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The Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Sudeikiai

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The history of the Sudeikiai church dates back to ancient times, but the details of its origin are described differently. According to folklore, after the Bikuškis church burned down, the owners of the Degsniai and Bikuškis estates decided to build a new church but disagreed on the location. Eventually, they decided to ride out from their estates and construct a place of worship where their paths would cross. They met on the Sudeikiai hill, and it was there that the new church was built. The legend also states that many stones were needed for the church's construction, which were transported from the surrounding villages, including stones from the Hill of Alkos.

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Religious Heritage
Utena Tourism Information Center

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decorated, and in 1939, a wooden bell tower was erected in the churchyard. The church suffered damage during World War II but was restored in the post-war years. Today, the church roof is adorned with five decorative crosses, crafted by the renowned blacksmiths Balys and Povilas Petrulioniai from the village of Antandraja. The Sudeikiai church stands out from other churches due to its architecture—it has no towers, and there are no columns inside. The churchyard is enclosed by a fence, within which two altar stones with basins are embedded; these are protected cultural monuments. In the churchyard, visitors can also pay respects at the graves of the poet, translator, and priest Juozas Šnapšys-Margalis (1877–1921) and the philosopher Dr. Juozas Girnius (1915–1994), who was reinterred from Boston (USA).

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