- Place
- Šakiai District Municipality
- Region
- Suvalkija
- Type
- wooden Catholic church with a separate bell tower
- Address
- 6 Bažnyčios Street, Slavikai, 71361 Šakiai District
- Coordinates
- 54.95052, 22.73931
- Visit duration
- 30-60 minutes; longer if you explore the churchyard and Slavikai surroundings
- Best time
- before the 12:00 Saturday or Sunday Mass, or by arranging a visit with the parish
Slavikai Church, Slavikai Catholic Church of St Anne
A wooden church on the Slavikai rise
Slavikai Church of St Anne stands at 6 Bažnyčios Street in Slavikai, near the Šešupė borderland landscape. Its orange and brown timber nave is joined by two small front turrets, while a larger wooden bell tower stands separately in the churchyard. The asymmetrical view and leafy setting are central to the site's identity.
Use 6 Bažnyčios Street in navigation and visitor information. Parish information confirms this address; number 8 is not an alternative entrance.
The 1835 building and earlier churches
The present wooden church was built in 1835 during the ministry of priest Laurynas Tautkevičius. The first Slavikai church is dated 1752 in diocesan history and 1754 in parish material; both dates refer to an earlier building separate from the present one.
Consecration is also described differently, with 1835 and 1840 appearing in accounts, and with the bishop's first name spelled Povilas or Paulius Strašinskis. The current building rose in 1835, while the consecration year remains varied in the descriptions.
Turrets, bell tower, and churchyard
The main volume is described as a towerless rectangular timber building, but two small turrets are clearly visible on its façade. The third vertical accent is the separate three-storey wooden bell tower in the churchyard. This arrangement distinguishes the church from a single-tower masonry building.
Inside, a pale green and cream timber-panel interior includes a three-nave layout, painted and gilded arches and altar elements, statues, pews, and chandeliers. Church, roof, bell-tower, and interior elements were renovated in 2016-2019; a new altar and pulpit were consecrated in 2024.
Slavikai and the book-smuggling period
The Slavikai parish story reaches into the Lithuanian press-ban period. The diocesan history mentions priest Pranciškus Andriukaitis helping book smugglers from 1858 to 1888, and records a parish library and reading room operating in 1907. The church therefore opens a conversation about a rural community's network of learning, not only its architecture.
The diocesan source also records that German soldiers shot vicar Andrius Pesys on 13 August 1914. This documented wartime-memory episode adds context to the parish's early twentieth-century history.
Visiting and parish services
Mass is currently scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at 12:00, while the 2026 St Anne's Feast is planned for 26 July at 12:00. Dates and event schedules can change, so confirm them with the parish before travelling.
This is an active parish church, not a museum with guaranteed daily opening. Contact the parish about entering outside Mass, photographing the interior, or arriving as a group. A ticket office or fixed tourist opening hours are not listed for visitors.
