PAŽAISLIS MONASTERY (PAŽAISLIO VIENUOLYNAS)

Located in the middle of a large park, this monastery welcomes a classical music festival every year between June and August. Ten years have been necessary for the construction of this architectural jewel; The frescoes, for their part, need 20 years of work. There were 300, today we can admire 144. History is a bit tumultuous. Originally, twelve camaldolese monks occupied the sites. In the th century, Russians transformed it into Orthodox monastery. In 1812, Napoleon's soldiers looted the monastery during the retreat of Russia. In the th century, it was the residence of the tsar, then a monastery again. In 1914, the Germans used the site as a military hospital and destroyed it. After the First World War, the monastery was transformed into convent (the sisters of Saint-Casimir). During the Soviet period, the whole became sheltered from the archives of the Republic, a hospice, a psychiatric hospital, and then a art gallery. Today it is a convent with twenty sisters. The war has caused many damage and since independence the government has been seeking funds to renovate (donations also help). Outside is the grave of Alexei Fiodorovič Lvov, a composer of the Tsarist national anthem. The visit is allowed outside and in the church dedicated to the Visitation of the Virgin Mary. The painting of the dome alone required 20 years of work, 8 m high. The whole is in pink and black marble. The horrible white squares are the work of the Soviets, to cover the icons. So hidden frescoes are sunk today. The original altar was destroyed. There is a painting of the Virgin to the Child, called the Mother of Beautiful Love, given by Pope Alexandre VII. It has been stolen twice: in 1948, then found in Moscow, and in 1993, but recovered at the border.