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Lithuania
(Lietuva)

As the last nation in Europe to adopt Christianity, Lithuania was an object of conquest for German and Russian princes.  However, the Lithuanians stubbornly resisted foreign domination and Christian conversion — a chieftain who accepted the faith in the 13th century was assassinated soon afterwards — expanding their territory to the south and east at the expense of Slavic tribes.  In 1386, Grand Duke Jagiełło adopted Catholicism once and for all, after ascending to the throne of neighboring Poland.
The invasion of the Baltic region by Russian tsar Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century encouraged Lithuania to seek closer relations with Poland, establishing a confederation in 1569 which included a common legislature and a jointly-elected sovereign. Lithuanian coat-of-arms Conflicts with Sweden and Russia, however, took their toll, and Lithuania was annexed to the Russian empire as part of the partition of Poland in 1795.  Occupied by German troops during World War I, Lithuania emerged as an independent republic after the war.
During World War II, the Soviets invaded and annexed Lithuania, but were soon forced out by the Nazis.  Of the 200,000 Lithuanians who perished during the war, around 165,000 were Jews — nearly the entire pre-war population.  The Soviets reoccupied Lithuania in 1944, deporting about 350,000 Lithuanians to labor camps in Siberia.
In March 1990, Lithuania was the first Soviet republic to declare its independence, which was recognized in September of the following year.  Unlike its Baltic neighbors, Lithuania does not have a large ethnic Russian population.  Nevertheless, relations with its powerful neighbor are complicated by the question of Kaliningrad, which can only be reached by crossing Lithuanian territory.  Now that Lithuania has joined the European Union, Russians must obtain visas to travel between the two regions.

View from the apartment of the cathedral belfry and Three Crosses monument

Vilnius UNESCO World Heritage List

 The cathedral belfry was once part of the old city walls

According to legend, Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas founded Vilnius as his capital in 1323, inspired by a dream of an iron wolf which howled with the voice of a hundred wolves.
  The cathedral was rebuilt in the late 18th century in the Classical style   Arkikatedros aikšté (Cathedral Square), with a statue of Gediminas  
Baroque cupola inside the Chapel of St. Casimir In fact, this spot at the confluence of the Vilnia and Neris rivers has been settled for a thousand years.  Statue of King Mindaugas in front of the New Arsenal, which now serves as the national musuem
Tomb of St. Casimir, a 15th-century grand duke who became Lithuania's patron saint The Soviets converted the cathedral into a picture gallery in 1950
Laura on Gediminas Hill, with the landmark Three Crosses in the distance The castles standing at the summit and base of Gediminas Hill protected the town from repeated attacks by knights of the Teutonic Order, until a combined Polish-Lithuanian army defeated them in 1410.  The castles were later destroyed during the 17th-century Russian occupation. Ruins of the upper castle on Gediminas Hill
  Gediminas tower houses a castle museum  
View to the north from the top of Gediminas Hill View to the south of the Old Town
Tourist information office in Daukanto Square Freed from the Teutonic menace, Vilnius grew to be one of the largest cities in Eastern Europe.  Monument to architect Laurynas Stuoka-Gucevičius in front of the Bonifrati Church, near Daukanto Square
Lithuanian soldiers in Daukanto Square, in front of the Presidential Palace The Presidential Palace was once the home of the local bishop, then the Russian governor
Šv Jono bažnyčia (Church of St. John), now part of the university complex After the 16th-century union with Poland, the Lithuanian elites embraced the dominant Polish language and culture. Laura in the Grand Courtyard, in front of St. John's
Founded in 1387, St. John's still features some Gothic elements Memorial to poet Adam Mickiewicz, in the Church of St. John 18th-century crucifix in St. Anne's chapel
Jesuits founded the university in 1579 as a bastion of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. During this era, numerous Catholic churches were built in the preferred Baroque style.
The church was remodeled in the Baroque style in the 18th century Unusual artifact in the university's Center for Lithuanian Studies St. John's was closed during Soviet times
Frescoes by Petras Repšys in Aisciai Hall     Detail of the ceiling inside the university bookstore
University bookstore
Nowadays, Vilnius boasts the largest Baroque Old Town in Europe. Astronomical decoration on the university's Central Palace, facing the Library Courtyard   Sumptuous Baroque interior of the Domenican Church It resembles Prague or Rome more than its neighboring Baltic capitals.
Observatory Courtyard, one of the university's many hidden spaces

During the 19th century, Vilnius was a refuge for Polish and Lithuanian gentry dispossessed by their new Russian rulers.  The home of Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz, Vilnius became a nationalist hotbed, but periodic revolts led to the closure of the university and suppression of the local language.

 Wedding at the Domenican Church
  Walking south along Stiklių gatvé, towards the Church of St. Casimir  
Looking along Gaono gatvé towards St. John's, near the corner of Stiklių gatvé, in the heart of the old Jewish neighborhood View back north along Stiklių gatvé, towards the Domenican Church
Vilnius was also a center of Yiddish culture, known as "Jerusalem of the North". Monument to Adam Mickiewicz next to the Church of St. Anne (left) and the Church of St. Francis and St. Bernardine (right)   St. Anne's (1495-50) is decorated by 33 different types of red brick Jews made up nearly half of the city's population by the early 20th century.
Facade of the 16th-century Bernardine Church The Church of the Archangel Michael was converted into an architecture museum in 1956 Former home of the Polish nationalist poet Adam Mickiewicz
The interior of the Bernardine Church is in need of some repair Crucifix in a chapel of the Bernardine Church
Not long after German troops withdrew from Vilnius in 1918, the city fell first to the Bolsheviks, then to Lithuanian forces, and finally to the Poles in 1920.
The Russian Orthodox Church of St. Paraskeva, across from the local souvenir market Although the League of Nations awarded Vilnius to Lithuania, Poland annexed the city later that year. Founded in 1514, the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Michael was rebuilt in 1865
The Church of St. Paraskeva was rebuilt in the neo-Byzantine style in 1864
Entrance to the Academic Drama Theater Modern art in the pedestrian zone along Vokiečų gatvé Memorial plaque on Rūdninkų gatvé commemorating the Jewish ghetto which once stood here One of the few surviving Vilnius synagogues (1894), on Pylimo gatvé
Vilnius was reincorporated into the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic at the beginning of World War II.
Church of St. Catherine, on Vilniaus gatvé Interior of the Franciscan Church of the Holy Virgin Mary, which housed an archive during Soviet times The Franciscan Church is among the oldest Catholic churches in the city
Lithuanian National Philharmonic, on Aušros Vartų gatvé The Soviets were soon expelled by the Germans, who occupied Vilnius from 1941 to 1944. The Church of St. Theresa, on Aušros Vartų gatvé, was built in 1633-50
Town Hall, built by Laurynas Stuoka-Gucevičius in 1785-89 Various architectural styles along Aušros Vartų gatvé
17th-century Church of the Assumption, outside the city walls near the Artillery Bastion The Nazis wasted no time in eliminating the Jews of the city — those not immediately executed were rounded up into a pair of ghettos. Abandoned church on Augustijonų gatvé
The Church of St. Casimir was built by the Jesuits in 1604-16 St. Casimir's was converted into a museum of atheism under the Soviets Church on Rūdninkų gatvé, just outside the old Jewish ghetto
Althogether, SS troops and their Lithuanian accomplices killed 100,000 people — mostly Jews. Most of the murders were committed in the Pateneriai Forest, just south of the city.
Entrance to the Basilian Monastery, on Aušros Vartų gatvé, built in 1761 Entrance to the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit, on Aušros Vartų gatvé Dome of the Church of the Holy Spirit The Church of the Holy Spirit is the only Baroque-style Orthodox church in Lithuania

After the war, new suburbs were built to house Russian immigrants and Lithuanian peasants.
Nowadays, Russians account for nearly 20 percent of Vilnius' population.
Tower of the Basilian monastery church, built in 1514 as a Russian Orthodox church Miraculous icon of the Mother of Mercy, in the chapel above the Aušros Gate The Basilian church is managed by the Uniates, an orthodox denomination which accepts the supremacy of the Pope
While Lithuania's struggle for independence was relatively bloodless, a dozen unarmed civilians were killed when Soviet special forces stormed the Vilnius TV tower in 1991.
18th-century chapel above the Aušros ("Dawn") Gate View along Aušros Vartų gatvé, from St. Theresa's to the city gate The Aušros Gate is the only surviving city gate
  View of St. Casimir's from the Artillery Bastion  
Remains of the city wall, built between 1503 and 1522, with the Artillery Bastion The Artillery Bastion dates from the early 17th century
When we visited Vilnius in August 2004, we stayed in the apartment of a fellow Olmsted scholar, who happened to be on vacation in Poland at the time.
Mermaid figurine on the Vilnia river opposite Užupis View to the north from the Artillery Bastion Russian Orthodox Church of the Blessed Mother, near the entrance to Užupis
  Angel of Užupis, in the main square of the "republic"  
The bohemian Užupis neighborhood lightheartedly declared itself an independent republic in 1998 Wedding procession in Užupis
  But we weren't alone — we shared the empty apartment for a few days with another scholar, who had come all the way from Ukraine with his family.

Church of the Visitation of the Holy Virgin Mary, endowed by Grand Duke Vytautas in 1409

Trakai

 Pontoon bridge across Lake Luka
  Kenessa prayer house of the Crimean Karaime sect, whose members settled here in the late 14th century  

 
A set of medieval castles stands just west of Vilnius. They were built during the wars against the Teutonic Knights.
Ruins of the Peninsula Castle We traveled to Trakai with Phil, a fellow Olmsted scholar, plus his wife, Tara, and their daughter, Sofia Boats on Lake Luka The remains of another Peninsula Castle tower
Trakai served as the capital of Lithuania until the founding of Vilnius in the 14th century.
Wandering among the ruins of the Peninsula Castle It is located on a peninsula surrounded by lakes on three sides.
  Craig & Laura on the Lake Luka bridge, with the Island Castle in the distance   Craig tries on an unfamiliar role with little Sofia
Originally, three castles defended this strategic spot.
Shrine to St. John Nepomuk, in the former market square Little remains of the Old Trakai castle, which Grand Duke Vytautas donated to the Benedictines in 1405. Lithuanian monument on Karaimų island, on the way to the Island Castle
Wooden Karaime houses line Karaimų street Phil and his family enjoy an impromptu concert
Historical boat docked across from the Island Castle The enormous Peninsula Castle was largely destroyed by the Russians in the 17th century. Marina on Pilies Island, site of a restored Trakai castle
Sailing on Lake Galvé
On our way to the Island Castle Walls around the castle courtyard Craig on the bridge to Karaimų island
Inside the castle courtyard, often the venue for concerts and plays     The Island Castle hosts a historical museum
The Island Castle in Lake Galvé is the only water castle in Eastern Europe.  It remained a residence of Lithuanian rulers until 1430, after which it served as a prison for noblemen.  Badly damaged during the 17th century, the castle was restored after World War II.
Approaching the Ducal Palace Courtyard of the Ducal Palace View of the drawbridge and donjon from the castle moat
The Ducal Palace is separated from the castle courtyard by a moat Drawbridge and portcullis defending the Ducal Palace

This page was first published 1 January 2005, and last updated 08 March 2005.