Church of Saint Nicholas, Vilnius

Originally built in the 14th century, the church is mentioned in writing for the first time in 1387. The church was a center for German craftsmen and merchants housed along the Vokiečių gatvė (German street). In 1901-39 the Church of St. Nicholas was the only church in Vilnius where the mass was held in Lithuanian. By the same token it was a centre of Lithuanian culture (its famous dean Kristupas Čibiras was killed in 1942 during a bombing raid). In the 1920s to 1940s, sermons in Belarusian language were also held in the church by famous priests including Adam Stankievič, Vincent Hadleŭski, Jazep Hiermanovič, Kazimir Svajak. After the World War II, the Cathedral of Vilnius was closed and the Curia of the Archdiocese of Vilnius was moved to the St. Nicholas Parish building and the Church of St. Nicholas in fact performed the functions of a cathedral. During the Soviet occupation a statue of the patron of Vilnius, St. Christopher, was erected in the church orchard (sculptor Antanas Kmieliauskas, 1959); it was an obvious act of resistance, as the city's coat-of-arms with St. Christopher's figure was banned at that time. ==Architecture==