Kaunas - Šv. arkangelo Mykolo bažnyčia

A settlement existed at the confluence of two large rivers, for many centuries, before Kaunas was first mentioned in written sources in 1361. At that time a brick castle was constructed. Only a year later the castle was captured after a siege and destroyed by the Teutonic Order. It was one of the most important victories of the Teutonic Knights in the 14th in Lithuania. The castle was rebuilt at the beginning of the 15th century.

In 1408 Kaunas was granted city rights by Vytautas the Great. Kaunas began to gain prominence since it was at an intersection of trade routes and a river port. In 1441 Kaunas joined the Hanseatic League. By the 16th century, Kaunas had a public school and a hospital and was one of the best-formed towns in Lithuania.

In 1665, the Russian army attacked the city, and in 1701 the city was occupied by the Swedish Army. Fires destroyed parts of the city in 1731 and 1732. After the final partition of the Polish–Lithuanian state in 1795, the city was taken over by the Russian Empire. During the French invasion of Russia in 1812, Napoleon´s armee passed through twice, devastating the city both times.

When In 1862, a railway connecting the Russian Empire and Imperial Germany was built, Kaunas was a significant railway hub.

As WWII began, about 30,000 Jews were living in Kaunas, comprising about 25% of the city's population. Only very few survived the war.


St. Michael the Archangel's Church (aka Garrison Church) was built between 1891 and 1895 when Kaunas was part of the Russian empire, for the use of the Russian Orthodox soldiers of Kaunas Fortress.

The construction of "garrison" Orthodox churches by the Russian government started after the suppression of the January Uprising of 1831.

The church was designed as an Orthodox cathedral to fit 2,000 worshipers by K. H. Lymarenko. The cathedral was completed in four years and was inaugurated in 1895.

After the fall of the Kaunas Fortress during WW I, the Germans cut down the church bells and transported them to Germany.

In the interwar period, the cathedral became a Roman Catholic church of the Lithuanian garrison of Kaunas. During the Soviet Union, it was used as an art gallery. Today it serves again as a Roman Catholic church.

The Laisvės alėja, the main pedestrian street in Kaunas ends/starts at the church.