Kaunas - Šv. Pranciškaus Ksavero 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.

-
The church of St. Francis Xavier was built by Jesuits on the town hall square. The Jesuits opened their first residence in Kaunas in 1642 and founded the first four-grade school here in 1649. Construction of the church began in 1666 and it was consecrated in 1722.

The tsarist Russian government transferred the church to the Orthodox Church in 1824. In 1924 the church was again transferred to the Jesuits. After the occupation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union, the church was converted into a technical school, and the interior of the church was used as a gymnasium. The church was returned to the Jesuits in 1989, and a renovation of the church took place in 1992.