Palėvenės dominikonų vienuolyno ansamblis

About the museum

The Palėvenė Dominican monastery ensemble is one of the most valuable cultural heritage sites in Kupiškis district. The monastery began to take shape in the 17th century: in 1676, at the expense of Laurynas Mykolas Odlianickis-Počobutas, a judge of the Ukmergė land court, and his wife Marija Siesickaitė, the first Dominicans settled here and the construction of a church began. The ensemble took its final form at the end of the 18th century and for more than two centuries was an important centre of religion, culture and education in north-eastern Lithuania.

A school and a library operated in the monastery, and young Dominicans were trained here. In 1835 the Dominican Dominikas Sutkevičius prepared a Lithuanian–Polish dictionary, and Rapolas Jasikevičius published a three-volume collection of sermons in Lithuanian in 1855–1859. Palėvenė is also linked to the beginning of Bishop Motiejus Valančius's temperance movement: during a visitation in 1858 the first Temperance Brotherhood was established here. A memorial plaque recalls that one of the most eminent Lithuanian classicist architects, Laurynas Gucevičius, was baptised here in 1753.

The brick Church of St Dominic is the most valuable building of the ensemble; its interior, with eight altars, is considered one of the most original examples of so-called folk baroque in Lithuania. The monastery buildings, the granary and the other buildings of the ensemble have survived to the present day. Visits to the church and the monastery can be arranged by phone.

Highlights

• Church of St Dominic of folk baroque with eight altars
• The 17th- to 18th-century Dominican monastery ensemble
• The place where the first Temperance Brotherhood was established
• Laurynas Gucevičius was baptised here in 1753

Permanent exhibition

• Palėvenės dominikonų vienuolyno ansamblis – Visitors view the interior of the Church of St Dominic with its eight folk baroque altars and the buildings of the monastery ensemble, and learn about the activities of the Dominicans and the history of the region.

Operated by

Kupiškio muziejus

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Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

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