The hightlight of the tour was Vilnius, of course. There will be more detailed posts (I got enough photos, lol), so here’s just a little teaser.
Vilnius is a town of churches, Roman-Catholic, Orthodox, and a few Protestant ones. Most of them have been altered at a time when the Baroque flourished in Lithuania, but there are some Gothic ones as well, and others keep traces of older architecture.
The Cathedral Basilica of St Stanislaus and St Ladislaus of Vilnius, as it is officially called, goes back to a church built by King Mindaugas in 1251. A few foundations of that one remain. Next was a Gothic church from 1429 – some pillars can still be seen – altered in the early 16th century after a fire. More fires in 1610 and 1654 led to the Baroque restorations that today dominate the church.
The first church named after St. Nicholas was commissioned by the Orthodox wife of Duke Algirdas in 1350. It was rebuilt in Baroque style in 1740 and later in neo-Byzantine style (1840). Since Vilnius was under Russian rule since the Nothern War (ended 1721) until WW1, the town has several Orthodox churches.
This one – the ensemble of the Churches of St.Anne and of St.Bernardine – is the most stunning example of Gothic brick architecture that remains mostly unaltered on the outside (the interior shows some Baroque elements). St.Anne dates to 1495 and is a fine example of the flamboyant Gothic style. The Church of St.Francis and St.Bernard shows the older Gothic brick architecture style. It was built by Bernadine monks as part of a monastery.
The Church of St.Casimir is the oldest original Baroque church in Vilnius, built in 1618. A cupola was added in the middle of the 18th century.
Those are just a few examples of the churches in Vilnius. I visited several more, though at some point I stopped hunting them down; there are too many; and most of them predominantly Baroque which gives the city a homogenous appearance, but it’s not my favourite style.
The Gates of Dawn are the last remaining gate of the former town fortifications; the others were destroyed in the late 18th century. It was built around 1520 – you can still see its defensive purpose on the outside. On the inside, the most interesting feature is a chapel in the second floor, open to the outside and dedicated to an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is an important place for pilgrims even today.
Gediminas‘ Tower is the most outstanding remains of the Upper Castle in Vilnius. The first castle was constructed in timber by Gediminas (1275-1341) and rebuilt in bricks and stone by Grand Duke Vytautas in 1410 (you may remember him from this post). Most of the castle is in ruins, but the tower was repaired in 1933; some more remains of the castle have been preserved as well.
The palace, located in the Lower Castle, was built in the 15th century and saw its peak as living quarters of several grand dukes of Lithuania and kings of Poland (both countries becoming a union at the time) in the 16th-17th centuries. The palace was demolished in 1801, but finally restored in the Renaissance style of its main period in 2018.
There are some small lanes in the old town, somewhat outside the main tourist routes along the showy streets, with cafes, restaurants, small shops and such. Some of those were part of the Jewish quarter of Vilnius until the German occupation in summer 1941 when the quarter was turned into a ghetto and most Jews in Vilnius were killed.
We’ll leave Vilnius with a view of the Town Hall Square and move to the town of Trakai (an easy day trip from Vilnius). What attracted me – and lost of other tourists – well ....
A castle, of course. *grin* Trakai Island Castle is the best preserved castle in Lithuania, and an important site in its history during the Middle Ages.
The castle was built by Duke Kęstutis in the 14th century and expanded – esp. the inner ward with the 35 metres high keep and the great hall with its several storeys – by his son Vytautas after he had reconciled with his cousin (the castle had been besieged several times during their quarrels) in 1409. The outer curtain walls were strengthened and three major towers added in mid-15th century.
Trakai suffered the fate of many castles in later times when it would no longer protect against modern weapons, and fell into decline. It was reconstructed in the years 1951-1961 (against Russian opposition, since the Sovyet government disliked the idea of rebuilding a national icon).
I took a guided boat tour on the lake to get some photos from different angles, and because it was a nice, sunny day and a boat tour just the right thing to do after a 4 kilometres walk to get there from the train station.
The town of Trakai inlcudes an ethnic minority of Crimean Karaites, a Jewish group that speaks a Turk language and was considered apostate by the Yiddish speaking diaspora. They settled there in 1398 after Vytautas defeated the Golden Horde, and were considered a semi-autonomous group during most of history since; even the Hitler government accorded them a non-Jewish status (though many were killed nevertheless). The pretty, colourfully painted wooden houses represent their style of building.
Kernavė in the Pajauta Valley was the first known capital of Lithuania, mentioned in a chronicle from 1279. It was destroyed in the wars with the Teutonic Knights in 1390 and not rebuilt – at the time, Vilnius had already become another major town with a castle – though smaller settlements remained on the hill forts. But what must have been a devastating event for the grand dukes of Lithuania turned out a blessing for archaeologists. The remains of the city were covered by an alluvial layer of the river Neris and thus well preserved.
Excavations began in the 1980ies, and in 2004, Kernavė was included into the UNESCO World Heritage list. Settlement on the site goes far beyond the time of Kernavė as Lithuanian capital; there are finds dating as far back as the 9th millennia BC. Many of the finds are shown in the local museum, though the most outstanding feature are the five hill forts which once protected the settlement.
The area of almost 195 hectares includes the town and the impressive defensive line of five hill forts. But due to the many layers of civilization, settlements of different periods, burial sites, defense structures etc. that can be found in the soil at the river, Kernavė is considered the ‘Lithuanian Troy’.
Some of the houses of the Mediaeval town have been reconstructed on a higher site, out of any floods of the river Neris. They follow finds of timber remains, post holes and other traces. As in Rumšiškes, the entire archaeological site was visited by but a few tourists, so I could take photos free of time travelers.
Those pieces of silver and gold alloy, some with glass beads and other additions, were part of headbands; they were sewn onto leather or cloth. The finds date to the 13th-14th century.
The next day was the beginning of the long journey back first to Klaipeda and then to Kiel by ferry. A slow way to travel, but more fun than flying.
Wonderful, as per ususal! And great photos! Fascinating part of the world I essentially never thought about.
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