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.
From journal Vilnius' Turbulent Past and Bright Future