St. Anne's Roman Catholic Church in Bērzgale

The first church in Bērzgale was made of wood – it is not known when the church was built. In 1770, a stone church was built in Bērzgale in honor of St. Anne with the funds of Baroness Manteufel. The church was built in the Renaissance Baroque style of stone, and it was consecrated in 1776. In 1938, the church was expanded, and in 1948, the church was expanded a second time and extended, demolishing the presbytery. The church extension was built in the Gothic style, in the shape of a cross.

The Bērzgale Castle, which was built in 1678-1689, also belonged to Baron Friedrich Adam Nikolaj Manteifels. He was a lutheran, so he built a lutheran church in Bērzgale on a hill that is now called Ķirke Hill. Later, Baron Manteifels converted to the catholic faith. The lutheran church collapsed in 1879. In the first half of the 19th century, Bērzgale Castle was demolished because Baron Manteifels could not maintain it.

The Bērzgale Catholic Church was built by Baroness Manteifele. The designer of the church is unknown, but the head of its construction work was Antonijs Veitko (a Pole by nationality, a representative of the nobility). In 1841, the rectory burned down, as did the archive, which stored information from 1776. In the summer of 1935, the Bērzgale Church was renovated. The expansion of the Bērzgale Church began in 1938 - during the time of priest L. Garška. The extension of the church is built in the Gothic style, in the shape of a cross. In Bērzgale at the end of the 17th century, a wooden chapel was built in the cemetery, which existed for about 50 years. Now in this cemetery there is a large stone pillar, an obelisk - the remains of the old church and evidence that the high altar of the chapel was located there.

The church has three altars: the main (central) and two side altars. The central altar, decorated with woodcarvings in the Baroque style – in honor of St. Anne, in its center is a painting of St. Anne, above is a painting of St. Peter. Side altars: on the left is the altar of the Virgin Mary, on the right is the altar of Christ the Lord. The church altar paintings of St. Stephen and Laurus were made in the 18th century by the artist of the Russian Imperial Academy Zenon Stefinskis. On the second floor of the church there is an organ (32 registers). They were made in Vilnius in 1891, by master P. Ostromejcks. There are two paintings of the Virgin Mary in the church. At the entrance opposite the church there is a stone bell tower with four bells. The Bērzgale Church was built after the model of the Aglona Basilica (Pekša, 1996).

Info: +371 64644633 (Municipality), 28345990 (priest), 29497151 (museum manager), 26185204 (Head of the cultural house)