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Top Attractions in Vilnius Old Town

Vilnius Castle Complex

The Vilnius Castle Complex, is a group of cultural, and historic structures on the left bank of the Neris River, near its confluence with the Vilnia River, in Vilnius, Lithuania. The buildings, which evolved between the 10th and 18th centuries, were one of Lithuanias major defensive structures. The complex consisted of three castles: the Upper, the Lower, and the Crooked . The Crooked Castle was burned down by the Teutonic Knights in 1390 and was never rebuilt. The Vilnius Castles were attacked several times by the Teutonic Order after 1390, but they did not succeed in taking the entire complex. Its complete capture occurred for the first time during the 1655 Battle of Vilnius. Soon afterwards, the severely damaged castles lost their importance, and many buildings were abandoned. During the Tsarist annexation, several historic buildings were demolished; many more were damaged during the fortress construction in the 19th century. Today, the remaining Gediminas Tower is a major symbol of the city of Vilnius and of the nation itself. Annually, on 1 January, the Lithuanian tricolor is hoisted on Gediminas Tower to commemorate Flag Day. The complex is part of the National Museum of Lithuania, one of the largest museums in the country.

Vilnius Cathedral

The Cathedral of Vilnius is the main Roman Catholic Cathedral of Lithuania. It is situated in Vilnius Old Town, just off of Cathedral Square. Dedicated to Saints Stanislaus and Ladislaus, the church is the heart of Catholic spiritual life in Lithuania. The coronations of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania took place within its confines. Inside its crypts and catacombs are buried many famous people from Lithuanian and Polish history including Vytautas, his wife Anna, his brother Sigismundhis cousin Švitrigaila, Saint Casimir, Alexander Jagiellon, and two wives of Sigismund II Augustus: Elisabeth of Habsburg and Barbara Radziwiłł . The heart of the Polish-Lithuanian king Władysław IV Vasa was buried there upon his death, although the rest of his body is buried at the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków. Inside, there are more than forty works of art dating from the 16th through 19th centuries, including frescoes and paintings of various sizes. During the restoration of the Cathedral, the altars of a presumed pagan temple and the original floor, laid during the reign of King Mindaugas, were uncovered. In addition, the remains of the cathedral built in 1387 were also located. A fresco dating from the end of the 14th century, the oldest known fresco in Lithuania, was found on the wall of one of the cathedrals underground chapels. During the Soviet regime initially the cathedral was converted into a warehouse. Masses were celebrated again starting in 1985, although the cathedral was still officially called "The Gallery of Images" at that time. In 1989, its status as a cathedral was restored.

Pilies Street

Pilies Street is one of the main streets in the Old Town of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. It is rather a short street, running from Cathedral Square to the Town Hall Square. Out of several locations across Vilnius used by market traders to sell the wares of folk artists, Pilies Street is the most popular. It has a natural advantage over the Town Hall Square as the street is generally busy and less likely to be interrupted by the political or cultural events commonly held at the Town Hall. Many people visit the street to buy gifts at Christmas or before going abroad to visit friends. The market is also popular with souvenir hunters. Souvenir shops offer amberware and amber jewelry as well as linen clothes. The street is also known for the Kaziukas Fair, when folk artists from all four corners of Lithuania gather here to display and sell their latest merchandise. Speaking of festivals, if something is being celebrated in Vilnius, Pilies Street is usually an excellent vantage point – most processions will make their way through here at some point. This is true whatever the festival – be it Christmas, Easter, the day of Restoration of Independence, or just a spontaneous celebration following a major win for the Lithuanian basketball team. The headquarters of Vilnius University are located between Pilies Street and University Street, . The House of the Signatories where the Declaration of Independence was signed on February 16, 1918 is also located on this street.

Slushko Palace

Slushko Palace in Vilnius, Lithuania is a Baroque palace situated on the left bank of Neris River in the Old Town elderate, former Antakalnis suburb of the city. The palace was erected in 1690–1700 by voivode of Polock Dominik Słuszko of the Clan of Ostoja, who ordered creating an artificial peninsula on Neris for the purpose of building the palace there. The peninsula was formed from the soil of the leveled down hill separating Antakalnis from the Vilnius Castles. Initially the façades of the palace were unified by a giant order of Ionic pilasters framing huge windows. It is believed that the decoration works of the palace were performed by Michelangelo Palloni and Giovanni Pietro Perti who was the architect of the palace. The Polish–Lithuanian rulers used to stay in the palace during their visits in the city after the Royal Palace was damaged. The Russian tsar Peter the Great stayed and had his headquarters established here in 1705 and 1709. After Słuszkos death the palace was owned by the Puzyna princely family since 1727 and by the Potocki family since 1745. The Piarist monks bought the palace in 1756 and established a collegiate and a printing house. Later it was bought by Michał Kazimierz Ogiński in 1766 and reconstructed by Pietro Rossi. The palace was confiscated by the tsarist government in 1794 and transformed into an apartment house. It housed a brewery of Dominik Zajkowski from 1803 until 1831 when the palace was taken by tsarist military. The building was rearranged, the floors were redivided into four, and the palace served as a military prison since 1872. The rich original interior and exterior of the palace have not survived. Nowadays the palace houses the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. In the meantime the outhouses are undergoing the restoration and the main palace is planned to come next. The palace is planned to regain its original two main floors layout and original Baroque style windows.

Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum

The Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum in Vilnius, Lithuania is dedicated to the historical and cultural heritage of Lithuanian Jewry. The museum was established in 1989 by the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture. Over the course of the following years, its exhibition items, many from earlier Jewish museums in Lithuania, were brought together. It received its current name in 1997, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the death of the Talmudic scholar Vilna Gaon. Its five branches focus on various aspects of history and culture. The Tolerance Centers collections include works of sacred, modern, and traditional art along with historical materials; The Green House is a Holocaust exhibit; the Paneriai Memorial is dedicated to the Paneriai Massacre; the Jacques Lipchitz Memorial Museum in Druskininkai exhibits his lithographs; and the former Tarbut Gymnasium displays the history of Lithuanian Jews in the interwar and Nazi period. The museum acquires and systematizes materials, issues publications, conducts research, organizes permanent and temporary exhibitions, and sponsors educational activities. In 2010, the Museum and the Austrian Verein Gedenkdienst joined forces to launch the Lithuanian Holocaust Atlas project. Expanding on previous research on Holocaust murder sites in Lithuania, the project created an internet data base, and in 2011 published the Lithuanian Holocaust Atlas, a 318-page volume reference book of 227 mass graves with detailed information on the location, coordinates, perpetrators, victims and their number. Dr. Arūnas Bubnys served as the projects historian.

House of the Signatories

The House of the Signatories is a Lithuanian historic landmark in Pilies Street, Vilnius, where on February 16, 1918, the Act of Independence of Lithuania was signed by twenty members of the Council of Lithuania. The building was first mentioned in writing in an edict issued in 1645. The house changed owners several times during the 17th and 18th centuries, and after major fires in the 18th century, it underwent a reconstruction and the third floor was built. In the late 19th century, Kazimierz Sztral renovated the building in a Neo-Renaissance style after a project by a Russian architect Alexiey Polozov. The second floor has decorative sculptures symbolizing agriculture and fishing. The third floor acquired two male busts. Mr. Sztral opened the famous "Biały Sztral" café, which operated until 1939. The cafe was named "White Sztral" to distinguish it from four other cafes owned by Kazimierz Sztrall, including "Zielony Sztral" and "Czerwony Sztral" . The cafe, frequented by local high society, was immortalised by Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński in his Vilnian Elegies. Although closed down following the Lithuanian takeover of the city, it was soon reopened and housed the "Ksantypa" cabaret run by artists who fled from Nazi-occupied part of Poland, among them Janusz Minkiewicz, Mieczysław Szpakiewicz, Stanisława Perzanowska, Marta Mirska and Światopełk Karpiński. As such it operated until the second Soviet occupation. The cafe was re-opened in 2000. Prior to 1918, the upper floors were used for rentals. The Lithuanian Relief Committee operated out of the building during World War I. In one of the Committees offices on the third floor, on February 16, 1918, the twenty members of the Council of Lithuania signed the Act of Independence of Lithuania, reestablishing Lithuanias independence. Afterwards the house was adapted to the needs of various Lithuanian organizations, as well as continuing to serve as a residence. Soon after Lithuania regained independence in 1990 from the Soviet Union, the house was dedicated as a museum, and opened to the public in 2000. Since 2003 the museum has been a branch of the National Museum of Lithuania. Annual commemoration ceremonies of the independence are held in the House of the Signatories on February 16.

Bernardinai Garden

Bernardinai Garden is a public park in the city of Vilnius, Lithuania. It is located on the right bank of the Vilnia River between the Gediminas Tower and Bernardine Monastery and it covers over 9 hectares. . Most of its territory is parkland, divided in the monastery exposition, the botanic exposition and other recreational territory including a childrens amusement park. It hosts a variety of festivals and exhibitions, including an amateur chess championship of Ostap Bender. History of Bernardinai Garden: Until the 14th century, in the territory of Bernardinai garden there was a Lithuanian pagan saint oaks wood. After Christianity the oaks were cut down and in 1469, when Lithuanian Grand Duke Kazimieras invited the Bernardine monks to Vilnius, the park was created. The monks rearranged the territory, set up a botanic exposition and did a lot of oher things. In 1864 the Russian tsar government closed Bernardinai garden, but about twenty years later the townspeople recovered this garden. It was reconstructed according to A. V. Strauss and J. Jasinskis project. But during the World War II Bernardinai garden was destroyed. In the Soviet Union times it was reconstructed for the second time and named Jaunimo sodas. In 2013 Bernardinai garden was reconstructed for the third time. Reconstruction works were done by „Vilnius city parks“ and partly funded by the European Union. Educational and recreational zones of Bernardinai Garden : The botanical exposition is a very special part of the park, where plants are sorted by groups and classes. They are planted in two types. The first type is from the lowest to the tallest and the second type is when the tallest plants are in the centre while the smallest ones are at the sides. In this exposition’s center there is a small pool, sacred water plants. The monastery garden exposition was developed with medicinal herbs, potherbs, and edible and tea plants. There is a small fountain in the center of the exposition and a pergola bower on which a lot of climber plants wind. In the rest territory of the park there are two fountains. The main fountain, which is situated in the center of Bernardinai garden, works all the day at weekends in a warm period of the year. On work days the fountain works only from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. as a magnificent light and music show. Also there is a rockery, a carousel, a playing ground for children, a giant chessboard, and checkers and chess tables. In a warm period of the year one can enjoy different expositions of sculptures.

Church of St. Casimir

Church of St. Casimir is a Roman Catholic church in Vilnius' Old Town, close to the Vilnius' Town Hall. It is the first and the oldest baroque church in Vilnius, built in 1618.[1] The construction of the church began in 1604 in memory of the holy prince Saint Casimir: it was built by the Jesuits with funding by the Great Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Lew Sapieha. It is traditionally assumed that the corner stone was pulled into the city by procession of 700 Vilniusites from the Antakalnis hills. The construction was finished in 1616, and the interior design completed in 1618. The Church of St. Casimir is one of the earliest exemplary Baroque buildings in the city, designed along the line of the famous Il Gesù church in Rome . It was apparently designed by Povilas Bokša, and the construction was supervised by Jan Frankiewicz, a pupil of architect Giovanni Maria Bernardoni. In the middle of the 18th century the church was reconstructed by architect Tomas Žebrauskas. Under his supervision a stepped lantern cupola with a crown was erected. This large and impressive cupola is unique in the entire region of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Under Russia's occupation the church of St. Casimir was converted into a Russian Orthodox church. In 1915 Vilnius was occupied by the Germans and the church was converted into the Evangelical Lutheran prayer house of the Vilnius Garrison. In 1919 the church of St. Casimir was returned to the Catholics, but was damaged again during the Second World War, closed down and in 1963 converted into a Museum of Atheism. The church was reconsecrated in 1991.

Church of St. Paraskeva

St. Paraskeva Church is an Orthodox church in Vilnius. The first Orthodox church of St. Paraskeva was constructed on demand of prince Algirdas' first wife, a Vitebsk princess Maria, who was subsequently buried there in 1346. According to the legend, the church was built on the site of a temple to the pagan god, Ragutis. This church was completely destroyed by fire in 1557 and rebuilt three years later, but burned down again in 1611. Although ruined, it was given to the uniate parish. In 1655, it was given back to the Orthodox parish and renovated. During the Great Northern War, in 1705, the church was visited by the Russian tsar Peter the Great, who prayed there for the military victory. During the same service, Abram Petrovich Gannibal was baptised, with the tsar serving as the godfather. Three years later, the victorious tsar decided to grant some of the conquered Swedish flags to St. Paraskeva's church. In 1748, the building was again destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1795. However, it stood closed during the following forty years, slowly falling into decline. In 1864, on the orders of the Russian local government, it was rebuilt and enlarged in Neo-Byzantine style by Nikolay Chagin. The church was devastated during the World War II. Although it was renovated again, the Stalinist government didn't allow the Russian Orthodox Church to start holding its services there. At first, a Museum of Atheism was to be opened there, but in the end the church was turned into a gallery of Lithuanian folk art. The church was given back to the Orthodox Church only in 1990 and reconsecrated by Metropolitan Khrisostom the following year. Since then it has been an auxiliary church of the Cathedral of the Theotokos.

Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas

St. Nicholas Church is one of the oldest Orthodox churches in Vilnius, Lithuania. According to a popular legend, the first wooden Orthodox chapel located on the place of today's St. Nicholas church was built around 1340. Seven years later, the Vilnius martyrs were supposedly buried there. However, in 1350, Uliana of Tver, the second wife of prince Algirdas, ordered to build a new brick church. In 1514 this church was again replaced with a larger one. It remained Orthodox up to 1609, when, like most of Vilnius Orthodox churches, it was given to the Uniates on a personal order of the king Sigismund III Vasa. Around 1740 the church was completely destroyed by fire and rebuilt in Baroque style. In 1839 the Russian local government closed the Uniate parish and given the building back to the Orthodox. After the failed Polish January Uprising, it was completely rebuilt in Neo-Byzantine style on the personal initiative of general-governor of Vilnius Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov-Vilensky. The renewed church was to be another sign of Russian domination in the city, becoming the fifth Orthodox church in the Old Town of Vilnius. Muraviev ordered also the construction of St. Michael the Archangel chapel which was to commemorate his victory over the Polish uprising. In 1866 the whole church was reconsecrated. The general-governor's role in the reconstruction of the church was described on a marble plaque on the western wall of the church. After World War II the church was closed, but in 1947 the Stalinist government agreed to reopen it as a parish church. The general renovation of the building took place before 1956.

Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn

Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn is the prominent painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated by the faithful in the Chapel of the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius, Lithuania. The painting was historically displayed above the Vilnius city gate. The city gates of the time often contained religious artifacts intended to guard the city from attacks and to bless the travelers. The painting made in a Northern Renaissance style was completed possibly in the first half of the 17th century, around 1630; the Virgin Mary is depicted without the infant Jesus. She is depicted accordingly to the Immaculate conception iconography, with a golden light aureola, the circle of stars around her head, the half-moon and with her head bowed in veneration. The artwork soon became known as miraculous and inspired a following. A dedicated chapel was built in 1671 by the Discalced Carmelites. At the same time, possibly borrowing from the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the painting was covered in expensive and elaborate silver and gold clothes leaving only the face and hands visible. The legend tells that in 1702, when Vilnius was captured by the Swedish army during the Great Northern War, The Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn came to her people's rescue. At dawn, the heavy iron city gates of the Gate of Dawn's fell, crushed and killed four Swedish soldiers. After this, the Lithuanian Army successfully counter-attacked near the gate. In the following centuries, the following grew stronger and Our Lady became an important part of religious life in Vilnius. The following inspired many copies in Lithuania, Poland, and diaspora communities worldwide. The chapel was visited by Pope John Paul II in 1993. It is a major site of pilgrimage in Vilnius and attracts many visitors, especially from Poland.

Bernardine Cemetery

The Bernardine Cemetery , is one of the three oldest cemeteries in Vilnius, Lithuania. It covers about 38,000 square metres and has an estimated 14,000 burial sites. It was established in 1810 by the Bernardine monks of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, just east of the city center in the Užupis district, and is situated on an embankment of the Vilnia river. Its development was a consequence of Tsarist authorities of the Russian Empire prohibiting burying the dead near churches. The residents of Vilnius moved the cemetery to what was then the outskirts of the city. The Columbaria were built on the east and west sides of the cemetery. The cemetery was expanded in 1860. After the Second World War the cemetery was abandoned for the most part and began to deteriorate. It was closed in the 1970s and since then until recently it had remained almost unchanged. Many of the oldest graves had sunk into the ground and became covered in moss. The eastern columbarium had almost entirely disappeared. Restoration and reconstruction of its buildings and monuments, including the western columbarium, began in the late 1990s.
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