- Place
- Švenčionys District Municipality
- Region
- Vilnius Region
- Type
- Neo-Romanesque masonry church on a cross plan with one tower and an original facade
- Address
- Bažnyčios Street, Karkažiškė, 18184, Švenčionys District
- Coordinates
- 54.95101, 25.75085
- Visit duration
- 30-45 minutes; longer if you combine it with a Švenčionys District route
- Best time
- on Sunday between 11:00 and 13:30, after checking the current Mass and opening schedule
Karkažiškė Church of St Peter and St Paul, Karkažiškė Church of St Peter and St Paul (local Pauliaus form), Karkažiškė Roman Catholic Church of St Peter and St Paul, Karkažiškė Church
A village sanctuary on Bažnyčios Street
Karkažiškė Church of St Peter and St Paul stands on Bažnyčios Street in Karkažiškė, 18184, Švenčionys District. No house number is given, so use Bažnyčios Street and the church coordinates when planning the visit.
This is a small red-brick village church whose cross-plan volume and square single tower rise among trees. Its facade is restrained, and its setting is a village road and churchyard rather than a city cathedral square.
The coordinate 54.9510073, 25.750847 marks the church building. It is an object point, not the centre of Karkažiškė or the location of the separate Pabradė church.
From an early foundation to the 1913 building
Karkažiškė's religious tradition reaches back to an early 1502 foundation or endowment account. The sanctuary was rebuilt over time, including a renewal phase in 1670. These dates belong to earlier buildings, not to the present masonry church.
The parish says that a previous structure was destroyed by fire in 1838. The present masonry church was completed in 1913, so its story contains both the 19th-century disaster and an early-20th-century rebuilding.
The Lithuanian State Historical Archives catalogue preserves records of the Karkažiškė Roman Catholic Church of St Peter and St Paul, including material from 1888-1939 and 1923-1939. The archive record enriches the story but is not a visitor exhibition at the church.
A single-tower Neo-Romanesque silhouette
Švenčionys Parish describes the present building as Neo-Romanesque and cross-planned. The main nave is expanded by transept-like sections, while one tower finishes the facade. It is not a multi-tower basilica and is not Vilnius's Church of St Peter and Paul.
Brickwork, restrained openings and the tower's vertical accent create a distinctive but unshowy village church. Most visitors experience it from outside, since there is no permanent museum display or assured tourist entry.
Leave room in photographs for the churchyard trees. The surrounding landscape helps show how the one tower and cross plan read in Karkažiškė rather than as isolated facade details.
A Pabradė rectorate connection is not a shared building
The Vilnius Archdiocese rectorate list presents Karkažiškė within a pastoral structure associated with Pabradė Parish of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Families. It is an administrative and pastoral relationship; the Karkažiškė church remains a separate building at its own site.
When planning a route, search for Karkažiškė and Bažnyčios Street. The Pabradė church is a separate building with its own address and coordinates, so check its visiting conditions separately.
Karkažiškė has its own history, village scale, and visiting arrangements, so plan it as a separate stop.
A short visit around the diocesan schedule
The Vilnius Archdiocese lists Sunday Mass at 12:00 in Polish and a Sunday opening window from 11:00 to 13:30. Confirm the window again before travelling.
General daily tourist hours, a ticket price, parking arrangements and full accessibility details are not listed. Treat the church as a worship space: do not photograph during Mass without permission and do not disrupt the local community.
Allow 30-45 minutes for the exterior and a quiet look around. Enter only during the opening window or with parish permission.
