Former Evangelical Reformed Church

The Reformation movement reached the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from Western Europe in the 1530s and brought with it many changes – remarkable, but not always positive, as the tensions between Catholics and supporters of Reformation ideas gradually grew, leading to some serious clashes.

In 1579, Evangelical reformats built a church in the northeastern part of the city (currently – A. Volano St.), near the Bernardine and St. Anne’s churches. The Evangelical Reformed Church operated in this place until 1639. From 1640, their church was moved outside the city walls, in the present Pylimo str.

The Easter of 1599 was marked with blood, as a battle rose between Catholics and Reformats. According to the Catholics, Reformats locked Samogitian Bishop Merkelis Giedraitis at the Cathedral along with other Catholic residents. The confusion later turned into a fight, as many Vilnans tried to burn down the Reformats church. During the fight at least one protestant was killed, one student was shot in the leg, and both conflicting sides had many injured.

Learn more about the Easter Tumult of 1599 in Vilnius – by clicking this link.

Address: A. Volano St. 2