The Stone Church and Churchyard Fence of Salakas

In 1387 Tauragnai volost, including Salakas surroundings, was given as a present to the bishop of Vilnius. In 1496 Mikalojus Petkevičius donated 3 peasants to Salakas parish. Thus, as of that time the church of Salakas became a community. The wooden buildings of the church were destroyed by fires many times. The last wooden church lasted only 40 years. During the fire, which started on the night of 15 June 1905 a part of the town on one side of the river turned to ash, including the church, all of its property, archive, etc. — even the bells melted and fell down. At that time the parish was led by the parson Antanas Kryžanauskas. Upon consulting the members of the parish, he decided to build a church, which would withstand fire and other disasters. The project was designed by an architect Morgulcas, invited from Riga. The parson also organised the collection and transportation of stones. The stones brought by the members of the parish were carved into 45×45-80 cm stone bricks. Eventually, on 8 August 1906, the Samogitian bishop G. Cirtautas consecrated the foundation of the future church. The foundation of the church is 6 m deep and even deeper under the tower. The walls are 168 cm-thick consist of three layers: carved stones, internal layer of simple stones, as well as a layer of bricks and plaster on the inside. The stones were bound with lime, collected by children and heaved up for the hired stonemasons by local men. Depending on the weight of the stones and the strength of the men, it took 4-8 men and a strong hod. Thus all healthy men of the parish contributed to the constructions for five years. It was planned to build a 95 m-high tower, however, after the fall of the scaffolding, it was decided to make do with 75 m. The top of the tower features a large ball with a cross and a wooden top. Aside from construction materials and local labour, the cost of the church was 98 000 of Tsar’s roubles. This was a huge amount of money at that time. Half of the amount (41 000) was donated by the locals. The rest of the money was collected at other Lithuanian parishes, as well as Warsaw, Saint Petersburg and other places. The church features three altars: the central one is made of bricks, with a statue of the crucified Jesus Christ. The other two wooden altars of the Mother of God and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ were brought from Italy. It should be noted that no one died during the construction. The church was completed in 1911 and the first mass took place on the 14 August. Just like the old one, the church was named after the Apostles St Peter and Paul. In 1915 the Samogitian bishop Pranciškus Karevičius consecrated it under the name of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Sorrows. After building the church it was not really fully completed until 1935, yet the mass was already held. The church was completed under the management of the priest Antanas Stanionis. The interior was decorated by J. Gūdgaudas and the paintings of Antanas Pūslys. The iron and openwork decorations were done by Antanas Klimanskas. The organ was made in 1914 by the organ master Bruno Goebel in Koenigsberg and costed 7 000 Tsar’s roubles. The first bells were brought from Liepaja to Dūkštas railway station and then — to Sakalas in 1911. During the World War I they were taken by Germans. The church acquired three new bells in 1927. The largest one, weighing 1 300 kg, was named after St Peter and Paul, the middle one, weighing 801 kg, — after St George, and the third one, weighing 140 kg, — after St Anthony. The bells were brought from Liepaja the same way and tolled on Easter morning for the first time. Currently the small bell is cracked and has been brought down. In 1944 during battles between Germans and Russians, the tower was hit and everything fell in the church through the roof and ceiling, damaging the organs. The windows and stained-glass windows of the presbytery were gone as well. Reconstructions took place after the war and the new tower was not so tall. It soon turned out that the amateurish renovation works lacked quality and brought numerous problems for the parsons working there. The building of the church regained its former glory with the restored tower, tin roof and stained-glass windows, created by the artist Vytautas Širalis and made by brothers Sigitas and Zigmas Laurinavičiai, only in 1986-89 with the priest Kazimieras Girnius, who was also a reparations specialist. Currently the church is 72 m high, 64 m long and 22 m wide with a 61 a churchyard. The wall of the church features a plate, saying: “The church was built in 1911 by the effort of the priest Kryžanauskas and members of the parish. Lord, bless those, who contributed to this work, either in building it from hard stones, or sincerely maintaining it. This building will remain a monument of their living faith for the future generations.”