Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Kaunas

Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
*Švč. Jėzaus Širdies bažnyčia*
Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; Švč. Jėzaus Širdies bažnyčia
	Main façade of the church
Religion
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
District	Šančiai
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Operational
Leadership	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kaunas
Location
Location	Kaunas, Lithuania
Geographic coordinates	54°52'43" N, 23°56'35" E
Architecture
Architect(s)	Algirdas Šalkauskis, Adolfas Netyksa, Pranas Markūnas
Type	Church
Style	Functionalism/Modern
Groundbreaking	1935
Completed	1938
Specifications
Spire(s)	2
Materials	Masonry (brick), Ferroconcrete
Website
	kaunoarkivyskupija.lt

Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Lithuanian: Švč. Jėzaus Širdies bažnyčia) is a Roman Catholic church in Šančiai elderate of Kaunas, Lithuania.^[1]^[2]

The church is characterised by its monumentality, its austere exterior forms and restrained interior. It is a significant and rare example of modern interwar sacred architecture in Lithuania. Innovative reinforced concrete structures were used in the construction of the church. The thin-walled shell roof structure (one of the first in Lithuania) was designed by engineer P. Markūnas. The church is rectangular in plan, massive, with two low towers and two sacristies at the side facades, which form a composition of regular geometric shapes. The roof is pitched and of reinforced concrete shell construction. The roof covering is made of tin sheets. The façades of the building have recessed stained-glass window openings, a profiled multi-paned surround in the central part of the front wall, and a cornice crowning the eaves. The interior is a basilican space of 3 bays, with narrow side aisles and galleries on the first floor and two narrow staircases. The cylindrical vault of the ceiling is formed by diagonal cross-beams forming 121 rhombic caissons (recesses).