Kauno Šv. Mikalojaus bažnyčios fundatorių paieška: kelių dokumentų tyrimas
Search of Sponsors of St. Nicholas Church in Kaunas: The Analysis of Several Documents

Summary/Abstract: This article analyses the contents of two documents related to the early history of Kaunas St. Nicholas Church: a letter of Cardinals from Rome (1493), which grants 100 days of indulgence for the individuals who visit the church on St. Nicholas, St. Bartholomew, St. Margarita, and St. Magdalena Day, and the day of dedication of the church; a letter by Stanislovas Kęsgaila (1528), by which priest Baltramiejus Jonaitis from Kaunas is presented with a piece of land for his merits, that does not belong to the city of Kaunas and is near St. Nicholas Church and passing across the Neris, next to the house which belonged to Jonušas Kostevičius. The manor of Kęsgaila’s ancestors stood on this site long time ago. The present article discusses various and often inaccurate interpretations of these documents in historiography. At the end of the article, these two documents are published (only their copies in Polish have survived). The article raises an assumption that the building of St. Nicholas Church might have been influenced by Smolensk voivode Mikalaj Ilinicz in the second half of the 15th century.

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