The Trakai authorities, which planned to connect the Karvinė and Bažnytėlė islands in Lake Galvė with a pedestrian bridge six years ago and were unable to do so due to lack of funds, are taking up this project again.
Karvinė Island connects both bridges to Trakai Castle, and Bažnytėlė Island is located southeast of it.
The municipality has announced a market consultation and intends to announce a contractor tender, the winner of which should build a wooden bridge connecting the islands and install trails in 2026–2027 for 1,2 million euros.
"This idea has been around for many years and has been discussed repeatedly during various meetings with residents (…). The project aims to modernize and create public tourism infrastructure by adapting natural and cultural objects for visiting. To this end, we want to offer residents and city guests the opportunity to get acquainted with and visit as many cultural objects as possible, one of which is Bažnytėlė Island in Lake Galvė," the municipality said in a comment to BNS.
According to her, after signing an agreement in 2019 for financing from European Union funds and preparing a bridge project, problems arose in 2020 and the project stalled.
"The bids received for the work significantly exceeded the amount of funds allocated for procurement or no bids were received. With a limited amount in the project, it was not possible to purchase the work and implement part of the project," the municipality said.
According to her, last June, seven municipalities in the Vilnius region agreed on a regional functional zone strategy for 2024–2029, which will help Trakai implement the project.
According to the agreement, the districts of Šalčininkai, Širvintos, Švenčionys, Trakai, Ukmergė and Vilnius, as well as Elektrėnai, decided to jointly plan investments and cooperate in resources.
According to the Trakai Municipality, 1,2 million euros have been allocated for the construction of a pedestrian bridge on Lake Galvė, half of this amount is European, 35 percent is co-financing, and 15 percent is municipal funds.
In addition, the previously prepared architectural design is still appropriate, a new one will not be needed.
The then head of the Trakai Historical National Park department, Andžela Kriaučiūnienė, told LRT in 2019 that during underwater archaeological research, bridge piles were found and it was determined that the bridge between Karvinė and Bažnytėlė islands was four meters wide.
As LRT wrote at the time, Vytautas the Great had built a small Greek rite church on Bažnytėlė Island for his second Orthodox wife, Juliana, and a bridge to the island.
Trakai-visit.lt reports that Sigismund the Elder gave this island with a cherry orchard to Ivan Sapieha, who later passed it on to his cousin John, who built the St. George Church there, which became the Sapieha mausoleum. The brick church, destroyed during the war, was given to the Trakai Archimandrite in 1666, but collapsed beyond repair, and it was last mentioned in 1701.
The ruins of St. George's Church are included in the Register of Cultural Properties.
There are 21 islands in Lake Galvė, the most famous of which is Pilies Island, where Trakai Castle stands. Two pedestrian bridges connect it with Karvinė Island and the city of Trakai.
Author Aurimas Ragelis
