You can’t throw a rock in old Vilnius without hitting a church, not that anyone should throw rocks at churches, of course. Last night I stood with a few hundred others in the nave of St. Casimir’s, a gorgeous Renaissance-era structure, and heard a wonderful organ concert.

There are all kinds of churches here; Catholic, Russian Orthodox, Uniate, Evangelical – and the funny thing is they seem to be color-coded, not according to denomination but rather according to architectural style. Salmon pink for Renaissance, yellow for Baroque, white for neo-Classical. St. Anne’s, however, is plain brick, indicating it’s from the actual Gothic period – 16th century. 

You can see a second (I believe Franciscan) church just behind St. Anne’s. They cluster together also near a chapel called Ostra Brama, or the Gate of Dawn, which features a black Madonna and attracts a lot of pilgrims.

Same chapel from the other side.