The market settlement on the Šešupė River is mentioned in 1566 as Lastainen. The first church was probably built here in 1578. The present church stands on a hill on the right bank. It was built to sketches by Stüler in the Gothic Revival style in 1874-77 (A. Boetticher). The foundation stone was laid on 8 June 1875, and it was consecrated on 5 October 1877 (W. Hubatsch).
The church is of fired brick, with the chancel to the east flanked by two annexes. The tower is to the west, with two annexes. Fine lancet windows — large upper ones and small paired lower ones — are separated by small buttresses. Inside, the central nave had a wooden barrel ceiling, and the side aisles flat ceilings. The altar niche has a vaulted ceiling; the altar is decorated with wood carving.
The church survived the Second World War and was used as a warehouse.
As of 1987, practically everything was intact; only a square doorway had been knocked through the south wall. Of the galleries only the wooden columns with crossbeams remained. In 1989 some work was being done inside near the altar. In the upper part of the tower, in its south-eastern corner, an unexploded artillery shell was sticking out.
In 1991 the church was handed over to the Orthodox Church, repairs were carried out, and today it houses the Orthodox Church of the Holy Chief Apostles Peter and Paul.
Photos: Bildarchiv Ostpreußen, bildarchiv-ostpreussen.de, Mikhail Ogorodnikov
Translated from Russian with the help of AI (Claude, Anthropic), October 2026.
