Protestant Cemetery, Vilnius
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The Protestant Cemetery in Vilnius, Lithuania, was established in the early 19th century. As the city grew, there was a need to move the old Lutheran cemetery outside the city walls. The old cemetery, used from 1550s, was located on land donated by the Radziwiłł family on Liejyklos Street.[1] Before the old cemetery was closed a professor of Vilnius University made an inventory of interesting tombstones. The list was acquired by Eustachy Tyszkiewicz and was stored in the Museum of Antiquities that he founded.[2]
The new cemetery was surrounded by a brick wall. It also had a shelter for the poor. The community built a brick chapel and incorporated some of the tombstones from the old cemetery. The white neo-classical chapel was equipped with bells and pipe organ.[1] Since 1830, the cemetery was also used by Calvinists, who ran out of space in their old cemetery on Pylimo Street.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Professor_Jan_Fryderyk_Niszkowski.jpg)
In 1958 the cemetery was closed and in 1974 it was demolished and turned into a park by the Soviet authorities.[3] The only remaining evidence of a cemetery is the Classical mausoleum for Jan Fryderyk Niszkowski, a prominent surgeon.[4] The great chapel was also demolished and replaced by the Palace of Marriages (Lithuanian: Santuokų rūmai).
See also
References
- ^ a b "Reformacijos pradžia Vilniuje" (in Lithuanian). Evangelical Lutheran Church of Vilnius. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
- ^ Kviklys, Bronius (1985). Lietuvos bažnyčios. V tomas: Vilniaus arkiviskupija, I dalis (in Lithuanian). Chicago, Illinois: Lithuanian Library Press. pp. 407–413. ISBN 0-932042-54-6.
- ^ Petkūnas, Darius. "Vilniaus parapijos istorija" (in Lithuanian). Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lithuania. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
- ^ Venclova, Tomas (2006). Vilnius: City Guide. Translated by Aušra Simanavičiūtė (6th ed.). Vilnius: R. Paknio leidykla. p. 193. ISBN 9986-830-48-6.