The church in Kintai was built or relocated in 1705, according to locals, after the collapse of a medieval church in Ventė dating back to Teutonic times. It is a typical early 18th-century East Prussian architectural monument, designed in the plan of the Teutonic Order’s Gothic churches and featuring a historic church tower. Kintai became a parish centre, although as a filial chapel of the Priekulė parish, it had existed since 1550.
The fate of this House of God was not merciful: during the Soviet era it was converted into a collective farm warehouse for agricultural tools, fertilisers, and grain. In 1987, the church was restored and converted into the Kintai exhibition and concert hall. Since then, it has been used for concerts, exhibitions, and even the celebration of Vydūnas’s 120th anniversary.
Although an Evangelical Lutheran church, since Lithuania’s independence it has also been used by Catholics. The small local Lutheran congregation now worships in nearby parish buildings, which were converted to prayer houses after the war.
Lately, the Grand Church of Kintai—locally known as the “great church”—has been gradually becoming a cultural hub. It now hosts concerts of the Kintai Summer Festival, enjoyed not only by locals but also by visitors from Šilutė, Klaipėda and surrounding districts. The festival has earned recognition as a cultural event of European calibre.