- Place
- Anykščiai District Municipality
- Region
- Anykščiai District
- Type
- historic cemetery chapel and chamber arts centre
- Address
- Vilniaus g. 36, Anykščiai
- Coordinates
- 55.52145, 25.09760
- Visit duration
- 25-45 minutes for an exhibition; longer for a concert, lecture, or workshop
- Best time
- on a weekday while an exhibition is running or for a preselected event
World Anykščiai Creators' Centre, Old Anykščiai Cemetery Chapel
An 1858 chapel and the Venclovavičius crypt
Burbiškis estate owners Anupras and Filipina Venclovavičius initiated the chapel in 1858. The official Arts Centre history cautiously states that it was probably built above the family's burial vault. Its cellar contained about ten sealed coffin niches, while worship was infrequent, generally on Corpus Christi or after the death of an estate owner.
Burials in the old cemetery beside it ended in 1936. The Soviet authorities destroyed the cemetery and converted it into a park; relatives moved some remains, while unclaimed headstones and crosses were broken up. The green setting is therefore more than an ordinary park: it marks a partly erased burial ground and deserves respectful behaviour.
A chapel inside a glass-and-concrete shell
After wars and several abandoned restoration attempts, the building became a civil registry office in 1977 and a Wedding Palace in 1985. Architect Gediminas Baravykas then enclosed the old chapel within a glass-and-concrete structure. Algirdas Dovydėnas designed stained glass for the interior, while Konstantinas Eugenijus Šatūnas created a commissioned light fitting.
The essential architectural experience is the relationship between old and new. The pale historic façade has an arched stained-glass window, round oculus, and toothed upper band, while transparent planes form a much larger angular silhouette. A walk around it shows that the shell does not imitate the chapel but clearly declares another period.
From wedding hall to World Anykščiai Creators' Centre
A local decision in 1991 proposed a cultural-history museum here, and Mass was celebrated on 2 November that year for people buried in the old cemetery. When Anykščiai Arts Centre was formed in 2012, the Chapel became the World Anykščiai Creators' Centre.
Its current purpose is not only memorial. The acoustically strong hall hosts chamber and classical concerts, meetings, lectures, and conferences, while the upper level presents professional and folk art. The content changes, so check the specific exhibition or event as well as the door hours.
2026 visiting hours and tickets
On 2026-07-21, official hours were Monday-Thursday 08:00-17:00 and Friday 08:00-16:00, with no routine weekend opening. Concerts, VR sessions, and festivals may extend opening into the weekend, making the time printed for a special event more important than the regular schedule.
Admission to a changing exhibition cost EUR 1. Concerts, workshops, and VR films can require a separate ticket or registration; the exhibition ticket does not automatically include them. Check the Arts Centre website before visiting, especially on public holidays and event dates.
