Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary dominates the centre of Palanga with its red-brick façade and twin towers. Built in 1897 in a Neo-Gothic style, it's the most architecturally substantial building in town — which is partly a measure of how modest the town's other architecture is, but the church itself is genuinely handsome.

The interior is cool and dim in contrast to the bright summer street outside, and there's usually a steady stream of visitors during the day. The church sits at the foot of Basanavicius Street, so passing through is almost inevitable on any walk toward the pier.

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The church was built in 1897 and almost immediately became a flashpoint between the Russian imperial authorities and Lithuanian Catholics. The tsarist government banned Lithuanian-language publications and religious services, and the Palanga parish was one of the centres of quiet resistance — priests conducted services in Lithuanian despite the ban, and the congregation protected them. The church's bell tower was one of the few prominent Lithuanian-language landmarks that survived the suppression.

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