Verkiai
Encyclopedia
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, 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...
. Historically it was a separate settlement situated north of Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
but today it is a part of Vilnius city municipality
Vilnius city municipality
The Vilnius city municipality , is one of 60 municipalities in Lithuania. It is in the southeastern part of country, in Vilnius County and consists of the city of Vilnius, the town of Grigiškės and some rural areas.- History :...
. It occupies 5,565 ha and has 30,000 inhabitants. Verkiai Regional Park
Verkiai Regional Park
Verkiai Regional Park is one of the Regional Parks in Lithuania. It is located almost entirely in Verkiai elderate of Vilnius municipality.The park was established in 1992 in order to protect natural complexes of the Green Lakes and cultural complexes of Verkiai Palace and a park, Kalvarijos and...
has been established in 1991 to preserve a valuable composition of historical, cultural, architectural, and nature landmarks.
Landmarks
Verkiai has been known from Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, since Bishop of Vilnius built his palace here. It has been a residence of noble families in Verkiai Palace
Verkiai Palace
Verkiai Palace is an 18th century neoclassical mansion in Verkiai, Vilnius, Lithuania.- History :Until the end of 14th century this place was a property of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. There was a wooden manor even in 13th century. In 1387 Lithuanian Grand Duke Jogaila, on occasion of accepting...
.
Verkiai Calvaries is the best known and the second oldest Way of the Cross in Lithuania established in 1662–1669. Almost all chapels and gates (except those nearby the Roman Catholic Church of The Discovery of The Holy Cross
True Cross
The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a Christian tradition, are believed to be from the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.According to post-Nicene historians, Socrates Scholasticus and others, the Empress Helena The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a...
), were demolished by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1963. They were reconstructed by 2004 in their original predominantly in Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
style. The eldership also includes Baroque The Holy Trinity Church in and a Trinitarian
Trinitarian Order
The Order of the Holy Trinity is a Catholic religious order that was founded in the area of Cerfroid, some 80 km northeast of Paris, at the end of the twelfth century. The founder was St. John de Matha, whose feast day is celebrated on 17 December...
monastery in Trinapolis.