Kaunas Mosque or Vytautas the Great Mosque is one of four remaining mosque

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

s in Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

. It is located in Centras eldership

Centras (Kaunas)

Centras is an elderate in the city of Kaunas, Lithuania, based on two neighbourhoods of Kaunas - the Old City and the New City. It lies at the confluence of two major Lithuanian rivers, the Nemunas and the Neris....

, Kaunas

Kaunas

Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...

. It is the only brick mosque in Lithuania.

A wooden Kaunas Mosque was first built in 1860. It was replaced by a brick mosque in 1930 with the aid of the state of Lithuania. Kaunas Mosque was rebuilt in commemoration of the 500th death anniversary of Vytautas the Great

Vytautas the Great

Vytautas ; styled "the Great" from the 15th century onwards; c. 1350 October 27, 1430) was one of the most famous rulers of medieval Lithuania. Vytautas was the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which chiefly encompassed the Lithuanians and Ruthenians...

, the Grand Duke of Lithuania who is credited for settling Lipka Tatars

Lipka Tatars

The Lipka Tatars are a group of Tatars who originally settled in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the beginning of 14th century. The first settlers tried to preserve their shamanistic religion and sought asylum amongst the non-Christian Lithuanians...

 in Lithuania.

The mosque was designed by architects Vaclovas Michnevičius and Adolfas Netyksas, who followed the style of mosques in northern Africa. During the Soviet times

Lithuanian SSR

The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Lithuanian SSR, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union...

, the building was used for a circus

Circus

A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...

. There were plans to establish a museum of Islamic art. In 1989, Kaunas Mosque was returned to the faithful. In 1991 the first worship was held.