The text describes the 'lonely and forgotten' Gothic church of St Nicholas. The article states that it is supposed to be the oldest Roman Catholic church in Vilnius, although this cannot be proven "in writing". The history of the church, dating back to the time of Władysław Jagiełło, is briefly presented (Source: Tygodnik Illustrowany, Warsaw 1870, Series 2, T:6, p. 64, after: University of Łódź Digital Library).

A modernised reading of the text.

St. Nicholas Church in Vilnius.

In one of the more remote parts of Vilnius, on the bend of a small and narrow street, rises, surrounded by a low wall, the lonely and forgotten Gothic church of St. Nicholas. The dark colour of the red brick of which it is built, the quietness of the small cemetery overgrown with lush grass, reflects strangely on the brightly painted surrounding houses. It is one of the most ancient Christian monuments of Vilnius. Built in a district of the city once inhabited by German-Catholics, the church is still standing today near the street called Nemtia, but the place of the Germans has long been occupied by Jews. Only once a week, on Sundays, at 9 o'clock in the morning, at the sound of a bell from a small belfry, a handful of pious people gather here to hear mass. Then the organ in the choir is rung and the small churchyard sounds for a moment with the sound of religious songs; but on weekdays the hustle and bustle of the adjacent street muffles the voice of the bell ringing three times for prayers. Local legend has it that St. Nicholas' Church is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Vilnius. Although there is no written evidence to support this, it cannot be denied. It is known that already in 1397 on the site of today's church there was a wooden church of the same name with a presbytery and an extensive Roman Catholic cemetery, the oldest in Vilnius. Even the church's location in the middle of a district of the city populated by Germans since the time of Gediminas seems to speak in favour of its antiquity. On the other hand, there is no doubt that the oldest church in Vilnius, contemporary with the first Rusyn settlement, is the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker which still exists today and was richly renovated last year. Since, according to legend, St. Nicholas has long been considered the patron saint of the city of Vilnius, it is reasonable to assume that German settlers wanted to win the respect and protection of the Ruthenians by establishing the first Catholic church in their district, and therefore dedicated it to St. Nicholas as the patron saint of both Christian city districts. But these are just speculations. What is certain is that the church, as we see it today, dates back to the first half of the 15th century, and that it was founded by the Lithuanian Jewno, or Hawnul, heir to the Kieny Estate and governor of Vilnius. This Jewno was a wealthy Lithuanian lord who, in 1385, on behalf of Jogaila, sent to Cracow to ask for Jadwiga's hand in marriage, and later, in the company of Jogaila's brothers, went to Hungary to make a deal with his queen mother Elisabeth. A year later, together with Jogaila and other Lithuanian lords, he was baptised in Cracow, and in 1413, at the Diet of Horodło, he took the Zaclora coat of arms and was granted the Troki voivodeship. He died in 1434 and the church was completed around 1440. At first glance, it appears to have been built by a builder, or rather a German mason. It is 42 cubits long and 17 cubits wide; the bricks, well-fired and one and a half times larger than those used today, are bonded with a thick layer of lime mixed with gravel; the whole work is strong and durable, but strangely simple, even careless and irregular. In its original gothic purity, the exterior of the facade and the interior of the four-post vault, which is given here in woodcut, are preserved, decorated with the crossing veins typical of gothic architecture. This vault, once of red brick, was later plastered and whitewashed. In the depths of the chancel, on the outer wall of which traces of three narrow pointed-arch windows, now bricked up, sits the mottled and tastelessly decorated great altar, in a decrepit Italianate style, far later than the whole building. In the middle of the altar hangs a small picture of St Nicholas, in silver robe, also lacking any semblance of antiquity. There are no gravestones and no memorials throughout the church. The Franciscans, who have their own church and monastery nearby, have probably been responsible for the service since the 15th century, i.e. when the church was converted from a parish church to a branch church, but since the church was closed and the monastery cancelled, a priest from the Rossy cemetery, which lies about a mile outside the town, comes here every Sunday to hold the usual service.