The Stelmužė Ecclesiastical Art Museum

Contacts
Address: Stelmužės kaimas, LT-32295, Zarasų rajonas.
Tel. (+370 ~ 385) 52 456.

Information for Visitor

Opening hours:
Museum of the state of emergency, visitors are not allowed.

The Stelmužė Church and Bell Tower
Mr. Folkerzambo, owner of the local estate, built the Church of the Holy Cross in 1650. The church is wooden and was constructed without nails. In the beginning it was Calvinist, a mission of the Latvian Ilukštės church, and it didn’t become a Catholic church until 1808. In 1880 the much-neglected church was renovated.
The wooden altar, the crucifix and the ambon, which is decorated with nice wooden carvings, together dominate the chapel, which has many Classical features. Sculptural décor prevails in the altar composition. It has a large variety of floral- and figure-shaped motifs, bas-reliefs and round-shaped sculptures. The top and bottom of the ambon are decorated with rows of carved acanthus leaves surrounding the bas-relief sculptures of the twelve apostles. The roof under the ambon, which is decorated with angels and acanthus leaves is especially marvelous.
Some of the sculptures were made by the Venspilis village wood-carving masters in 1713. In the western part of the courtyard there is a beautiful bell tower with well-balanced proportions dating back to the middle of the 17th Century. On the southwest side the bell tower has a ground floor only, but on the northern side it is two-storied. The bell tower was renovated in 1873.
Stelmužė park features the famous two thousand-year-old Stelmužė oak tree and a slave house, which stands on the outskirts of the park. The house is not large, masoned from rustic field stones and containing holes toward the tops of the walls. Insubordinate peasants were held here during period when peasants were forced to work without compensation.

Photos by Danutė Mukienė