Dominican Church of Apostles St Philip and St Jacob

A Baroque landmark on Lukiškės Square

The Church of the Apostles St Philip and St Jacob stands at the edge of Lukiškės Square, just north-west of the Old Town, and belongs to the adjoining Dominican monastery from which it takes its everyday name. The present brick church was raised in late-Baroque style across the late 17th and early 18th centuries, after earlier wooden churches on the site were destroyed; long, stop-start construction left it with an unusually tall single nave and a façade that blends early and late Baroque detail. Inside, the mood is calm and prayerful, the kind of quiet space many visitors describe as a balm after the busy streets.

The church is best known for two things. The first is its venerated image of Our Lady of Lukiškės, an old icon famous for miracles that has drawn pilgrims to this corner of Vilnius for centuries. The second is its music: the parish supports several active choirs that welcome new singers, and the building doubles as a centre for sacred music in the city.

• Late-Baroque Dominican church, built largely between the 1690s and 1720s
• Houses the miraculous icon of Our Lady of Lukiškės
• Active Dominican community with daily Mass in Lithuanian and Polish
• Several parish choirs that welcome new members

The carillon — and good to know

The church's signature experience is its carillon, a unique instrument of 61 bells that rang for the first time after restoration in 2015 and is the largest of its kind in the Baltics. Daily bell concerts ring out over the square; the locals' tip is to take a seat on the benches behind the church, where the sound carries best. The church sits at Vasario 16-osios g. 11, a short walk from Lukiškės Square and Gediminas Avenue, and remains an active place of worship — keep voices low if a service is under way, and check the parish for current Mass and concert times before a special visit, as these can change.