Address: Kęstučio g. 3, LT-97142 Kretinga, Lithuania
Website: liuteronai.lt
Service times: held several times a month according to a published schedule — it's best to check the current schedule on the parish website or by phone.
History
A Lutheran congregation existed in Kretinga as early as the 16th century, when the area was home to farmers and craftsmen of the Evangelical Lutheran faith who had moved from Prussia, though its early houses of worship were destroyed during the Counter-Reformation. In 1802 the tsar granted permission to build a wooden church, but lacking building materials the congregation instead bought and, in 1808, consecrated a brick building. A later wooden church burned down in 1854, and the brick church that replaced it was destroyed by fire in 1889. In 1897, under the leadership of pastor Johann Straumann, construction began on the present church: parish farmers hauled 850 cubic metres of stone and 60,000 bricks, the building was supported by believers from the Courland governorate and by King Wilhelm II of Prussia, timber was donated by the Catholic count Aleksandras Tyszkiewicz, and the stained-glass windows were funded by local Jewish merchants. The church was completed and consecrated in 1899.
Architecture
The church is built in the neo-Gothic style from unplastered stone masonry and has three naves. It stands at the southeastern corner of the Town Hall Square, facing Kęstučio Street, and together with the adjoining parish house forms a state-protected architectural monument complex, listed in the Lithuanian Register of Cultural Property since 2004 (unique code 29930). The church holds a Baroque organ built in 1785 by the Königsberg master Johann Preuss, originally made for the church in Werden, moved to the church in Kretingalė in 1827, and installed in Kretinga in 1899. It is the only known surviving authentic instrument by this organ builder.
Present-day function
The church remains an active place of worship of the Lithuanian Evangelical Lutheran Church. The Kretinga parish, together with the Priekulė and Palanga parishes, is served by pastor Darius Petkūnas. The congregation numbers around 400 believers in and around Kretinga. The parish house also hosts Saturday religious education classes for children and rehearsals of the children's and youth choirs.
Interesting facts
- Construction was supported across confessional lines — the Catholic count Tyszkiewicz donated timber, while local Jewish merchants funded the stained-glass windows.
- The church's organ is older than the building itself — built in 1785, it had already served two other churches before reaching Kretinga.
- King Wilhelm II of Prussia donated 1,500 marks toward the main altar, despite never having visited Kretinga himself.