Places to visit in Pasval district

On the initiative of Jeronimas Šarkevičius, the parson of Krinčinas, and Karpiai, the local landowners of Baluškiai, and with the donations of the surrounding people, the construction of a brick chapel, much larger than the old wooden one, began in 1750. There was no permission to build a prayer house, so it was a serious violation. Only in 1782 the Pope himself signed such a document.

The church built in 1803 has baroque and classicism features. It is believed that the sculpture of Jesus of Nazareth in the high altar of the church has magic powers – it heals the most seriously ill.

Daujėnai Pentecost is celebrated every year – the church festival of this region that have been around for more than a century. Pentecost church festival lasted the whole week, worshipers came even from Žemaitija. The most pious ones used to crawl several kilometers to the church on their knees. To this day, many people come to the church festival not only from Pasvalys, the natives, who spread all over Lithuania, return!

The first church is mentioned in 1585. The second was built in 1611 by Dimitrijus Kurbskis who fled from the Russian tsar. It was given 7 voloks of land with serfs. A parish school was established in 1611. The inventory already mentions the new church of Krinčinas in 1736. It was looted by rebels of Kosciuška in 1794.

The current church was built in 1782 under the care of provost Jonas Jeronimas Šarkevičius. Poet Antanas Vienažindys (1841–1892) was vicar here for six years.

The church is of late baroque style with rectangular plan, basilican, and has two towers. Interior of 3 naves. There are 5 altars. A belfry of historic forms stands in the churchyard.

After the defeat during the uprising against tsarist Russia in 1863, families of Russian colonists were settled in Lithuanian villages. An Orthodox community was established in the village of Gegabrasta. It had its own school, cemetery, and built a cozy house of prayer – a small wooden church in the late 19th century. Bright yellow with even brighter green domes, the sanctuary shines romantically in the tranquillity of the pine forest. There is no longer a Russian community in the village of Gegabrasta, but the church is functioning, the titular church festival is held every year in May, believers from all over the region of Panevėžys come to it.

In the thick of the forest is hidden the centuries old yellow shrine. It is difficult to trace its history because it is studied very little. Historical sources testify that the chapel was built in 1736. Damaged, destroyed, and rebuilt many times. Once a year – on the last Sunday of August – the chapel comes alive and invites you to the church festival of St. Augustine. Lithuanian partisans are buried in the churchyard.

It is believed that a small church could have stood in Pumpėnai in the first half of the 17th century. However, the information is more accurate that landowners Jurgis and Povilas Zavadskiai settled Carmelite monks in the town and built a prayer house for them no later than 1665. The sanctuary and the entire monastery complex burned down in 1770. Not long after, in 1797, the disaster happened again – the buildings, rebuilt from the funds of the monks, burned down. The time has come to have a brick church in Pumpėnai. In order for the parishioners to gather for prayer, the Carmelites set up a temporary structure made of clay covered with straw (šopa). Finally the current stone and brick church was completed in 1818. At that time, 5 Carmelite monks lived in Pumpėnai, they had a jurydyka in the town. After the uprising of 1831, the Russian authorities closed the monastery, but the monastery building remained for the parish. 20-register organ was installed in 1898.

The church is in the late baroque style, it also has features of classicism, with a rectangular plan, of hall layout, and without a tower. Interior of 3 naves, vaulted. A stone masonry belfry is built into the churchyard fence.

The wooden church of folk architectural shapes was built in 1853. Later, it was enlarged and a brick belfry was built at the expense of the landowner Pranciškus Karpis and the parishioners. Antanas Juška, a well-known collector and researcher of Lithuanian folklore, was a provost in Pušalotas in 1855-1862. He renovated the church, built a rectory. An organ was installed in 1882. During the period of the press ban, priest Jonas Jaskevičius organized the distribution of the Lithuanian press, patronized secret Lithuanian schools, and built a shelter. J. Jaskevičius was active in the Pušalotas company of the Joniškėlis partisan battalion in the years of independence struggles in 1919-1920, and is buried in the churchyard.

The first church of Saločiai was small, wooden. Radvilos of Biržai expropriated the property of the Catholic parish, destroyed the church and built a prayer house of Reformed Protestants in its place in 16th century. Catholics sued Radvila in 1632 and won the case. A new wooden church was built approximately in 1755. It burned down on 26 July 1944, the belfry bell melted during the fire. Under the care of administrators-priests Kazimieras Pukenis and Antanas Balys, the church was set up in a brick two-story rectory in 1945.

There was a will to build a church in the village even before the WWI. The priest Adomas Kačkus sent to Skrebotiškis in 1918 finally started the works. The old brick granary was converted into a church, a wooden tower and belfry were added. Farmer Juozapas Žagrakalys donated 15 hectares of land to the church in 1922. The interior of the church was badly damaged by fire in 1993, luckily the people, who got there quickly, managed to put it out.

The first wooden chapel of Vaškai was built around 1665. It was served by the provost of Saločiai. In the early 18th century, during the wars with the Swedes and the plague, the chapel was abandoned. The landowner of Zvanagala Andriejus Staševskis built a new wooden church in 1766, it was granted parish rights (before that it was a branch of Saločiai). The landowners of the area assigned a volok of land and 13 thousand auksinas to the church. After the church became old in 1793 a new wooden belfry was built next to it.

The current church was built in 1881 through the efforts of pastor Bronius Stasevičius. 25-register organ was installed in 1887. The sanctuary has features of Romanesque and Classicism style.

The chapel was dedicated to the memory of Lieutenant General Tomas Vavžeckis, commander of the uprising of 1794 against Tsarist Russia. He gathered the rebels in the vicinity of Pušalotas, later led the Žemaičiai division, and after Tadas Kosciuška was captured, he was appointed the commander of the entire uprising. The chapel was funded by Juozapas Vavžeckis, the brother of Tomas Vavžeckis, manager of Niurkoniai Manor. The sanctuary was built in 1828. Local landowners were buried in its dungeons. This is one of the most beautiful late classicism chapels in Lithuania. In addition, it is the only architectural monument in Lithuania dedicated to the commemoration of the uprising of 1794. In the nearby fields, there is a preserved stone pillar of the Niurkoniai Manor surrounded by legends. The chapel has not been restored, but church festival of St. Aloyzas takes place here every year in June.

There was a wooden church or chapel in Joniškėlis, then called Janiškiai, since 1685. It was funded by landlady Kotryna Stankevičiūtė-Puzinienė. The shrine stood in the current old cemetery, called “Mūrinės”. It was destroyed by the participants of the uprising of T. Kosciuszko in 1794: they robbed the rectory, requisitioned liturgical supplies. During the incident, the shrine was set on fire, possibly to cover the tracks or in the heat of the conflict. It is known that already Benediktas Karpis, the landowner of Joniškėlis, started the construction of a new brick shrine on the outskirts of the town near Mažupė in 1788. The church was completed in 1792. It is a valuable monument of early classicism architecture. Its interior has expressive baroque and neo-baroque forms, a rather unified style. The large altar and the tower of a very distinctive shape stand out – a rarity in Lithuanian sacral architecture. A coffin motif can be seen in the shape of the church. According to the legend, Karpis, who killed his brother, had to build exactly such a church on the order of the Pope, which would remind him of the terrible crime every day.

The only legacy of the reformation movement in Pasvalys region. The Reformation reached Švobiškis in the late 16th century. Martynas Švoba, a nobleman from Upytė Powiat (county), founded the Continental Reformed Protestantism parish in 1606 by donating to it the manor of his name near Mūša.

The current brick church was built in 1789.

The community of Continental Reformed Protestants is alive to this day, services and religious festivals are held.

The brick building of the synagogue was built in 1913 in place of a burnt wooden Jewish sanctuary. The synagogue was not only the center of spiritual, but also cultural and social life of Jews of Pušalotas, community meetings were held here. The funds for the construction were collected by countrymen living in the United States.

A tragic episode is related to the construction of the synagogue. The money that came from across the Atlantic were guarded by Reuvenas Brogas, a pharmacist and a Rabbi at the same time. Killers who broke into the house at night killed the rabbi, his wife, and seriously injured his son. Young Israelis slept in the other room. The grandchildren who survived the family tragedy were raised by their grandmother who lived in Panevėžys. As an adult, Israelis Brogas went to Israel, his son changed his ancestral last name and became Ehud Barak. This name is well known in international politics: Prime Minister of Israel, head of ministries of defense, foreign affairs, and others.

During the Soviet era, a collective farm dairy, a canning factory, an artificial leather workshop, and a mill operated in the synagogue. Pušalotas Synagogue is the only fully preserved Jewish prayer house in Pasvalys District.