Ensemble of St Anne and Bernardine
The ensemble of St Anne and Bernardine Churches, as well as the Bernardine monastery is the most famous masterpiece of brick Gothic architecture in Lithuania. The Church of St Francis of Assisi and St Bernardine (1501-1507) is one of the largest Gothic sacral buildings in Lithuania and the belfry is regarded to be one of the most beautiful Gothic buildings. At the beginning of the 16th century a Bernardine monastery was built surrounding a courtyard. The Church of St Anne (1495-1500) still surprises with the impressive unique openwork brick Gothic shapes. In 1869 a neo-Gothic belfry was built.
The Alumnatas
The Alumnatas was established by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 as a seminary for training Uniate priests. The new three-storey palace with arcades was built in 1622 enclosing the representative courtyard. In 1798 the seminary was closed down, the building was given to the University and let out.
Vilnius University ensemble
Established in 1579 Vilnius University today covers the entire quarter of the Vilnius Old town. Currently it consists of 13 different buildings, the church of St. John and the Belfry. The buildings are situated around the 12 courtyards. The first brick gothic houses for the Jesuit Academy were acquired by the Bishop Protasevicius in 1568 m. In 1571 m. the church of St. John joined the Academy. University underwent major extensions in the 19th century and later in 1920-24. On the occasion of the 400 year anniversary the entire ensemble was thoroughly renovated in 1979.
The Church of St John and the Belfry
The Church of St John and the Belfry are the most impressive highlights of Vilnius University. Professors and students have prayed, Vilnius theologians have preached sermons, performances and disputes have taken place, theses have been defended and Kings have been given a solemn welcome there since the time of the Jesuit Academy. 1738-1749 the Church was entirely remodelled by architect Glaubitz – this has been considered the greatest Baroque masterpiece on the European scale. Sculptures of Saint John Capistrano and Saint John from Damascus are placed between the columns in the impressive curving Baroque façade. According to the custom of the southern countries, at the end of the 16th century the Jesuits built a separate 63-meter-high belfry (campanille) (this is the tallest buildings in the Told Town).
The ensemble of the Missionary Monastery and the Church
The Church of the Ascension (Missionaries’ Church) is one of the most subtle and elegant late Baroque buildings in Vilnius. Started to be built in 1695 it was renovated in 1750-1756 according to the design of the famous Vilnius Baroque architect Glaubitz. Wooden sculptures of David and Moses created in the middle of the 18th century stand in the niches of the main façade. The monastery and other buildings were built in 1739-1751 according to design of the missionary monk John Shreter. In 1790 a part of the monastery was used as an old people’s home, a hospital and for sheltering foundlings.
Vilnius Cathedral of St Stanislaus and St Vladislaus is the most mature work by the genius of Vilnius Neo-Classicism Laurynas Gucevičius. When renovating the Baroque (earlier Gothic) Cathedral in 1782-1792, the architect created an entirely new symmetrical building, at the same time he preserved the historic walls and the Baroque Chapel of St Casimir and Chapel of the Valavičius family. Statues of the Three Saints (St Helen, St Stanislaus and St Casimir) created by sculptor Kazimierz Jelski in 1790-1793 were demolished in 1950 by order of the Soviet authorities. During the Soviet period the Cathedral was functioning as an art gallery. In 1988 the Cathedral was returned to the Catholic Church and in 1993 the statues were rebuilt (sculptor Stanislovas Kuzma).
General Governor’s Palace
In 1824-1832, a luxurious and elaborate ensemble of the headquarters of the Governor General of Vilnius in the Russian Empire style (architect Vassily Stasov from St Petersburg) was created. Since the palace blocked University Street, a part of the University buildings was pulled down. The building with the main semicircular courtyard make a closed ensemble. The restored Empire-style interiors consist of the White, Red, Green and Coffee Halls. Currently the President’s office is established in the Palace.
Petras Vileišis estate
The original neo-Baroque ensemble was built in 1904-1906 by the famous Lithuanian engineer, industrialist, public figure and philanthropist Petras Vileišis (architect Augustas Kleinas). The search for the national style that matured at the beginning of the 20th century encouraged the owner and the architect to use a rich heritage of Vilnius Baroque. The ensemble was built in a picturesque place on the slope of the Neris River. This is one of the richest Vilnius residences of the beginning of the 20th century: modern conveniences and electricity were installed in the palace.
Józef Montwiłł terraced houses residential colony in Lukiškės
A banker and philanthropist Józef Montwiłł initiated construction of the residential colonies. Between 1896 and 1913 five colonies were built in different sites of Vilnius. Residential colony of terraced houses near Lukiškes Square (1911-1913, architects A. Kleinas, V. Michnevičius) consists of 22 residential houses built along three streets. The plan and the façade of each 2-3-storied house are unique, the English cottage-style and combining characteristics of Modern Style. The colony in Vilnius was a novelty both from the social and aesthetic point of view.
Architectural buildings of the Soviet period
In the 1960s and 1970s, alongside standard designs, a great number of originally designed public buildings inspired by western modernism were built in Vilnius. The Art Exhibition Palace is one of the best examples of the Lithuanian socialist modernism (1965–1967, architect Vytautas Edmundas Čekanauskas), which became a refuge for new art and artists. The huge Sports palace in beton brut style was built in 1971 and provoked lots of architectural discussions (architects Eduardas Chlomauskas, Jonas Kriukelis, Zigmas Liandzbergis, engineer Henrikas Karvelis). The monumental Museum of the Revolution built on the right bank of the Neris River in 1980 (architects Gediminas Baravykas and Vytautas Vielius, design 1968) was recognised as one of the best modernist buildings. In 1985 an original administrative building of the Lithuanian Union of Consumer Co-operatives (architect Justinas Šeibokas) manifested late-modernism in Vilnius architecture.
