St Michael the Archangel Church

Kaunas


The Soviets turned this blue-domed neo-Byzantine church, which fills the sky so dramatically at the eastern end of Laisvės alėja, into a stained-glass museum. Built for the Russian Orthodox faith in 1893, St Michael's was reopened to Catholic worshippers in 1991.

The church catacombs have been converted into the Kaunas Museum for the Blind – allowing visitors to experience a sightless world.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Kaunas attractions

1. Kaunas Museum for the Blind

0.01 MILES

The catacombs of St Michael the Archangel Church are set up to let you experience a short spell as a person without sight.

2. Statue of Man

0.06 MILES

The statue of ‘Man’ in front of the Mykolas Žilinskas Art Gallery was modelled on Nike the Greek god of victory; it caused a storm of controversy when its…

3. Mykolas Žilinskas Art Gallery

0.08 MILES

This art museum on three floors is based on the private collection of Mykolas Žilinskas, but is now operated by the National Čiurlionis Art Museum. The…

4. Jan Zwartendijk Memorial

0.09 MILES

This untitled installation by Giny Vos, unveiled in 2018, is a memorial to the Dutch diplomat Jan Zwartendijk, who saved thousands of Jewish lives during…

5. Kaunas Picture Gallery

0.17 MILES

This branch of the many-tentacled Čiurlionis museum exhibits works by 20th-century Lithuanian artists, including a particularly poignant Lithuania In…

6. Vytautas Magnus University

0.28 MILES

Once known as the University of Lithuania, this is one of the country's leading tertiary institutions. It was first founded in 1922 and refounded in 1989…

7. Lietūkis Garage Massacre Memorial

0.29 MILES

This small memorial in the courtyard marks the spot where, on June 27, 1941, during the first days of the Nazi occupation of the city, Lithuanian …