Kaunas Mosque

Kaunas Mosque

Kaunas Mosque or Vytautas the Great Mosque (Lithuanian: Vytauto Didžiojo Mečetė) is one of four remaining mosques in Lithuania. It is located in Centras eldership, Kaunas. It is the only brick mosque in Lithuania.

A wooden Kaunas Mosque was first built in 1860. It was replaced by a brick mosque in 1930 with the aid of the state of Lithuania. Kaunas Mosque was rebuilt in commemoration of the 500th death anniversary of Vytautas the Great, the Grand Duke of Lithuania who is credited for settling Lipka Tatars in Lithuania.[1]

The mosque was designed by architects Vaclovas Michnevičius and Adolfas Netyksas, who followed the style of mosques in northern Africa. During the Soviet times, the building was used for a circus. There were plans to establish a museum of Islamic art. In 1989, Kaunas Mosque was returned to the faithful.[2] In 1991 the first worship was held.[3]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kaunas Mosque.
  1. ↑ "Islamas Lietuvoje" (in Lithuanian). 2008-01-23. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
  2. ↑ "Lithuania: Tatar Muslims face new immigrants". Retrieved 2010-06-15.
  3. ↑ (Lithuanian) "Skrynia; Lietuvos totoriai po II pasaulinio karo". Retrieved 2010-06-15.

Coordinates: 54°53′39″N 23°55′41″E / 54.89417°N 23.92806°E / 54.89417; 23.92806

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/16/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.