Church of St. Archangel Raphael

It was not until 1503 when Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Alexander Jagiellon granted a privilege that the construction of the wall began. The year 1522 is considered to mark the end of the construction, when Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund the Old exempted the residents of Vilnius from the duty of keeping guard at the castle and ordered 24 guards to be posted at the city gatesThe length of the defensive wall was 2,5 kilometres having 10 gates. The wall surrounded the territory of today's Old Town, approximatelly 100 hectars. The foundation of the defensive wall was built of stone, and bricks were mainly used at the level of loopholes and higher. The was was adapted for defence with gunpoweder-operated firearms Until the late-18th century, the Vilnius defensive wall was frequently renovated. The wall served for the last time in 1794 during the uprising led by ...

Its foundations are superimposed on the remains of a square tower, one of the oldest brick buildings in Lithuania, whose bricks are bound in the pre-Cothis (Baltic) manner An oval four-story tower with loopholes was built on these remains. Originally, it was a defensive tower of the Lower CastleThe underground square part dates from the 13th century, and the round part - from the late 14th century All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2019

A building of Jewish Center of Culture and Information in the area of the Large Jewish Ghetto in 1941-1943. In this house a famous Vilnius resident Dr. Tzemach Shabad livedTzemach Shabad (1864-1935) was not only a good doctor, but a societal and community figure, and humanist as well. A monument (in 2007 erected) to him on the territory of WWII Large Jewish GhettoA plaque of a plan of the Jewish Ghetto in 1941-1943. There were Small and Large Jewish Ghettos existing from September 6th, 1941 to September 23rd, 1943. Today, September 23rd is the National Memorial Day for the Holocaust/Genocide of the Lithuanian Jews All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2019

Upper Caste's Gediminas Tower (14th century) with the Royal Palace of Lithuania (the Palace of Grand Dukes of Lithuania, 16th century). Today, it houses a museum and an observation deck from which it can be seen a beautiful panorama of the city from the 75 m. high perchThe museum exposition features plans of castlereconstruction as well as armamentsGediminas Tower with the Lithuanian tricolor flag became a symbol of Lithuania. Gediminas Tower is a Western tower of the Higher Castle of Vilnius with an octagonal plan, stone foundations, and mainly brick walls built in the Gothic mannerAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2018

Šiltadaržio St. is ending at Bernardinų St.Art Printing House Culture Center with the Theater in the streetIn the streeet, there is a Toy Museum and other cultural atractionsAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020

The interior od the church is in the Rococo style with the exception of the Pac Chapel, which is late Baroque in the exterior, and rather Classical in the interior Impressive, gently-curved church pulpit in the Rococo style is created from wood and gold-plated tin in the second half of the 18th centuryThe church's mural painting is the only one of its size remaining in Lithuania. One arch depicts 19 scenes from St. Theresa's lifeAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020

In this street, it was used to be a market place where it meets Pilies street. The first Town Hall is also believed to have stood on this spot Pharmacy house in St. John St. No. 5. Georg Schulz's pharmacy operated in this house since 1639. During the war in 1655, the house was burned down. In 1781, pharmacist Koszyk acquired the ruined building and reconstructed it The Pac estate. Since 1628, the building belonged to the Pac magnate family of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1783, the dilapidated building was bought, renovated and decorated by the Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - Alexander Michael Sapieha. Currently, the building belongs to the Polish Embassy All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020

The main altar with Late Baroque forms, made from dark woodInterior of Church of St. Francis and St. BernardineWhile restoring the church, one of the largest mural paintings from the Late Gothic and Renaissance periods was discovered. They depict scenes from the Bible, Franciscan legends and symbolic imagesAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020

There were formerly two separate Gothic houses. Both were built before 1514 and belonged to clergy, goldsmiths, a surgeon and pharmacists. During the 1655-1661 war with Russia they were damaged and handed over to the capitulary of the Cathedral, which had them rebuilt in the Baroque styleThe building were severely damaged during the Second World War and renovated in 1957-1960Decorative Gothic façades and cylindrical vaults in the basement and on the ground floor have been reconstructed All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2019

In 1986 the east winf of the Old Arsenal was restored. It houses the Museum of Applied Art and Design. The Old Arsenal enables the visitors to feel the ambience of the Renaissance Vilnius The building of the Old Arsenal was remodelled by Sigismund Augustus (second half of the 16th century) in the Renaissance style, mainly by adding a third floor (the attic), decorated in double arch niches. In was an enormous building, reputed to be the largest in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth  The Old Arsenal was badly damaged during the war with Russia in 1655-1661, and remained a virtual ruin until the late 18th century when in 1780 was rebuilt and burned down at the end of WWIIAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020

The life and work of Dr. Jurgis and Marija Šlapelis reflects the life of the region of Vilnius from the second half of the 19th century to 1940. Both of them have been cultural figures in Lithuania. Marija was actress. They published Lithuanian books that were banned at that timeDr. Jurgis and Marija Šlapelis owned the only Lithuanian language bookstore in Vilnius during 1906-1949. The Šlapelis family bought the house in 1926. Before, it was a goldsmith's workshops, and later housed a small holet called the Hotel de Philadelphie, and a wine shop The building is an example of the 17-th century architecture. Dr. Jurgis died in 1941, and Marija in 1977 at the age of 97. After WWII, the house was nationalised, and, therefore, Marija Šlapelis was forced to live in two small rooms upstairs, with the only access to them through another person's quarters. Marija stipulated in her ...

Christmas Tree decoration at the Cathedral Basilica Square in Vilnius. The belfry is seen in the backgroundChristmas decoration in front of the principal building of the castle complex in Vilnius Old Town - Cathedral BasilicaCathedral Basilica of Vilnius is erected on the place of the pagan altar with a ceasred fire to the pagan god Perkūnas (god of Thunder)All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2019

A semi-circular corridor of the Bastion of Vilnius, where cannons were lined up at embrasures, was called a casemate. A special platform with a parapet for heavy artillery was built on the terrace of the bastionA 48-m long, 2,8-m wide and 3,5 m high impressive tunnel leads from the tower to the underground casemate. Cannons brought to the tower would be rolled down this tunnelThe main part of the Bastion of Vilnius is the casemate. It is an underground horseshoe-shaped room for cannons. The casemate forms a semicircle around a 3-4 metre-high hill heightened with sand. From the outside the façade is 8 m high, and sloping, and is built from bricksAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020

Of the two wings, only the east one is open to the public. It is used as a venue for art-exhibitions, usually for work by contemporary artistsThe east wing was given a tower in the mid-19th century. As viewing a show, visitors can admire its lavishly decorated rooms, with their elaborate woodwork and intricately painted walls and ceilingsThe most magnificent building is the eastern maintenance building, in which the interiors of the second half of the 18th century have been restoredAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2021

The church was built on the north side of the Lukiškių Square in 1624. However, the present building dates from the late 17th-18th cent.It is a single-nave Baroque church with cylindrical vaults. An image of the miraculous painting of the 18th century high altar occupies the niche above the porticoThe niches hold wooden 18th cent. statues of St. Hyacinth and St. Dominic. During the Soviet times there were designs to demolish the church but it did not ever happenAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2018

Užupio street is the main street in the city's district of Užupis. The district was in the Soviet time one of the most dilapidated districts in Vilnius. Many of the buildings did not have electricity and sanitary facilities, and the streets were unlitThe River Užupis which separates Užupis district from the Old Town. On one side of the river is a unique ensemble of sacred buildings and a park, while on the other side is "Republic of Užupis", where a number of artists live and work"Angel of Užupis" sculpture. An angel is playing a trumpet that provides ideas about Užupis to others and protects the district. The 24th Article of the Constitution of Užupis, for instance, says that "Everyone has the right to understand nothing". The district is separated from the Old Town by the River Vilnia on three sides, and by a high hill on the fourth sideAll photos ...

Choral Synagogue is the place of the only working synagogue and school "Tarahat Hakodesh" in Vilnius This synagogue is built in the Oriental Moorish style and is only survived one out of some 105 before WWII synagogues and other Judaic prayer housesThe exterior contains an inscription in Hebrew "A prayer house is sacred for all nations", and above the pediment the tablets with the Ten Divine Commandments are representedAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020

Three crosses are believed to have first been erected on this hill above the Old Town of Vilnius in the 17th century to commemorate a group of 14 Franciscan monks from a nearby monastery who were martyred in the 14th century The monument has changed several times. The present one was built in 1989 to replace one that had been removed by the Soviet authorities in the 1950sOne of the best panoramic views of the Old Town of Vilnius is offered from the Hill of Three CrossesAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020

The founder of the church was a Grand Hetman and Vilnius Voivode of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The 17th-century church's façade is modest, however the interior is richly ornate with a number of stucco mouldings The church was built to mark the liberation of Vilnius from Moscow (The 1655-1661 War) and the founder's own escape from the hands of rebellious soldiers. The interior was created by the Italians G. P. Perti and G. M. Galli, who decorated it with more than 2,000 stucco mouldings The chandelier was created in 1905 in Riga and represents the Biblical Noah's arkAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2018

A former Gothic façade that was uncovered at Karmelitų Str. around Rūdninkų Square in the Old Town of VilniusThe back-side façade from the inner courtyardThe back-side façade from the inner courtyard. The house is located on the territory of WWII Large Jewish GhettoAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020