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)