The Radziwiłł Mausoleum
in Nesvizh.
Research

The period between 1931 and 1932 is considered to be the beginning of archeological investigations of churches in Lithuania. True, as far back as 1930, a search for the remains of Vytautas the Great (around 1350-1430) in the vaults of the Vilnius Cathedral23456 was started¹“Karalių kriptos atradimas Vilniaus Katedros požemiuose”, Bažnytinio paveldo muziejus, prepared by Gintvilė Pugačevskytė, 2014, [accessed 14.09.2019], [electronic], available at: www.bpmuziejus.lt/uploads/moksliniai%20straipsniai%20pdf/Straipsnis%20Karaliu%20kripta.pdf.. In that year the 500th death anniversary of the ruler was commemorated. In 1931, the Cathedral was severely affected by the flood. The Cathedral Rescue Committee (Komitet Ratowania Bazyliki Wileńskiej; headed by Juljusz Klos, Professor at Stefan Batory University in Vilnius) was set up and adequate work was undertaken. Alongside architectural, engineering, geological investigations and foundation reinforcement work, archaeological excavations were also carried out²Vytautas Urbanavičius, Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės valdovų ir didikų panteonas Vilniuje, Vilnius: Nacionalinis muziejus Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės valdovų rūmai, 2018, p. 33-64; Napaleonas Kitkauskas, Vilniaus pilys: istorija, statyba, architektūra, Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras, 2012, p. 170. Also see Bazylika Wileńska, [Wilno]: Wydawnictwo Komitetu Ratowania Bazyliki Wileńskiej, 1932.. On 26 August 1931, the burial urn with the heart of the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Władysław IV Vasa (1595-1648) was discovered under the altar of St. Casimir Chapel. On 21 September the remains of the ruler Alexander Jagiellon (1461-1506) and Sigismund II Augustus’ wives Elisabeth Habsburg (1526-1545) and Barbara Radziwiłł (around 1522-1551) were discovered in the secret crypt³Vytautas Urbanavičius, op. cit., p. 80-91; Algė Andriulytė, “Karališkųjų palaikų atradimas Vilniaus Arkikatedroje 1931 m.: atvaizdų kolekcija”, Lietuvos kultūros karališkasis dėmuo: įvaizdžiai, simboliai, reliktai (series Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis, vol. 65-66), compiled by Jolita Liškevičienė, Sigita Maslauskaitė, Gabija Surdokaitė, Vilnius: Vilniaus dailės akademijos leidykla, 2012, p. 332-333; Napalys Kitkauskas, Vilniaus Arkikatedros požemiai, Vilnius: Kultūra, 1994, p. 30..

Another place that attracted attention of the public and researchers was the Church of the Holy Spirit (Dominican) in Vilnius89. The burials in the vaults of the church were already described in the 18th century.⁴Antanas Rimvydas Čaplinskas, Vilniaus gatvių istorija. Šv. Jono, Dominikonų, Trakų gatvės, Vilnius: Charibdė, 2008, p. 165. In 1934-1936, members of the Academic Club of Tramps (Akademicki Klub Włóczęgów) of Stefan Batory University in Vilnius tried to manage and register these burials; unfortunately, there is little knowledge of these works⁵Dario Piombino-Mascali, et al., “The Lithuanian Mummy Project: A Historical Introduction”, Lietuvos archeologija, 2015, vol. 41, p. 131-142.. Care was also taken of the crypt of the Sapieha family in the Church of St. Michael the Archangel: in 1933, in commemorating the 300th death anniversary of its benefactor Lew Sapieha it was renovated⁶“Išskirtinė galimybė aplankyti Sapiegų šeimos kriptą ir trijų parodų uždarymo ekskursijos”, Bažnytinio paveldo muziejus, [accessed 21.08.2018], [electronic], available at: www.bpmuziejus.lt/lt/pagrindinis-meniu/renginiai.html,isskirtine-galimybe-aplankyti-sapiegu-seimos-kripta-ir-triju-parodu-uzdarymo-ekskursijos..

All that took place in Vilnius during the interwar period, under the rule of Poland.

During the interwar period, the burial place of the Radziwiłł family in the Evangelical Reformed Church in Kėdainiai 1213 received more attention. A letter to the Minister of Education of Lithuania dated 22 June 1920 has survived, which mentions the Radziwiłł family’s “coffins containing bodies” that must be properly handled⁷Archive of Cultural Heritage Center (Kultūros paveldo centro archyvas), F3, A1, S123, 3336. See Rugilė Žostautaitė, Mumijos Lietuvoje: tyrimai, apsauga ir eksponavimas: [the master thesis; preserved at the Faculty of History of Vilnius University], 2016, p. 15.. Some later photos also testify to the interest; for example, in 1930s Prince Jonas Gedaminas-Beržanskas-Klausutis, Prince Krzystof Radziwiłł, Priest of the Evangelical Reformed Church Konstantinas Kurnatauskas, Colonel Pranas Jackevičius and officers of the First Hussars of the Grand Duke Lithuanian Hetman Jonušas Radvila Training Regiment had their pictures taken next to the sarcophagus of Janusz Radziwiłł (1612-1655)⁸“Prie Jonušo Radvilos (1612–1655) sarkofago Kėdainių evangelikų reformatų bažnyčios rūsyje”, photo A. Meištavičius, 1930s, Kėdainiai Regional Museum (Kėdainių krašto muziejus), Lietuvos integrali muziejų informacinė sistema, [accessed 01.07.2018], [electronic], available at: www.limis.lt/eksponatai/perziura/-/exhibit/preview/123350983?s_id=5ZOVT1JINaGf6fnI&s_ind=1834&valuable_type=EKSPONATAS..

Justina Poškienė