Vilnius' Turbulent Past and Bright Future

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania and the country's largest with around half a million inhabitants. It is located on the Neris river, in the far east of the country only 60km from the Belarusian border. Due to this rather remote location the town has up till now been largely overlooked by the party-going European crowd in their quest for cheap alcohol or loose morals, a thing that's plaguing these two other Baltic capitals of Riga and Tallinn. People who do visit the town will be amazed by its beautiful UNESCO-listed old town, its friendly locals and its great surroundings.

Cathedral Square, a spacious square at the intersection of some main roads, is the unofficial city centre and contains the beautiful 18th century white neo-classical Roman Catholic Cathedral, complete with Doric-style columns and a freestanding clock tower, which can be climbed for a panorama on Vilnius. Around the square is Vilnius' wonderful Old Town, where several old and new buildings compete for the attention of visitors. Next to the cathedral is the uninspiring Royal Palace, nowadays an administrative complex. Behind it is a forested hill containing the Gediminas watchtower, the only part of the 13th century upper castle not in ruins and nowadays offering a wide panorama on the city and its surroundings.

At the south-eastern tip of Cathedral Square, the partly pedestrian Pilies Gatve (Castle Street) runs for 1km southwards towards another great 18th century neo-classical building, namely the white town hall. Pilies itself contains several shops, bars and restaurants, mostly located in beautiful historical buildings, some of them even dating from the 14th century. About halfway the street is the entrance to the 16th century old campus of Vilnius University, one of the highlights of the town. Didzioji Street runs south from the town hall towards the Gate of Dawn sanctuary, containing a miraculous image of Our Lady worshipped by both Roman Catholics and Orthodox people. Nearby is the orthodox Holy Spirit church, with an uninteresting façade but a marvellous dark green interior. 500m east of Cathedral Square lies the only gothic building of the town, the red sandstone St. Anna church and the Bernardine Monastery complex.

A few interesting places can be visited near the city. The most interesting is Trakai, a small village 20km west of Vilnius, most famous for its beautiful 15th century red brick castle, located on an island in Lake Galve. According to a calculation of the French Institut Géographique National done in 1989, the geographical centre of Europe (of course including the European part of Russia), lies some 20km north of Vilnius. The Lithuanian government have created a park (Europos Parkas) near this spot with some interesting modern sculptures. The exact spot is marked by a column topped with a gilded crown.

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Vilnius' origins probably date back from the Stone Age, when Baltic tribes settled the area. Around 1300AD King Gediminas constructed a wooden fort in the town, named himself Gran Duke of Lithuania and proclaimed Vilnius his capital city. Lithuania soon flourished and became an Eastern-European superpower, stretching as far as the Black Sea. The 16th century union with Poland brought great prosperity and Vilnius became an important centre for arts, science and culture. Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth suffered heavily from the great 17th century wars and was finally divided by new superpowers Austria, Prussia and Russia, who occupied Vilnius. After WWI Lithuania regained its independence, but Vilnius was ceded to Poland. Both Soviet Union and Nazi Germany occupied in turns the country during WWII. Several people, including numerous Jews and Lithuanian were deported, tortured, imprisoned or simply killed during this period. Despite Western pressure, the USSR did not want to leave Lithuania after WWII, and occupied the country until it finally renewed its independence in 1990, this time with Vilnius as its capital. The West has rapidly adopted the new country as one of their own, and membership of both NATO and EU soon brought a breeze of fresh air with it.

Official language in the country is Lithuanian, together with Latvian the only surviving language of the Baltic language family. The long period of Russian occupation means that the languages inherited several Slavic loanwords, but grammatically they are only slightly related. English is widely understood by young people, while older people are more proficient in Russian or German. There are still quite some foreign communities in the country, mainly Polish, Russian and Belarusian, but still much smaller then in their neighbour Latvia.

The currency of Lithuania is the lita (Lt), pegged to the euro at around 3.5Lt. It is expected that the currency will be replaced by the € in a few years. Due to the uplift of the local economy, cost prices are on the rise in the country, but they are still reasonable for people with a western budget. A decent double room in a guest house like Litinterp will cost you around 30-40 € and slightly more in reasonable hotels like Victoria. For an extensive list see this website. The town is full of cheap eateries, charging only about 5€ for a hearty Lithuanian meal. Russian, Italian, Chinese and other international food is also available at reasonable prices. The "Cili" chain has got a few good pizzerias and Lithuanian restaurants all over town charging decent prices.

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By air

Vilnius International Airport, only 20km from the city centre, is the largest one in Lithuania. A new terminal has recently opened due to an increasing numbers of passengers. The airport is served mainly by the national carrier Lithuanian Airlines as well as the Latvian airline airBaltic, both offering reasonably priced regular flights to several major European destinations like London, Paris or Rome. There are currently no flights going out of Europe.

By car

All major international or European car rental companies, like Europcar or Avis, have an office in the airport and/or in downtown Vilnius. Depending on the type of car and the rental period, you should count on 30-80 € per day without fuel and with a basic insurance. Local companies, like Aunela or , generally have cheaper prices, but fewer cars so in high season they tend to be fully booked quite fast. The roads in Lithuania, especially around Vilnius, have recently been restored. Petrol prices, at less then 1€ per litre, are among the cheapest in Europe.


By bus and train

From the Vilnius train station, just south of the city centre near the Gates of Dawn, there are a few international trains per day to main destinations in the neighbouring countries, including Warsaw, Riga and Moscow. Cheaper prices and more direct destinations are offered by long-distance bus companies like Eurolines and Ecolines, with direct connections to even Munich or London. The bus station is located only 200m west from the train station. Lithuanian Railways also has trains through the country, but only a few per day. Bus travel is much easier in Lithuania. During the day, around every half hour buses go to Kaunas and Trakai, but also other major destinations like Siauliai or Klaipeda are served by several buses a day.

Local transport

The city centre of Vilnius is compact enough to walk. Taxis are not so abundant in the town, but should you find one they are quite cheap. Several bus and trolley bus lines cross the city and are extremely cheap (around 1 Lita for a ticket). Private minibuses with fixed routes add to the network and are usually faster. Bus no. 1 and 2 go to the airport from the city centre, passing the railway station on the way.

The Roman Catholic Cathedral of Vilnius is a landmark of the city and definitely one of its greatest sights. It is located in possibly the oldest parts of town, namely within the limits of the Vilnius Castle complex, right on the pedestrian Cathedral Square. The first church on this location was probably built around 1250AD on the remains of a pagan temple by Mindaugas, the first Grand Duke of Lithuania, after his conversion to Christianity. However, after his death the succeeding dukes were not really interested in the new faith and the church was left to pagan believers again. In the neighbouring areas German and Russian crusaders did manage to convert the locals, so when Lithuania expanded its borders in the 14th century, the new state became de facto a Christian state by majority, leading to a massive baptism of locals. The old paganised church was soon to be replaced by a new Gothic cathedral. Only 20 years later heavy fires destroyed the building, but an even more magnificent brick Gothic cathedral was constructed immediately by Grand Duke Vytautas, similar in style but larger than the contemporary St. Anna's. In the 16th century the current free-standing renaissance bell-tower was added. Two times more fires razed the building, leading to the 16th century renaissance reconstruction and the 18th century neo-classical cathedral that can still be admired today. The communist Soviets did not care about religion. They abandoned or destroyed all religious buildings, so also the cathedral went into a period of decay, but since the 1990 Lithuanian independence it has been beautifully restored.

From Cathedral Square you will have an excellent view on the two different buildings that constitute the church, namely the bell tower and the church building itself. The 16th century 60m high bell tower, constructed in renaissance style, can be climbed for a beautiful bird's eye view on Vilnius. There is a small entrance fee of a few litas. The neo-classical church building, which perhaps looks more like a Roman temple or an American museum than a cathedral, is a gorgeous light-coloured building containing several white statues around its façade, most notably the three statues at the rooftop of the building, especially the central St. Helena figure carrying a gold-painted cross. Entrance to the cathedral building is free. Most of the interior was constructed during the rebuilding of the cathedral in the 18th century and is remarkably light, open and sober, characteristic of that time. The paintings adorning the walls are however dating from as far as the 15th century and some of them are very dark and in sumptuous Gothic-Baroque style, contrasting with the churches brightness and soberness. The chapel of St. Casimir is the only large part remaining of the 16th century Renaissance cathedral and has a beautiful interior. The oldest piece of the whole church, an iconic fresco from the 14th century, can be found in the underground crypt chapel.

Right behind the cathedral, the government is currently reconstructing the Royal Palace. It was constructed during the 15th century by the ruling Grand Dukes of Lithuania, but was reconstructed by Italian architects in a Renaissance way. Heavily damaged in the 17th century by the Polish army in an attempt to reconquer Vilnius from Russia, it was abandoned and completely destroyed around 1800AD. The new Lithuanian government ordered its highly criticized reconstruction in 1999. The controversy is mainly about the replica's funding, money that cannot be used for current buildings' restoration, and about the function of the building, which is still unclear at the moment.

The Gate of Dawn (Ausros Vartai) in Lithuanian is an important place of pilgrimage for both Catholic and Orthodox people of Lithuania, Poland and Belarus. During the construction of the gate in the beginning of the 16th century these 3 countries after all belonged to one superpower state, namely the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, a dominating force in Eastern Europe until the 18th century rise of Austria and Prussia. The gate was originally part of a defence wall encircling the entire old town of Vilnius, of which little remains. Originally the gate was known as "Sharp Gate" (Ostra Brama in Polish), possibly named after the old Vilnius quarter Ostry Koniec (Sharp End). The Polish Ostra was misinterpreted in Lithuanian language as Ausros, which means "dawn", so hence the English name "Gate of Dawn".

During the early 17th century the Carmelites constructed a monastery adjacent to the Gate of Dawn in a beautiful late Baroque Rococo style. It was during this time that an unknown artist painted a picture of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy for the monastery. It was placed in a newly constructed wooden chapel on top of the gate, only to be replaced by a new brick chapel after a fire years later. Soon after its installation several miracles were attributed to the picture. This increased its adoration among the Polish-Lithuanian population, who covered the painting in gold leafs, save Mary's face and hands. The picture was so revered that the Russian tsarist government, who occupied Vilnius since the 18th century, did not dare to touch the Gate of Dawn, despite the fact that they tore down the rest of the city wall. Even during the 20th century, the communist Soviets allowed Lithuanians, Poles and Belarusians to visit the shrine. Since Lithuanian independence in 1990 the sanctuary attracts so many people that at times there is a row of people wanting to get a glimpse of the picture of Our Lady.

The Gate of Dawn is located 2km south of Cathedral Square, about halfway between Vilnius' train and bus station and the Town Hall, on the corner of Ausros Vartu and Bazilijonu Street at the edge of the old town. Entrance to the Gate of Dawn is free, but not easy to find. Access is via a simple door about 50m to the north. If there are pilgrims around, you could just follow them. Behind the entrance is a small corridor. Most people turn right immediately to the sanctuary, but if you turn left you will be able to see the magnificent Baroque-Rococo church of the Gate of Dawn monastery. The revered image of Our Lady is kept in a small room above the gate itself, usually packed with devoted pilgrims. The panting itself is put on a marble Baroque-style altar with a small fence around it, but some people are still tempted to touch the object of their adoration. The wall of the sanctuary is adorned with gifts of people who saw their wish granted by the Blessed Virgin.

One of the most remarkable churches in Vilnius is the Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit (Lithuanian: Sventosios Dvasios Baznycia, Russian: Cerkov Svjatogo Duxa), located in Ausros Vartu Street near the Gate of Dawn. It should not be confused with the Catholic Church of the Holy Spirit, located in Dominikonu Street near Vilnius University and catering to the Catholic Polish community of Vilnius.

The first church on this location, at the edge of the Old Town, was a Gothic construction built by the Orthodox Brotherhood of the Holy Trinity during the 16th century. Although the majority of Vilnius was Catholic, the town enjoyed a religious freedom, unusual these days in Europe, mainly due to its location within the culturally diverse Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, encompassing large parts of present-day Ukraine and Russia. The church was reconstructed in its current Baroque style during the 18th century by Glaubitz, a famous Lithuanian architect responsible for several churches in Vilnius, including the university church. A Baroque exterior is highly unusual for Orthodox churches worldwide and normally used for Catholic or Protestant churches. The Orthodox religion flourished then due to the occupation of Vilnius by Tsarist Russia and the subsequent attempts of Russification. The 20th century occupation of Vilnius by Roman-Catholic Poland after WWI was harmful for the Orthodox religion but all churches suffered greatly first under German Nazi rule and later under communist Soviet occupation. Freedom of religion and democratic rights were finally re-established after the renewed 1990 Lithuanian independence and the churches were beautifully restored.

The light pink façade is quite unremarkable when compared to Vilnius' other Baroque places of worship, like the Gates of Dawn or the sumptuous Baroque exterior of St. Casimir. The similar styled entrance gate is marked with Cyrillic letters, the only outside evidence that the church is actually an Orthodox one. Contrasting enormously with the sober exterior is the rich Baroque and Rococo inside of the church. Centrally located is the glass-and-gold tomb of 14th century martyrs Anthony, John, and Eustathius (aka the Vilnius Saints), topped with an open wooden chapel. The walls of the church are adorned with beautiful Orthodox icons and a few huge gold-plated chandeliers are suspending from the ceiling. Below the decorated dome is the beautiful Rococo altarpiece, decorated with Baroque paintings, marble columns and painted in a peculiar but gorgeous dark green colour. The church can be visited for free.

In the same street a little closer to the town centre is another church by architect Glaubitz, namely the Holy Trinity church. The church building itself is currently not used and in a serious state of decay, but its entrance gate, known as the Basilian Gate (Bazilijonu Vartai), a beautiful Baroque gate painted white and yellow is already restored.

The small town of Trakai, about 30km west of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, is the capital of Trakai district, but with its 6000 inhabitants only the second city in the district after Lentvaris, a moderately interesting transportation hub on the road to Vilnius. Trakai's location alone, on a peninsula jutting into lake Galve and in the neighbourhood of several other lakes of the Trakai National Park, would justify the steady stream of tourists coming to the town, but additionally the town contains a few great buildings as a testimony of its long history.

Little is known about the prehistory of the area, but it is certain that around 500AD the area was settled by Baltic tribes, who were probably expelled from their Central-European homeland by the Slavs, who in their turn were fleeing from Germanic and Hun expansions. Around 1000AD the Kingdom (the later Grand Duchy) of Lithuania was established in this area, with Kernave as its capital. After the destruction of Kernave by the crusading German Teutonic Knights in 1320, Grand Duke Gediminas shifted its capital 30km south to a place he called "Trakai". Nowadays this place is known as Senieji Trakai (Old Trakai), and located 3km east of Trakai city centre. The duke constructed a brick defence castle, only to be destroyed again by the Knights 70 years later under the rule of Gediminas' son Kestutis. He shifted its capital to Vilnius, but constructed 2 new wooden castles in Trakai on the banks of Lake Galve, now known as the Peninsula Castle and the Island Castle. They were replace by brick castles by Kestutis' son Vytautas the Great. During the 15th century, the castles lost its military importance due to the formation of the stable Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Peninsula Castle was abandoned and the Island Castle was transformed into a Polish-style renaissance palace for the Lithuanian Grand Dukes. The 18th century was severely disadvantageous for the commonwealth, as it was split between Eastern Europe's new forces Prussia, Austria and Russia, that gained control over present-day Lithuania. Russian and later Polish, Nazi and Soviet rulers didn't care about Lithuanian heritage so the historical buildings in Trakai were abandoned and left in disrepair. Only with the renewed Lithuanian independence in 1990 came a sweep of restoration and now the town is one of the largest tourist attractions in the Vilnius region.

The old town of Trakai is located on a peninsula jutting out into lake Gatve. There are several places from where you can rent rowing, sailing or motorboats for a Gatve trip. In the south of town is another small lake, known as Gilusio. Nearby are the train and bus station, with a few trains and several buses a day connecting with Vilnius and Kaunas. The town itself contains several interesting building, like the old wooden post office, the gothic-style Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin or the 18th century synagogue for the small Crimean Karaite community. About 2km east of the town is another interesting sight, the 18th century baroque mansion of the Polish-Lithuanian noble Tyszkiewicz family located on the banks of lake Gatve. These sights are dwarfed by Trakai's 2 castles. The first one is the 14th century peninsula castle on the lake shore, in a beautiful state of disrepair. Only its walls, some watchtowers and a restored Dominican convent, now housing an art exhibition, remain. Across the lake, on a small island, is the magnificent red brick Island Castle a.k.a. Little Malbork, due to its similar style to its larger Polish brother. A footbridge links the island to the mainland. The castle is beautifully restored and contains the rebuilt Ducal Palace. To enter the castle you have to pay a small entrance fee, but the interior of the buildings is quite empty and non-descript, so you could easily give it a miss. Instead, you could go for a boat ride on the lake from where you have excellent views on the castles.