St Anne's Church

Vilnius


Flamboyant and Gothic St Anne's Church, a vision of undulating lines and red-brick arches, was built in 1500 on the site of a wooden church that burned to the ground. Today it's among Vilnius' most famous buildings; the turreted facade (marrying 33 different kinds of brick) inspires countless photo ops from the grassy plaza opposite. Inside, rib vaults trace graceful lines of brick through a rosy interior. Napoleon was reportedly so charmed that he wanted to relocate the church to Paris.

Dwarfing St Anne's is the Bernadine Church, one of Vilnius' oldest Gothic buildings.