St Anne and Bernadines, Vilnius, Besucherguide & was in der Nähe unternehmen

St Anne's Church is a late Gothic red brick church in the Old Town of Vilnius, Lithuania, right beside the Bernardine Church and monastery. It is one of the most admired buildings in the city, known for the lightness of its tall brick facade. Together with the Bernardine complex next door, it makes one of the most photogenic corners of Vilnius.

The story behind it

St Anne's was built around the turn of the 16th century, and for a church of its size it went up remarkably quickly. Its red brick walls, pointed arches and slender towers are a textbook example of the late Gothic style in this part of Europe, and the building has stood in the same place ever since.

Right beside it stands the Bernardine Church and Monastery. It is also Gothic, with Renaissance and Baroque touches added over the centuries, so the two buildings share a wall but have different characters. A popular legend says that Napoleon, passing through Vilnius with his army in 1812, admired St Anne's so much that he wished to carry it back to Paris in the palm of his hand. The campaign ended in defeat, and the church stayed where it was.

What to look for

• The facade of St Anne's, where the red brick is shaped into narrow towers, pointed arches and delicate patterns that give the walls a lacy look.
• The contrast between St Anne's and the plainer, larger mass of the Bernardine Church attached to it.
• The Renaissance and Baroque details on the Bernardine buildings, which show how the complex changed over time.
• The view of the church from the side of the Old Town and from the direction of Uzupis, since the building sits between the two districts and looks different from each.

Tips for your visit

• Allow about 20 to 30 minutes to walk around the exterior and take photos, a little longer if you go inside.
• The interiors of both churches can be visited, but check current opening hours and any rules for visiting during services.
• Soft morning or late afternoon light shows off the brick best, and it is usually quieter outside the middle of the day.
• The Old Town and the bohemian district of Uzupis are both a short walk away, so the church fits easily into a longer stroll.

See it on a quest

Vilnius Highlights: Explore the City is a good way to meet St Anne's as part of a wider walk through the city. You reach the church on foot as one stop of a longer route, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you. One ticket covers the whole group.

Old Town Gems - Vilnius takes you through the old streets, so you see the church in the setting that surrounds it rather than in isolation. You walk from place to place at your own pace, hear about each one on the spot and solve a puzzle along the way. One ticket covers the whole group.