"The trails of pilgrims - Poland” "The trails of pilgrims Lithuania - Poland”

Smalenai (Smalėnai) goes back to the middle of the 17th century. Back then, there stood a church. After the locality was bought by landlord Haberman, he provided for the construction of present Saint Isidore’s Church including an abbey in 1839. The church boasts one tower. Inside there are three altars: the main one displays the sculpture of the crucified Christ, the left side altar bears the picture of the Angelic Mother of God, covered by the painting depicting the Mother of God of Czestochowa. The right side altar has the pictures of Saint Isidore, the patron of farmers, and Saint Antony. In the yard of the Church there stands a chapel, built in 1846, in the vault of which the Haberman family was buried. In the premises of the abbey, recollections for priests are organized each November. This place was assigned to the recollection home of Elk diocese. In summer, youth camps are organized here. Feast days. May 15 – Saint Isidore the Ploughman. August 2 – Angelic Mother of God. Should the appointed day be other than Sunday, the feast is postponed to the next Sunday. Parish address: 16-515 Puńsk, Smolany 16, tel. (48 87) 5161 338. Lodging. The abbey can accommodate 50 persons. Modestly equipped rooms in the outhouse hold 60 places for the pilgrims. In summer, in the square belonging to the parish, approximately 300-400 people can stay in tents. Meals. Nearby the church, there are two food stores. In summer, an inn is open as well. In the premises of the abbey, there is a kitchen and a canteen.

References about Punsk in written documents of the kings of Poland and grand dukes of Lithuania were made in the 16th century. The current neo-gothic church of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Punsk with the two towers was built in 1881. It is the third shrine rebuilt in this place as the first two that had been standing before it, were destroyed by fire. The church has five altars. The interior walls and ceilings are decorated with Lithuanian ornaments. Every believer searching for comfort will find someone to whom he/she will be able to pour his/her troubles in a prayer, because this church houses many sculptures and pictures of various saints. Feast days. April 23 – Saint George, June 29 – Saint Peter and Saint Pavel, August 15 – the Assumption. Should the appointed day be other than Sunday, the feast is postponed to the next Sunday. Punsk parish address: ul. A. Mickewicza 55, Puńsk, tel.: (48 87) 5161017. Lodging. Travellers could stay in the school dormitory: 48 places are prepared; showers and WC are available; Kovo 11-osios 18, Punsk, tel.: (+48 87) 5161080. Lithuanian House of Culture in Punsk can accommodate 12 persons; Kovo 11-osios 17, Punsk, tel.: (+48 87) 5161032. In summer time, pilgrims can sleep in Punsk school premises (on mattresses). In Trakiskes (Trakiškės) village (1 km from Punsk) there is a rural tourism settlement with 50 places, tel.: (+48 87) 5161315. Meals. Bar "Honorka", Ugniagesių str. Bar "Omega", Mickevičiaus str. (by the bus station) Café-bar "Karčema" Mickevičiaus 49, tel.: (+48) 506769258, Restaurant "Sodas", Mickevičiaus 17, tel.: (+48 87) 5161315, Canteen of the school dormitory can provide meals for about 80 persons.

29.09.2021 www.cit.en.ugpunsk.pl // strona 1/5 Medical aid. Dispensary, Mokyklos 26. Police. Mickevičiaus str. 41. tel.: +48 87 5161007.

Town of is located between the lakes of Simnas and Giluitis. This settlement has been mentioned since 1382. Today the historical centre of the town is a monument of urbanistics of national importance. The current church, reminding the Renaissance, was built in 1520. Its significance to the Lithuanian history of art is immense – it is the only basilica-type cross-layout Renaissance church in Lithuania. It contains the Blessed Mary Rosary altar with the Blessed Virgin painting. Those who visit it on Sunday before the Saint John or on any of the 7 days following this Sunday may receive all the remissions, whereas upon visiting it on any other day one may gain 300 days of remissions. In 1928, the altar was privileged by the Bishop of Vilkaviskis (Vilkaviškis). Feast days. June 24 – John the Baptist, August 15 - Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Should the appointed day be other than Sunday, the feast is postponed to the next Sunday. Parish address: Kreivoji str. 3, Simnas, LT-64312 distr., tel.: +370 315 601 14. Meals. Café “Pas Emą”, Vytauto str. 28, Simnas, tel.: +370 315 60234. Canteen of Simnas Agriculture School, Ateities str. 6, tel.: +370 315 60699 Lodging. Rest house “Giluitis”, Giluitis village, tel.: +370 315 60232, +370 687 90413. Dormitory of Simnas Agriculture School, Ateities str. 6, tel.: +370 315 60699. Rural tourism settlement “Burlingė” established on the bank of Dusia lake, village of Metelyte (Metelytė), tel.: +370 315 58235. Tents can be built on the beach “Giluitis” in the village of Kaimynai on the bank of Giluitis lake. Police. Vytauto str. 29, Simnas, tel.: +370 315 60202. Medical aid. Dispensary, Vytauto str. 55, tel.: +370 315 60440.

Krokialaukis was founded in the first half of the 16th century. Its manor was famous for its horses bred for the Grand Duke of Lithuania and the King of Poland. The centre of the town embraces the Transfiguration Church of , built in 1872. It was consecrated in 1899 by the outstanding Lithuanian poet and bishop Antanas Baranauskas. The church has two towers with a lower rectangular apse and sacristies next to it. Inside there are 3 altars. In the churchyard, there are some wooden crosses and the sculpture of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Feast days. August 6 – Transfiguration of Jesus, August 14 – Exaltation of the Cross. Should the appointed day be other than Sunday, the feast is postponed to the next Sunday. Parish address: Krokialaukis, LT-64355 Alytus distr., tel.: +370 315 682 44.

29.09.2021 www.cit.en.ugpunsk.pl // strona 2/5 Meals. There are several shops in the town. Parish address: Krokialaukis, LT-64355 Alytus distr., tel.: +370 315 682 44. Medical aid. Krokialaukis dispensary, Vytauto str. 1, tel.: +370 315 68 303 The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was built in 1924. The previous church was destroyed in fire. The nowadays church is a plastered brickwork basilica-type construction that has some neo-renaissance features, rectangular layout, two towers and a semi-circular apse. In the churchyard, there are some wooden crosses and a sculpture of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Nearby the church, there stands a pieta-depicting monument “To the Children of the Motherland Killed and Scattered in 1945-1990“. Feast days. August 16 – titular feast of Saint Rokas. Should the appointed day be other than Sunday, the feast is postponed to the next Sunday. Parish address: R. Katalikų str. 1, Udrija (Ūdrija), LT-64372 Alytus distr., tel.: +370 315 522 38. Meals. There are some shops in the town.

Alytus Today there are four churches in Alytus. In the heart of the town, there stands the Saint Guardian Angels Church, built in 1830 for the funds donated by the parish. The biggest valuables of the church are the parishioners and kept inside paintings of the saints going back to the 19th century. In the graveyard, there are many venerable men of merit buried. Here stand the monuments “To the Mother” and “To those Unborn” built for all the children who were not meant to see this world. One can always see someone deep in prayer at it. Feast days. October 2 – Saint Guardian Angels. Should the appointed day be other than Sunday, the feast is postponed to the next Sunday. Parish address: Savanorių str. 14, LT-62142 Alytus, tel.: +370 315 522 38. Lodging.Hotels: “Dzūkija” 2*, Pulko str. 14/1, tel. +370 315 52002, www.hoteldzukija.lt “Odė”, Naujoji str. 8C, tel.: +370 315 32929, www.ode.lt “Senas namas” 3*, Užuolankos str. 24, tel.: +370 315 53489, www.senasnamas.lt “Vaidila” 3*, Rotušės sq. 12, tel.: +370 315 56188, www.vaidila.lt Motel “Linas”, Seirijų str. 27, tel./fax: +370 315 71449 Lodging and breakfast: Gilių str. 9, tel.: +370 698 18813, +370 698 76294 Klevų str. 29, tel.: +370 614 23868 Ligoninės str. 9-3, tel.: +370 698 76399 “Šolena”, Rato str. 7A, tel.: +370 315 21044, www.solena.lt

Meals.

29.09.2021 www.cit.en.ugpunsk.pl // strona 3/5 “Duetas”, Rotušės sq. 12A, tel.: +370 315 73103 “Dzūkų užeiga”, Naujoji str. 2C, tel.: +370 315 53203 “Dzūkų smuklė”, Tvirtovės str. 3, tel.: +370 315 70388 “Dzūkų svetainė”, Rotušės sq. 16, tel.: +370 315 73780 “Odė”, Naujoji str. 8C, tel.: +370 315 38682 Skrydis, Vilniaus str. 13, tel.: +370 315 52085 Šašlykinė, Ulonų str. 67, tel.: +370 315 51319 “3,5”, Pulko str. 14/1, tel.: +370 315 52609 For more information about the catering companies see www.meniu.lt Medical aid. S. Kudirka Hospital, Ligoninės str. 12, tel.: +370 315 563 01. Police. Alytus Town and District Police Commissariat, Jotvingių str. 8, tel.: +370 315 55600. Information. Alytus Tourism Information Centre, Rotušės sq. 14A, tel.: +370 315 52010, +370 687 07703, [email protected].

Pivasiunai (Pivašiūnai) village has been known since 1639, when the village assigned to the monastery of Benedictines of Senieji Trakai. After the first churches had been destroyed in flames, in 1825 the current wooden Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church was built. This church is the most famous in the region of Alytus and the only one church in Lithuania of classicist style that retained such a structure of a Latin cross that is characterized by the dynamics of prolonged bulks and the cross. The grand altar boasts the miraculous painting of the Mother of God, which survived the fires of the previous churches. It is told that it had been brought from Turkey and is phenomenal and holy as well as famous for its curative powers. The picture of the Mother of God in Pivasiunai (Pivašiūnai) equals the Madonna of the Gates of Dawn by its age, painting and miraculous healing power. This is testified by the stories of people and gifts hanged near the painting for the granted graces. The miraculous picture of the Mother of God in Pivasiunai (Pivašiūnai) attracts thousands of worshippers. On the 14th of August, 1988, His Excellency Cardinal Vincentas Sladkevičius crowned the painting with crown, given as a present by the Pope John Paul II and bestowed a title of the Solace of Those Upset. Since old times Pivasiunai (Pivašiūnai) has been famous for the Feast of the Assumption that lasts for the entire week. During these days almost 10 thousand worshippers from Lithuania and abroad visit this place, where they pray and chant. Feast days. August 15 – the Assumption. The feast starts a week before the appointed day. Parish address: Pivasiunai (Pivašiūnai), LT-64482 Alytus distr., tel.: +370 315 293 44, fax: +370 315 29350. Lodging. Tents can be built on the beach by Ilgis lake. Meals. There are several shops in the town. Medical aid. Pivasiunai (Pivašiūnai) General Practice Physician’s Office, tel.: +370 315 29 338.

29.09.2021 www.cit.en.ugpunsk.pl // strona 4/5 Butrimonys was mentioned for the first time in the 17th century as a locality established in the crossroad between important roads leading from Vilnius to Alytus and Punia. A triangular square formed in the intersection of roads determined radial construction of the town. The square that survived until these days is the only triangular square in Lithuania. The layout and network of the streets of the central part were announced to be a Lithuanian monument of urbanistics. The cornerstone of the Sacred Saviour’s Church in Butrimonys, built from the stone and brick work, was sanctified in 1906; however, the beginning of the First World War made an end to the construction works. The massive church with one tower was completed only in 1926. It has some elements of the Romanesque style. The church owns several valuable works of painting and folk art of the first half of the 19th century. Feast days. July 26 – Saint Ann, the second Sunday of September – Exaltation of the Cross. Should the appointed day be other than Sunday, the feast is postponed to the next Sunday. Parish address: Butrimonys, LT-64428 Alytus distr., tel.: +370 315 613 44. Meals. In the town there are several shops. Medical aid. Butrimonys Dispensary, Ateities str. 4, tel.: +370 315 61 483.

Punia has been known since the 14th century. Here, on the mount used to stand a wooden castle, and later on – masonry palace. In Punia one of the first churches in the region of Alytus was built. In 1425, such an order was issued by the Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great, memories of whom are alive nowadays too. Next to the coat of arms of Punia, a portrait of the duke adorns the church. The church used to stand in the place of the present masonry Saint George Chapel bricked in the form of a tower to commemorate the rebels of 1831. The current Saint Jacob the Disciple Church was built in 1863 in the same place where its predecessor had been destroyed by fire. Its architecture is a link between baroque and classicism. Magnificent from the outside, the church is very cosy inside, small and pulsing with peace. Just 200 meters westwards from the church, there looms the famous Mount of Punia. Legends speak of the castle that belonged to the Duke Margiris and used to stand upon it. They say that in 1336 here took place the notable combat of Pilėnai, when defenders and inhabitants of the castle chose to die in the fires instead of surrendering to the crusaders. In close vicinity to Punia there is the cemetery of Punia, noted for its masterpieces of the fine architecture – old wooden crosses characteristic to the ethnographic region of Dzukija (Dzūkija). Feast days. June 17 – Heart of Jesus, July 22 – Titular Feast of Saint Jacob, August 26 – Saint Bartholomew. Should the appointed day be other than Sunday, the feast is postponed to the next Sunday. Parish address: Punia, LT-64401 Alytus distr., tel.: +370 315 686 80. Lodging. Tents can be built near the River Nemunas. Meals. Café-bar “Nemuno vingis”, tel.: +370 315 68743. There are several shops in the town.

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