Located in Panevėžyska (formerly part of the Sorokpol estate) in Lithuania, the wooden Church of St Casimir is included on the Lithuanian list of cultural heritage, along with its bell tower. The structure was built almost 300 years ago. Its construction was founded in 1750. Its construction was founded in 1750 by the then owner of the estate, Michal Soroka. In December 1867, Jozef Pilsudski was baptised in this church. The baptismal font, which was used at the time, survives to this day, as does the parish book with an entry of this event made in Russian.

Work completed in 2023

In 2023, the Institute undertook repairs to the veneering of the church building. The surfaces were cleaned of paint. In damaged and decayed areas, the formwork elements were replaced with new ones.

Work was carried out on three facades, two side facades and the rear facade.

Work completed in 2022

In 2022, the Polonika Institute undertook the renovation of the stone fence of St Casimir's Church in Powiewiórka, Lithuania. The metal beams and concrete inserts installed during previous repairs were removed. The previously unearthed foundation was reinforced. The concrete insert was replaced with stone and lime mortar. The sills at the top of the fence are also being rebuilt.

To stabilise and strengthen the wall structure, new stone scarps were made on the eastern side to prevent future deformation.

The project was carried out by the "Terpa" Foundation

Works completed in 2021.

The next stage of work at St. Casimir's Church in Powiewiórka was the repair of the roof First, construction and conservation work was undertaken on the roof truss. It was disinfected and impregnated, and individual structural elements were replaced and protected.

Activities also included replacing the leaking roof covering with a new one made of sawn spruce shingles. Maintenance and restoration was also carried out on the signal box in the roof ridge.

On behalf of the Polonika Institute, the renovation was carried out by ROB-GONT - Robert Bielak from the village of Ciche in Podhale. Experienced highlanders from this team have built roofs on many significant wooden churches in Poland and abroad. In Lithuania, they worked under the close supervision of Jerzy Szaligin, an expert of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage and the Association of Conservators of Monuments.

Work carried out in 2020

In 2020. POLONIKA Institute funded conservation work on the staircase to the main entrance of St Casimir's Parish Church.

The stone and brick staircase is located in front of the central entrance in the north elevation of the church, which is sheltered by a gabled canopy supported by four round columns. The staircase was in a state of practically complete disintegration of the joints connecting all the components. It was therefore necessary to carry out far-reaching salvage work, which included conservation and minor replacement of the historic substance.

Financed by POLONIKA Institute, the conservation works were carried out on the basis of a project prepared by the Foundation for the Protection of the Common Cultural Heritage Terpa and approved by the Vilnius Branch of the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture of Lithuania.

Implemented by: the Foundation for the Protection of the Common Cultural Heritage "Terpa".

Work implemented in 2020-2023 within the framework of the strategic programme of the Polonika Institute "Protection of Polish cultural heritage abroad"