What is and where is Vilnius?
What is Lithuania?
Why have we landed here – in the Central courtyard of Vilnius University?
Vilnius spaces of historical importance and richness
Two enlightening panoramas of Vilnius
The Legend of Vilnius: Gediminas’ dream and the Iron Wolf
Vilnius symbols
Which Vilnius citizen is most famous in the World? Oginski, Dzerzhinsky or Zappa?
15 important events of Vilnius history
Who is the most outstanding person who lived in Vilnius – Čiurlionis, Mickiewicz or Miłosz?
Who is the most outstanding architect of Vilnius – Glaubitz, Guciewicz or Wiwulski?
The most famous Vilnius photographer – Bułhak?
Most legendary Vilnius masterpiece – the Church of St. Anne’s?
100 contemporary creative people of Vilnius. Portrait gallery by photographer Algimantas Aleksandravičius

15 important events of Vilnius history

Let’s run down Vilnius’ history:

    1. 1323 – the symbolic Vilnius founding date: Gediminas mentions Vilnius for the first time as a city and a capital in his letters.

    2. 1387 – during the Christianisation of Lithuania, Vilnius receives the Magdeburg rights from Jogaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland.

    3. 1503 – under orders of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander, the erection of the defence wall around Vilnius city is started (the building works took until 1522).

    4. 1579 – Vilnius University is founded, the easternmost university of Europe at that time.

    5. 1655–1660 – Moscow occupation, one of the biggest devastations of Vilnius of all times.

    6. 1737–1768 – Baroque architect Jan Krysztof Glaubitz is active creating his designs. Vilnius cityscape with its Baroque dominants is finally completed.

    7. 1791–1794 – the Constitution of May 3rd 1794 of Polish and Lithuanian Commonwealth, the earliest written constitution of Europe is co-authored and defended in Vilnius.

    8. 1795 – Vilnius loses the status of the capital. Lithuania is taken over by Russia.

    9. 1822 – Poetry by Adam Mickiewicz is published in Vilnius.

    10. 1832 – Vilnius University is closed as Tsarist Russia reacts to the uprising of 1830–1831.

    11. 1918-1920 – Three national formations – Lithuanian, Polish and Belarusian and also Bolsheviks are all competing for Vilnius. Vilnius is declared the capital of Lithuania and also the capital of some short-lived countries: Soviet Litbel, Middle Lithuania, the Belarusian People’s republic, but eventually becomes a region of Poland.

    12. 1939 X 28 – Vilnius is returned to Lithuania, but then is occupied together with the rest of Lithuania by the Soviet Union in 1940, by Nazis in 1941 and then by Soviets again in 1944.

    13. 1943 IX 23 – the Vilnius ghetto is closed down – a symbolic date in the commemoration of the Vilnius Jewish community being wiped out.

    14. 1989 VIII 23 – Vilnius becomes the link of the Baltic Way together with Riga and Tallinn.

    15. 1990 March the 11th – the Independence of Lithuania is declared: the Soviet Union started crumbling in Vilnius.

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