Druskininkai is a spa town on the Neman River in southern Lithuania, close to the borders of Belarus and Poland. The city of Druskininkai has a population of 18,233 (2001 Census) and dates back as a spa resort to the 19th century.
Pic #4 - Saint Mary's Church
Pic #6 - Joy of all who Sorrow Church is an Orthodox church in Druskininkai, Lithuania.
The church was built in 1865, after Druskininkai become a highly popular spa town visited by many wealthy Russians. The vice-governor of Grodno,
Yakov Rozhnov, announced a collection of funds in the whole country.
Among the contributors, there was the granddaughter of general Mikhail Ilarionovich Kutuzov, Iekaterina, who offered the sum needed for the construction of the iconostasis.
Rozhnov himself also donated ten thousand rubles. The church was built
between 1861 and 1865. Up from 1890, the Orthodox parish in Druskininkai
also ran a school for girls of different confessions.
In 1915, when World War I
started, most of the Russian Orthodox inhabitants of Druskininkai left
the town. However, after the Vilnius region was annexed by Poland, the
town - and so the parish - become a local center of White Russian
emigration. Because of that, the church was closed in 1944, after Red
Army entered Druskininkai. At this time there was around 350 Orthodox
Christians in Druskininkai and the Soviet government agreed to reopen
the parish in 1947. In addition, ten years later, the church was
renovated. It still houses a parish, although the number of the
parishioners has been falling since the 1970s.
Thank you, Ilona !
Sent on: July 21, 2014
Received on: July 23, 2014
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