Gediminas
The first written reference to Vilnius is found in 1323 in the letters for the European towns by Gediminas, the Grand Duke of Lithuania (ruled 1316–1341). Gediminas is also a legendary founder of the Vilnius city. It is believed that he built the Upper Castle with the famous Gediminas Tower, which became the city icon of Vilnius, the heart of the city, the urban landmark, and a symbol of the statehood.
St. Casimir
Prince Casimir (1458-1484) was a member of the Royal Jagiello family. He was born to the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Casimir Jagiello and Elisabeth von Habsburg. St. Casimir was the first catholic saint canonised by the Pope in 1604, and since 1636 he became a Patron of Lithuania. On the occasion of his canonization the first baroque Church of St Casimir was started to be built by the Jesuits in Vilnius.
Alexander, Sigismund II Augustus and Barbara Radziwiłł
Mathias Casimirus Sarbievius
In 1625, in Rome, Pope Urban VIII crowned with laurels the most prominent poet of the epoch – Mathias Casimirus Sarbievius (1595-1640), who studied and worked in Vilnius, and later was called Horatius Sarmaticus. More than 50 editions of his “Three Books of Lyrics” were published, and were translated into the English, Polish and other languages. Sarbievius’ poem “Ad Paulum Coslovium” is one of the most beautiful views of Vilnius in the poetry of the 17th century filled with jovial mood, carelessness and brightness.
Johann Christoph Glaubitz
Creative work of architect Johann Christoph Glaubitz (1700–1767, worked in Vilnius in 1737-1765) forms the nucleus of Vilnius School of Baroque, which has no analogue in Baroque architecture of Europe. Glaubitz belonged to the Lutheran community of Vilnius, however he designed for all confessions of Vilnius and created his baroque masterpieces for Lutherans, Catholics, Uniates (Greek Catholics), Russian Orthodox churches and even Jewish synagogue, thus constructing a unique silhouette of baroque Vilnius.
Vilna Gaon
Since the times of the Jewish spiritual leader Eliyahu ben Shelomoh Zalman (1720–1797) Vilnius has become the centre of Jewish intellectual, cultural and political life. Due to his exceptionally good memory and abilities in theology, astronomy, algebra and other spheres, in the long run Eliyahu was given the name of Gaon (genius). He edited and provided commentary on the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds and wrote on almost every aspect of religion.
Wawrzyniec Guciewicz
Wawrzyniec Guciewicz (Laurynas Gucevičius, 1753–1798) is a genius of Vilnius Neo-Classicism. Vilnius Cathedral and Vilnius Town Hall are the most mature works by the architect, and they already became the symbols of Vilnius city. Wawrzyniec Guciewicz is also famous for his participation in the historic Kościuszko Uprising (1794), defending the constitution of the 3rd of May.
Kazimierz Nestor Sapieha and Michał Kleofas Ogiński
Kazimierz Nestor Sapieha was the most prominent politician of Lithuania in the 18th century. Marshal of the Lithuanian Confederation became a supporter of reforms, created the May 3rd Constitution (1791) among others, and participated in the Kościuszko Uprising (1794). Another leader of the Uprising was a statesman and composer Michał Kleofas Ogiński, author of the beautiful and most famous polonaise “Farewell to the Fatherland” (1794). He was buried in the well known Basilica Santa Croce in Florence, alongside Dante Alighieri, Giotto di Bondone, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Niccolò Machiavelli, Galileo Galilei, and Gioachino Rossini.
Adam Mickiewicz
World famous poet Adam Mickiewicz (1798–1855) was a graduate of Vilnius University who started the romanticism in Polish poetry. The beginning of romanticism is closely connected to Mickiewicz’s poetry book written and published in Vilnius in 1822.
Juliusz Słowacki, Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, and Stanisław Moniuszko
The 19th century Vilnius is considered to be the cradle of romanticism in the Polish culture. And it was not only Adam Mickiewicz, but also a romantic poet Juliusz Słowacki (1809–1849, lived in Vilnius 1818–1829), the writer Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (1812–1889, lived in Vilnius 1829–1838), one of the most productive in the world, having written more than 600 volumes, and a famous romantic composer Stanisław Moniuszko (1819–1872, lived in Vilnius 1840–1858), a pioneer of the Polish opera.
Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis
The world-famous painter and composer Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875–1911) is known not only for his symbolism, but also for the synthesis of music and painting. Čiurlionis also contributed greatly to establishment of Lithuanian Art Society in Vilnius at the beginning of the 20th century.
Famous Litvaks: Chaim Soutine, Jacques Lipchitz, Jascha Heifetz, Romain Gary
Vilnius has always been a cultural cradle for the Jewish people rooted in the “Jerusalem of the North”. Painter Chaim Soutine (1887–1985, studied in Vilnius in 1910–1913) and sculptor Jacques Lipchitz (1891–1973, studied in Vilnius in 1906–1909 m.) became world famous expressionist artists. Violin virtuoso Jascha Heifetz (1901–1987, lived in Vilnius until 1910) started his life in Vilnius community of Litvaks. Vilnius was also a home for a famous French writer Romain Gary (1914–1980, lived in Vilnius until 1923), the only double winner of the Goncourt Prize.
Czesław Miłosz
Czesław Miłosz is the only Nobel Prize winner from Vilnius. At the Nobel Prize ceremony in 1980 he heartily remembered Vilnius, the city of his youth: “It is a real pleasure to study in a city like Vilnius. A fantastic Italian baroque city located in the northern woods where every stone speaks of history. This is a city of 40 catholic churches and many synagogues, which was called “Jerusalem of the North”.
Jonas Žemaitis-Vytautas and Juozas Lukša-Daumantas
The Lithuanian guerrilla resistance movement (1944–1953) led by Jonas Žemaitis-Vytautas (1909–1954) and other leaders Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas (1918–1957) and Juozas Lukša-Daumantas (1921–1951) was one of the most intensive and longest armed and political resistance in the Soviet Union. This extremely important resistance to the Soviet occupation was given the name “The War after the War” and took one of the most important places in the historical memory of the Lithuanian nation. In 2009 Jonas Žemaitis-Vytautas was officially recognised as the fourth president of Lithuania.
The Singing Revolution
Perhaps the most important event in the history of the world in the 20th century – the downfall of the citadel of communism – started in Vilnius, when in March 11, 1990 it was decided to “leave” the USSR and take the road of freedom. Reform movement Sąjūdis meetings held in Vingis Park in 1988 became a symbol of the “singing revolution”. The Baltic Way was started in the Cathedral Square in 1989 and linked Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn with a 2 million live human chain that declared the aspiration of the Baltic States for freedom and democracy.
