The construction of the Kaunas Bernardine Monastery started outside the western border of Kaunas. The Monastery land was separated from the town land only by the narrow Bernardine lane. The Monastery building created a “U” shape, made up of three parts: the eastern, southern and western wings. On the northern side, the eastern and western wings of the Monastery connect to the Church. The Monastery building is two-floors high. On the ground floor, the premises are allocated for common usage: the courtyard is enclosed by the corridor, the eastern building houses winter and summer sacristies, the room of the monastery superior, the southern – the reception rooms, refectory, and the western – the kitchen. The first floor contained the friars’ bedrooms – the cells. In the middle of the 19th century, the Monastery, still suffering the damage of the 1812 war, was closed. In 1864, the seminary in Varniai was moved to Kaunas Bernardine monastery. The monastery building was reconstructed and the second floor, which was built at the beginning of the 20th century, housed the auditoriums.

Asta Prikockienė