Church of God‘s Providence in Daugai

The first, wooden, St Mary‘s church in Daugai was built around 1393 at the initiative of Vytautas the Great. Bona Sforza d‘Aragona, Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania funded the construction of an almshouse and a new St Peter‘s church in 1555 (the church was burned in 1655,  but was rebuilt by 1674). It is known that in 1766 the parish church was wooden and it had a steeple. It burned around 1776. Services were then held in St Peter‘s Church. A new parish church was begun, which in 1786 was built up to the height of the windows.  When the sponsor of the construction died, the church was moved from Pivašiūnai to Daugai in 1806. In 1816, a three-storey bell tower was built. In 1829, St Peter‘s Church was damaged, and the Daugai parish church again burned in 1852.
The present-day Church of God‘s Providence in Daugai was built in 1858-1862 according to the design of architect Tomasz Tyszecki. The church includes modified elements of the Gothic, Classicist and Baroque styles, and there are valuable works of art in the church. The church lacks a steeple (although steeples were included in the design, they were not built), so a bell tower was built next to the church. The churchyard is bounded by a stone wall with a Classicist gate. In 1914-1928, the pastor was Father Vladas Mironas, a signer of the Act of Reinstating Independence of Lithuania (16 February 1918).

Maironio g. 6, Daugai, Alytaus r., tel. +370 687 19 717
GPS: 54.359933, 24.344216 (WGS)

Authors of photographs:  J. Struckienė, M. Šematulskis, S. Šmigelskas.