their monastery next to it. The complex was destroyed by fires in 1610 and 1655, after which further reconstructions took place. Between 1679 and 1688, the church underwent a complete reconstruction, which gave it its present size. Once again damaged by fire, the church received its current dome and façade in 1752-1760. Despite the dissolution of the monastery, the complex has survived to the present day in a form similar to that of the 18th century.

In the post-war period, the Church of the Holy Spirit became a mainstay of Polishness in Vilnius. The church itself is in relatively good condition, while the monastery buildings remain largely devastated despite renovation work undertaken as late as the 1980s.

This complex, which is very important not only for Polish culture, but also for the heritage of the entire former Republic, remains only partially recognised in terms of its construction history. Only in the monastery has partial architectural research been carried out (2013). The church, on the other hand, remains completely unrecognised.

Work completed:
The task consisted of the first architectural surveys of the church by students of the Faculty of Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology, who chose the specialisation "Architectural Heritage" for their master's studies. The work was carried out under the direction and supervision of the academic staff of the Warsaw University of Technology and other units, including Dr. Eng. arch. Wojciech Wółkowski, prof. dr hab. inż. arch. Małgorzata Rozbicka, and Anna Czyż, Ph. The results of the research work may be of fundamental importance for the elaboration of both the building history of the object (chronological stratification) and the guidelines for further conservation work.

Funding: Institute Polonica programme "Polish cultural heritage abroad - volunteering".

More about the project: https://polonika.pl