Sights

The Town Hall

The Town Hall is the main Vilnius city building, where city's official celebrations takes place. In the past outside the Town Hall city's executions and floggings took place. Fires damaged the original, Gothic building and a new Town Hall was constructed by Laurynas Stuoka -Gucevicius between 1785 and 1799.

type:	Public Buildings
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address:	Didzioji str. 31

Vilnius University

Vilnius has the oldest University in Eastern Europe. Opened in 1579, for more than 400 years it was a source of enlightenment, science and culture. Full of original comfortable courtyards, arched corridors and decorations, the University complex takes up big space in the Old Town. The University library contains the richest collection of books and manuscripts (from the 13th to the 16th century) in Eastern Europe.

type:	Public Buildings
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zipcode:	LT-01513
email:	infor@cr.vu.lt
address:	Universiteto str. 3
url:	www.vu.lt
tel:	370-5-2687001

Gates of Dawn

The Gates of Dawn - 16th century Renaissance - originally formed part of the Old Town fortifications. In 17th century a chapel was built in the gates to house a holy image of the Virgin Mary, the Madonna, reputed for miracle-working powers. Encased in gold and silver by a local goldsmith, this image has miraculous power and has since been a holy place for pilgrims from neighboring countries.

type:	Churches and Cathedrals
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address:	Ausros vartu str. 12

The Gates of Dawn Chapel

Services Monday to Saturday 09.00, 10.00 Sunday services 09.30 At the beginning of the 16th century, Vilnius was surrounded by a brick and stonewall with nine gates. The most representative was the Gate of Dawn (or Medininkai), the road, through which (by streets of Ausros Vartai, Didzioji, Pilies) led straight to the Palace of Grand Dukes next to the Cathedral. Usually, the town gates had chapels in them, filled with religious pictures that were meant to protect the city from enemies and to bless people leaving the town. The chapel in the Gate of Dawn contains a famous more..

type:	Churches and Cathedrals
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address:	Ausros vartu St. 12

St. Anne's Church

A late gothic masterpiece. Presumably the original (wooden) St. Anne’s Church was built in the 14th century by Ona (Anne), the wife of Vytautas the Great. It is thought that the brick church was built during 1495-1500 thanks to the efforts of the Franciscans.

The most popular of the many stories about the church is that when Napoleon saw it, he said that he would like to place it in the palm of his hand and move it to Paris.

type:	Churches and Cathedrals
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address:	Maironio st. 8
openings:	May-October (except Mondays) 10:00-13:00 & 14:00-18:30
tel:	(5) 261 48 05

Church of St. Francis and Bernardine

Services Monday to Saturday 08.00, Sunday services 17.00. In 1469 Bernardine monks settled in Vilnius. The brick church of the present volume was constructed at the beginning of the 16th century. It was included in the town’s defensive system (the rows of the shooting apertures under the roof bear evidence of it); therefore much ornamentation was avoided. The Gothic tower, rising next to a presbytery, is the most ornate. Recently the Gothic mural painting with the scenes of Christ’s martyrdom and St. Christopher was uncovered in the interior of the church. Gothic painting has more..

type:	Churches and Cathedrals
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address:	Maironio str. 10

Church of St. Nicholas

Services Monday to Saturday 07.45, 18.00 Sunday services 08.00, 10.00, 12.00, 14.00, 18.00 One of the oldest brick and stone churches in Lithuania. It has already been mentioned in times of Gediminas, the 14th century, reconstructed in the 16th century. The interior is notable for particularly ornate Gothic stellar and net vaults with expressive ribs. Baroque reconstructions of the 18th century resulted in building a choir loft, installation of new altars, enlargement of windows and addition of a belfry. The picture of St. Nicholas and, the sculpture of St. Ludwig attributed to more..

type:	Churches and Cathedrals
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openings:	daily 07.00-09.00, 17.00-19.00
address:st.mikalojausst.4:	St. Mikalojaus str. 4

Vilnius Castle

The Gediminas castle is in the heart of the city. It is one of the first Gothic structures in Vilnius (13th-14th centuries). The history of the castle is closely related to the formation of the city. The exposition in the castle museum reveals the eventful history of Lithuania. On the roof of the tower one may observe a breathtaking view of the Old Town.

type:	Castles
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address:	Arsenalo st. 5
tel:	2617453

Lower Castle

The Lower Castle is the wonderful part of the Castles complex. Archeologists are still exploring fragments of the Lower Castle. You can see the remains of the cellars where the ancient Lithuania’s Dukes kept their wines.

type:	Castles
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address:	Katedros square

Cathedral

At the foot of the hill are the Lower Castle and the Cathedral. In the Cathedral square, in the 13th century, the first Catholic Church - the Cathedral was built to mark Lithuanian conversion to Catholicism. It was burnt down and rebuilt many times. Today, the Cathedral is an 18th century -classical building, where many valuable paintings are on exhibit as well as ornamental gravestones of historic families. You can visit the mysterious 12th century cellars, remains of the pagan sanctuary and where many famous Lithuanian personalities from medieval times are buried. In the more..

type:	Churches and Cathedrals
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address:	Katedros square 1

Church of St. Peter and Paul

Services Monday to Saturday 07.00, 08.30, 17.00, 18.00 Sunday services 10.00, 11.00, 13.00, 18.30 The first wooden church was built in the 15th century, the second one - at the beginning of the 17th century. The construction of the present church, which was commissioned by Mykolas Kazimieras Pacas, Hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, was started in 1668. During 1677 – 88 the church was copiously decorated with over 2,000 stucco mouldings (splendid Italian masters Giovanni Pietro Perti and Giovanni Maria Galli did the principal decorative works). The abundance of single more..

type:	Churches and Cathedrals
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address:	Antakalnio St. 1/1
openings:	daily 09.00-12.00, 14.00-17.00

Church of St. Anne

St. Annes Church
photo by: Gailė Paštukaitė

Services Monday to Saturday 18.00 Sunday services 09.00, 11.30, 18.30 The most magnificent Gothic church in Lithuania. It is a small one (the church leads into the presbytery of the adjacent Church of Bernardine), but its thoroughly elaborate exterior ornamentation is brought to light in the principal facade. The first church was constructed at the beginning of the 14th century, but it took shape of its present image only after reconstruction in 1582. It is possibly the only Gothic building that has survived in Lithuania, where bricklayers succeeded in surpassing the more..

type:	Churches and Cathedrals
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address:	Maironio St. 8
openings:	daily 10.00-15.00

The Hill of Three Crosses

Located near Gediminas Castle, the Hill of Three Crosses is the symbol of Lithuanian mourning and hope. According to a legend, long ago seven Franciscan monks were crucified here and four were thrown into the Vilnia river. The first crosses were erected on the hill in the 17th century in memory of these martyrs.

type:	Landmarks
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St. Anne's Church

St. Anne's Church represents the peak of Gothic architecture in Lithuania. Its facade is patterned with 33 different varieties of bricks, making it amazingly graceful. According to the legend, Napoleon Bonaparte was so impressed by St. Anne's church, that he wanted to bring the church back to France in the palm of his hand.

type:	Churches and Cathedrals
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address:	Maironio str. 8

Churches

type:	general
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