The Chapel – The Cultural Creation Center of Anykštėnai of the World

Near the center of Anykščiai, surrounded by an old park, stands an original building that harmoniously combines the features of old and new architecture. This Chapel of the old Anykščiai cemetery was built in 1858, and it is one of the memorable buildings, representing XIX century. After the cemetery closure, the Chapel began to fade away. To preserve this historic monument, a glass and concrete enclosure was designed by architect G. Baravykas. The little shrouded chapel became a building of modern architecture and a center of culture.

In 1992, the Anykščiai Chapel became a venue for cultural and artistic events, as well as a place for professional and folk art exhibitions. In the spring of 2012, it became the Cultural Creation Center of the Anykštėnai of the World. The Chapel preserves the legacy of Anykščiai creators and hosts exhibitions of local artists. Its hall provides wonderful accustics, making it a suitable space for classical music concerts, lectures or meetings with different artists.

The cemetery next to the site is very old and has not been visited since 1936. The cemetery grounds used to be enclosed by a high stone fence, with thuja trees growing along the fence. The cemetery was destroyed in the Soviet era and turned into a park. When the cemeteries were destroyed, relatives of the deceased were reburied elsewhere, but there were also many abandoned and unattended graves. On the instructions of the authorities of the time, a large number of the remaining tombstones and crosses, which were not picked up or taken away, were transported from the cemetery being destroyed to Svėdasai, where they were crushed in a special quarry into crushed stone suitable for building roads. In the absence of any real historical data, the appearance of the chapel can be identified with events.

1925 described in the short story “Vėžys” by Antanas Vienuolis from Anykščiai. The writer tells the story of the family of the landlord Venclovavičis (in the work – Mr Put-Putarlecki). He also describes the construction of the chapel, which is believed to have been initiated by Countess Kristina Štčech. She commissioned the building of a chapel to atone for the sins of the Put-Putarlecki counts. The chapel was built and beautified by visiting Italian craftsmen. When they sent a plan for the beautification of the chapel to the ecclesiastical government, they did not receive approval, because the decorations, which belonged to pagan idols and temples, could not crown the pillars and pilasters of the holy Catholic Church. After Kristina’s death, the Count’s second wife, Countess Tuža, hated everything Lithuanian, so she whitewashed the church so that all the signs and embellishments of the “pagan” culture remained.

In 1966 the chapel was transferred to the ownership of the Department of Culture, but has not been restored. In 1968 on the initiative of the then director of the museum, Terese Mikeliūnaitė, a decision was taken to “renovate the former chapel for the installation of the Anykščiai Public Museum”. The idea was to create an exhibition dedicated to writers and a depository for the collections on the basement floor. Work progressed extremely slowly until it stopped altogether. The chapel was finally taken away from the museum in 1977. The civil registry office is located here.

In 1985, the chapel was transformed into a Wedding Palace. A glass enclosure(arch. Gediminas Baravykas) was installed over the reconstructed chapel building, the interior of the chapel was decorated with stained glass windows (by Algirdas Dovydėnas), and a specially commissioned chandelier ( Konstantinas Eugenijus Šatūnas). Since this year, civil marriages have been registered here (because of the special environment, newlyweds from other districts also come to Anykščius to get married).

During the revival years, after much deliberation, it was decided that the chapel should become the focal point of the city’s cultural life, with sacred, concert, exhibition, museum and cultural education functions.
In 1991, 20 of June the district board adopts a decree to establish the Anykščiai Museum of Cultural History in the chapel. In 1991, 2 of November after a break of many years, the chapel of the old Anykščiai cemetery was used for the celebration of St. Mass for all the Anykščiai people buried in the cemetery. On the 21 of December of the same year the first event, an evening dedicated to the memory of Prof. Stasys Šalkauskis, took place.
In 1992 the chapel is handed over to the museum. It became a venue for chamber culture and art events and exhibitions, and an art gallery was opened here.

In the spring, 2012, by the decision of the Anykščiai District Municipal Council, the Anykščiai Chapel became the World Anykštėnai Creativity Centre after the establishment of a new cultural institution, the Anykščiai Arts Centre. Now, people from all over the world can always come here, meet and chat. For several years in a row, the cycle of exhibitions “Artists’ Returns” has been taking place – exhibitions of works by artists related to Anykščiai region.

In 2013, on the 27 July, a monument commemorating the site of the old cemetery is unveiled at the Chapel – the World Centre of Anykščiai Creativity. From now on, the site will be marked by a composition of the Holy Gates (three crosses) created by the sculptor Antanas Žukauskas, who hails from the Anykščiai region. The patrons of the memorial are Aldona and Algirdas Avižieniai and Anykščiai District Municipality.

In 2016, the Anykščiai Chapel – the World Centre of Anykščiai Creativity was marked by a memorial plaque as a token of gratitude to Anupras and Filipina Venclovavičiai, the owners of Burbiškis Manor and the builders of one of the oldest buildings of the town of Anykščiai (the author – metal artist Jurgita Bugailiškienė).