History

Like every medieval city Vilnius has developed around the Town Hall Square. The Pilies Street going from the Grand Duke's Castle to the Town Hall was the central stream of the city. The other streets, winding like rivulets in the spring, made their way between the churches and palaces of the feudal lords and the craftsmen’s guilds. Narrow, curved streets and small squares developed to the original semicircular layout. When you are strolling along the small and comfortable streets of the Old Town, have a look upward. You will see how nice ornaments decorate the houses, how wavy lines and playful lights of the decorous facades and domes, towers and belfries blend readily with the ancient undulating environs of the city, creating a new skyline and a special mood. At the beginning of the 15th century more masonry houses were built in Vilnius. About 300 Gothic cellars or basements remind us of them today. Gothic facades were preserved in some churches (the most artistic of them is known to be St. Ann's Church). The ruins of the Upper Castle on the Gediminas Hill evidence Gothic.

Renaissance began in Vilnius with the building of the Royal Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania on the grounds of the Lower Castle (1520-1530). Today the Vilnius University buildings, the Aushros Gate, St.Mykolas Church, represent the Renaissance of Vilnius. In the 17th -18th centuries a peculiar school of the Baroque style developed in Vilnius. Quite a great number of baroque churches, palaces of magnates were erected. Classicism reached Vilnius at the end of the 18th century. The most famous buildings of that period are the reconstructed Vilnius Archicathedral, the Town Hall, the Evangelised (or Reformed) church, palaces of magnates. In 1795 the czarist Russia occupied Vilnius and the entire Lithuania. Very soon the greater part of the buildings of the Lower Castle as well as of the city defense wall were demolished. In 1832 the Vilnius University was closed down (it was established in 1579). Under the czarism many Catholic churches and monasteries were closed down, while the Byzantine style churches were built. In the middle of the 19th century the Gediminas Avenue was laid. Some new parts of the city were built. Historicity prevailed in the architecture of the second half of the 19th century.

After the declaration of the independence of the Lithuanian State on February 16, 1918, Vilnius became its capital again. In 1920 the land of Vilnius having been captured by Poland, Vilnius became the Province City of Poland and was less looked after. At that time few buildings in the architectural style of functionalism were built. In the autumn of 1939, only when Lithuania recovered Vilnius the Cathedral Square was put in order. The city of Vilnius suffered greatly during the Second World War. In the post-war period empty places, which were uncharacteristic of the old Vilnius, appeared in the center of the city. Many churches were closed down. Only in the 6th and 7th decades new buildings were being built. Some monuments of architecture were restored. In 1979 the complex of the Vilnius University buildings was renovated. Under the process of intensive urbanization Vilnius started growing. New residential districts such as Zirmunai, Lazdynai, Karoliniskes, Virsuliskes, Justiniskes, Baltupis, Fabijoniskes, Santariskes and others have sprung.