During the times of idolatry, a holy Lithuanian oak grove flourished in the area of the current Bernardine Garden. A part of it was cut down and the first wife of Grand Duke Vytautas established the Church of St Anna. The rest of the holy oak grove Casimir IV Jagiellon was bestowed to the Bernardine monks.
The Church of St, Anna is a masterpiece of late Gothic architecture surrounded. In 1812 the French army marched through Lithuania, Napoleon admired the St. Anne's Church and declared that he would like to take it back with him to Paris in his palm.
However, this church originally wasn’t built like this. It is believed that the first St. Anna's church was destroyed by the fire in 1530. Later it was rebuilt, and its Flamboyant Gothic style has survived to this day. The church was rebuilt by King Sigismund, who wanted it to become a place of eternal rest for him and his loved ones.
There is a similar building in Kaunas, the so-called Thunder House. It is believed that both buildings were designed by the same architect. The third wife of the Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania, Julijona, who died in 1448, is buried in St. Anna's church.
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