All Saints Church, Vilnius

All Saints Church

All Saints Church is a Baroque style church in Vilnius, Lithuania. All Saints church was built between 1620-1630 and was adopted for Carmelites' needs. In the second half of the 17th century, the church was linked with a monastery and formed a single complex. The bell tower is high and massive with elaborate decorations. After a fire in the 18th century, it was restored and finished with a rococo-style dome roof. A large old rule Carmelite friary, constructed using the existing buildings is located near the church. Marcin Knackfus prepared project for the church's altar.

The Church of all Saints is at the end of Szpitalna St., where the main gate to the Jewish ghetto was. During World War II, there was a tunnel through the sewers connecting the church with the ghetto. The priest of the church would provide bread to be taken into the ghetto through the tunnel. He also hid some Jews smuggled out of the ghetto through the tunnel. It should also be noted that there were Christian Lithuanians who helped smuggle Litvaks food into the ghetto.

Between 1967 and 1975 the church underwent reconstruction and was used for museum expositions. During these Soviet times, the church housed a folk art museum but has now been returned to the faithful.