Post on 09-Oct-2020
Lithuanian Collector Coins
Sapieha Palace
Denomination: €20 On the edge of the coin: Lietuvos rūmai ir dvarai (Lithanian Castles and Manors)
Silver Ag 925 Quality: proof
Diameter: 38.61 mm Weight: 28.28 g
Mintage: 2,500 pcs Designed by Eglė Ratkutė
Issued in 2019
Information at the Bank of Lithuania:+370 5 268 0316gpd@lb.ltwww.lb.ltPurchase at: www.coins.lb.lt
Lithuanian Collector Coins© Lietuvos bankas, 2019
Coins photographed by Arūnas BaltėnasDesigned by Liudas Parulskis
Photo credits: Mindaugas Kaminskas, Rūta Janonienė, Evaldas Purlys, Linas Girlevičius, Liudas ParulskisIllustration credits: Lithuanian Art Museum (T-1566), Russian Central State Military Historical Archive (f. 50, N1/27)
Printed by UAB INDIGO printwww.indigoprint.ltPublished by the Bank of LithuaniaGedimino pr. 6, LT-01103 Vilnius
Coins minted at
the Lithuanian Mint
www.lithuanian-mint.lt
political turmoil. After the death of Jan Kazimierz
Sapieha the Younger, the residency was taken
over by his descendants. Throughout the 18th
century, the Palace was repaired and partly
reconstructed, its interior was redesigned,
although the exterior did not change much.
At the end of the 18th century, Franciszek
Sapieha, Artillery General of Lithuania,
sold the Palace to Józef and Ludwika
Kossakowski who, in turn, sold it in 1806
to Wojciech Pusłowski, the Slonim powiat
szlachta Marshal, who later resold it to the
city of Vilnius. In 1809, the Palace and its
surrounding grounds were restructured into
a military hospital. In order to accommodate
the Palace to the new functions, it was
reconstructed time and again. During the
1843-1848 reconstruction, workers rebuilt the
upper part of the Palace and altered many
parts of its layout, thus destroying almost the
entire interior architecture and decor.
In Soviet times, Sapieha Palace housed a
war school. Only in late 1992 it was returned to
the Lithuanian state. In 2010, design proposals
for its restoration were presented by the
architect Evaldas Purlys. The restoration itself
started in 2012, which allowed uncovering the
Baroque architecture of the facade, recreating
interior of the Baroque Palace and restoring
the authentic architectural elements.
Dr. (HP) Rūta Janonienė
Fragment of a stucco molding in the northern gallery, end of the 17th century (2013)
Fragment of the heraldic furnace tile with the coat of arms of Peter Nonhart (2011)
Furnace tile from Sapieha Palace (2011)
LITHUANIAN CASTLES AND MANORS
Lithuanian Collector CoinsLITHUANIAN CASTLES AND MANORSSapieha Palace
Coin dedicated to Sapieha Palace(from the series ‘Lithuanian Castles and Manors’)
Denomination: €20On the edge of the coin: Lithuanian Castles and ManorsQuality: proofDiameter: 38.61 mmWeight: 28.28 gMintage: 2,500 pcsDesigned by Eglė RatkutėIssued in 2019
First fl oor plan of Sapieha Palace, drawing by Joseph Poussier, 1809
Lietuvos skautų brolijos nario Gedimino Vaitekavičiaus knygelė.
SAPIEHA PALACESapieha Palace and the surrounding park in Vilnius,
Antakalnis district, are a signifi cant monument of
history and art of the Baroque period. The story
behind the Palace fi rst of all revolves around Jan
Kazimierz Sapieha the Younger (1637-1720) who
was a great battle commander, the Voivode of
Vilnius and Grand Hetman of the Grand Duchy
of Lithuania. Sapieha Palace in Antakalnis was
built as part of the nobleman’s dynastic plans –
it was meant to be a visual representation and
commemoration of his social position.
Research shows that Sapieha Palace, erected
at the end of the 17th century, was built on the ruins
of some older masonry. The fi rst buildings started
emerging in this picturesque suburb of Vilnius
in the 16th century. They belonged to diff erent
owners, including a famous castellan of Vilnius and
architect Peter Nonhart who ruled over Antakalnis
Manor in the fi rst half of the 17th century, later –
the Pac family and the Jesuit novitiate. Several
land plots in Antakalnis were purchased
from their owners to form a large jurydyka of
the Sapieha family. The new premises were
angled to the direction of the Neris River, with
a Baroque-style park stretching between
the Palace and Antakalnis street. Nearby, on
the northern side of the park, Jan Kazimierz
Sapieha the Younger established the Holy
Trinity Monastery alongside the Church of
the Saviour. Most active in 1689-1692, the
construction works were supervised by an
Italian architect Giovanni Battista Frediani. The
architect used part of the walls of Nonhart
Palace, yet radically transformed the building
and created a completely new type of palace,
adapting it to the new times. It was turned into a
suburban residence – a summer villa featuring
no defence elements. The symmetrical
frontispiece, like the solemn grand drape in the
theatre, covers the irregular building shape and
creates an impression of harmony, whereas
the side facades open up to the landscape in
wide two-storey arched galleries that fi ll the
premises with light. The entire architectural
composition of the Palace is authentic and
unique. An epitaph plate on the facade boasts
a Latin inscription: “Antakalnis is the resting
place of ancient heroes. Having risen from
the ruins, the immense palace will protect in
peace those tired in war. In the year of our Lord
1691”. The inscription not only commemorates
the construction date but also determines
some of the main concepts behind the
decor choices. These are the themes of the
peaceful post-war period, commemoration
of the past heroes and prosperity fostered
by the current owners. Such motifs were
embodied by exceptional and plentiful
stucco mouldings on the facade and inside
the halls, as well as murals, furnace tiles and
other decorative elements.
The exceptional artistic value of Sapieha
Palace was determined by both the
prominent fi gure of its owner and the artists’
virtuosity. The interior and exterior decor was
created by two famous Italian artists working
in Lithuania – Giovanni Pietro Perti (architect
and sculptor) and Michele Arcangelo
Palloni (painter). Unfortunately, only some
fragments of murals and stucco mouldings
that survived through the years still hint at the
artistic level and nature of the decor created
by these eminent artists.
The interior works of the Palace in
Antakalnis were never fi nished due to certain
unfavourable factors and the fact that the
Sapieha family lost some of its power amid
The frontispiece of Sapieha Palace by Jonas Šolma, post-1830(?)
Southern part of Sapieha Palace before the restoration (2011)
Sapieha Palace during the restoration (2015)
An 1691 epitaph plate from the facade (2011)
Western facade decoration fragment with the monogram of Jan Kazimierz Sapieha (2011)
Facade decoration fragment (2011)
Fish-eye view of Sapieha Palace (2019)