Būtingė Evangelical Lutheran Church
In 1520, a Catholic church was built in Elija (Šventoji). After 1540, the priest of Elija converted to Lutheranism, and the church became closer to the local Curonians. In the autumn of 1637, a flood washed away the church. Construction of a new church began, and in 1728, Pastor Venkis consecrated it. In 1809, the church in Elija collapsed once again. In 1816, Tsar Alexander I visited the Courland Governorate. During the ceremony to welcome him, Pastor Baunbach of Rucava presented the tsar with a request from the communities of Būtingė, Elija, and other surrounding villages to rebuild the Elija Church. Alexander I agreed and allocated 40,000 rubles for the project. There was a long dispute over the location of the church, but in 1822, the foundations of a brick church were laid near the Būtingė manor, and in 1824, the church was consecrated. Rumors persisted in the area that the architect and the administrator of the Būtingė manor had deceived the people and built the church in Būtingė, when in fact the tsar’s favor had been granted to Elijah. The parish of Būtingė (Šventoji) was previously a branch of the Rucava parish.
Cultural heritage object in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Būtingė:
