Neo-Byzantine Style - St. Michael the Archangel's Church

On Laisvės Alėja (Liberty Avenue), the main pedestrian in Kaunas, stands the St. Michael the Archangel's Church. The church, which was built in the Neo-Byzantine style is the most splendid building on the avenue, witnessing the history of Kaunas being occupied by the Russian Empire. Intriguingly, it houses an unusual museum that may arouse your interest.

St. Michael the Archangel's Church was established in the 19th century when Kaunas was under the occupation of the Russian Empire. It was a Russian Orthodox church, a military church, and it stood out among similar military churches by its size. It can accommodate about 2,000 worshippers at a time. When the Kaunas Fortress fell in the First World War, the church bells were cut down by Germans who took them home. The church remained closed until 1919, and was turned into an art gallery during the Soviet era. It was not until the independence of Lithuania that it served as a Roman Catholic church ever since. Underneath it in the catacombs house the extraordinary Kaunas Museum for the Blind, which is the first of its kind in the Baltic states and one of the first in Eastern Europe. You have to perceive the exhibits through listening, tasting and touching. Through this little journey, visitors are able to experience how it feels when their vision is deprived of, and to understand better the limitations of the blind in daily life. It is indeed an impressive experience.