As one of the most beautiful and famous buildings in Vilnius, the St Anne’s Church is outstanding in its appearance.
The wife of Vytautas the Great, Ona (Anna), originally raised the church in wood in the 14th century. Although the origin of this masterpiece goes back to 1394, the brick church was built two hundred years later in the years 1495-1500 through the hard work of the Franciscans.
This prime example of Brick Gothic and Flamboyant (which is a late Gothic style with origins in the Mediterranean countries) Gothic had contributed to the fact that the whole old town in Vilnius was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. The church is also an important symbol of Vilnius.
The beauty of the church has fascinated many of whom one was Napoleon I. A story goes that on his way to Moscow, when seeing St Anne’s Church, he became so spellbound that – as he expressed it – he would like to put it in the palm of his hand and transfer it to Paris. Luckily for Vilnius – he didn’t.