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Rykantai Holy Trinity Church

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Religious Heritage
Trakai Tourism Information Center

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Rykantai is one of the earliest locations for Lithuanian Evangelical Reformed (Calvinist) communities. Rykantai, along with a wooden Calvinist church, is mentioned by the notable Italian Reformer Paul Vergerius during his visit to Lithuania in 1555. In the early 16th century, the Tolvaišos family built a wooden church in Rykantai, which initially belonged to the Trakai parish. Later, as one of the first in Lithuania, the Tolvaišos family converted to Calvinism, turning the Rykantai church into a Calvinist church. It is believed that the first (wooden) Rykantai church was among the earliest Evangelical Reformed churches in Lithuania. The current (brick) Rykantai Holy Trinity Church is one of the oldest churches in the Trakai district. It was built in 1585 by A. Tolvaiša, the owner of the Rykantai estate. At the time, the church's beauty was admired even by those who had visited the most significant European cities. In 1630, A. Tolvaiša and his wife were buried in the church's crypt. The Tolvaiša family had no descendants, so the Rykantai parish, through further kinship, passed to the Oginskis, who were Catholics. During the Polish-Lithuanian war with Russia in 1655, the Rykantai church was heavily damaged and looted, standing empty for several years. Around 1667, the church was repaired by Marcijonas Oginskis, Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1688, Marcijonas Oginskis handed over the church to the Dominican monastery

in Trakai, making the Rykantai church Catholic. The current brick Rykantai Holy Trinity Church is one of the oldest churches in the Trakai district. It is a Renaissance building with partial Gothic elements. The church has three naves, a wide presbytery, and a three-sided apse. Adjacent to the southern side of the presbytery is a rectangular sacristy. Beneath the church is a crypt. The church's walls are brick masonry, plastered. The roof is covered with tin. Above the main facade is a 19th-century iron cross. The cross composition is central, with a diamond-shaped silhouette, a low solid stem, and four equal-length hollow branches, with their interiors decorated with zigzags. Attached to the branches are smaller hollow crosses, with the ends finished with crossed strips resembling lily flowers. The main center of the cross is covered by a disk, with a wavy ray in the interspaces. The most striking feature of the main western facade is the original Renaissance pediment, prominently extending above the roof. Cornices divide the pediment into three sections. The lower section resembles an attic, divided by low pilasters with niches and semi-circular arches. Above the pilasters are lower blades. The middle section is the simplest, trapezoidal, with rectangular niches and blades. The upper section is in the form of a triangular pediment. In the middle niche of the pediment is an 18th-century fresco depicting St. George.

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