DOMUS MARIA hotel is set in a former Discalced Carmelites’ monastery compound – founded in 1626 – which also includes the St. Teresa Church and the Gate of Dawn Chapel, famous for its miraculous painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy.

The convent accommodated up to 45 friars and served as a residence of the Order’s Lithuanian Prior Provincial. On the ground floor there were several monks’ cells, a dining room (Refectorium), a kitchen, a storehouse, a barn, a bakery and a candle-making facility. There were more cells (Dormitorium), library and meeting room (Lectorium) on the first and on the second floors. The monastery had also a brewery and two gardens. 

The monastery suffered from Napoleon’s invasion in 1812, followed by the czarist Russia’s repressions and eventual forced closure in 1844. After being used as a boarding school, hostel and vocational school, the convent’s premises were returned to the Carmelites only in 1930. Yet, when Nazis came friars were arrested and interned in 1942. During the Soviet period, the monastery buildings were turned into a technical school. 

After re-establishing Lithuania’s independence, the convent premises were given back to the Catholic Church. The historical buildings of the monastery were restored by the Vilnius’ Archdiocese in the year 2000 with a support from the German charitable organization Renovabis.

DOMUS MARIA hotel was founded in 2003 to serve the accommodation needs of Vilnius’ visitors – in line with the long-standing tradition of Catholic hospitality.