The Central Buildings of the Old Campus of the Vilnius University

Monument to the Gaon of Vilnius Elijah ben Solomon Zalman (1720-1797) called "Jewish Saga". The monument is located on the place where he lived. The house was destroyed during WWII and it was not restored. Nearby the monument there is a memorial plaque in Lithuanian and Hebrew on a building at Žydų (Jewish) Street Antokolski Street in Vilnius Old Town's Jewish Quarter. In this street the famous 19th century sculptor Mark Antokolski lived in 1843-1862. It was here he created his first sculptors depicting the inhabitants of his native quarter, which later gained recognitionMėsinių Street in Vilnius Old Town. That was one of the longest and most important street in the Jewish QuarterAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2019

A fresco by P. Repšys created in 1976-1985, which depicts scenes from Lithuanian mythologyTo enter the Lithuanian Philology Centre is possible from Mathias Casimirus Sarbievius CourtyardThe fresco composition is painted for the occasion of the 400th years anniversary of Vilnius University establishment (in 1579)All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2018

Cathedral Basilica of St. Stanislaus and St. Vladislaus in Vilnius. Today the Cathedral Basilica is in the Classicist style as it was redisigned in 1783-1801 by Lithuanian architect Laurynas Gucevičius  Baroque-style Cathedral's St. Casimir's Chapel built in 1610-1632 for holding the remains of St. Casimir (declared in 1604 by Pope Clemens VIII as the saint Cathedral Basilica Bell Tower. It is rebuilt tower that was part of the defensive wall that encircled the Lower CastleSaveAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2018

Polish King Jan Sobieski, Russian Emperor Alexander I and French Emperor Napoleon I visited the mansion on various occasions. The building was reconstructed in 1839-1841. The present façade is ClassicalA Florentine artist Michelangelo Palloni, was invited from Italy in 1674 to work at Pažaislis monastery and church near Kaunas, and Mykolas Kazimieras Pacas then commissioned him to paint frescoes for of this estate.Unfortunately, none of the original interior, which also included rich stucco work, remainsAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2022

The Augustines established themselves on this site in Vilnius Old Town after 1661. The monastery date from the late 18th centuryIn 1833-1842 the monastery housed the Vilnius Spiritual Academy. In 1859 it was converted into a Russian Orthodox Church of St. AndrewIn 1918 the church was returned to the Roman Catholics and renovated. After WWII the interior was destroyed during the installation of a ferroconcrete ceiling; the church was used as a warehouse in the Soviet timeAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2019

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 ...

The Bastion is comprised of a tower, cannon room and 48 m. the long corridor connecting it with the towerThe walls and moats of the Bastion were excavated in 1965-1970, and the canon room was renovated in 1985-1986 The entire Bastion is converted into a museum, and since 1987 it houses an exhibition of defensive fortifications and weaponryAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2019

The north wing of the Library Courtyard with the building of the Faculty of History of the Vilnius UniversityThe entrance to the Central Library of the Vilnius University is decorated by the memorial door in 2001 for the 450 year anniversary of the first book printed in the Lithuanian language (1547)The main building with the main entrance to the Vilnius University with the Rector Office seen from the Library CourtyardAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020

According to legend, the monastery and wooden church were built circa 1332 in the burial spot of the Franciscan monks that had been martyred by Lithuanian pagansThe building complex is formed in the mid-18th century. Today, the church possess six Late Baroque-style altars, with the main altar having a picture of the Holy Virgin Mary that is considered to be miraculous. A copy of the picture is painted on the façade in 1742 The monument to famous Lithuanian neo-Classicist architect Laurinas Gucevičius, the founder of Vilnius neo-Classicism, is erected in 1994 in the square in front of the church.   All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020

A museum operates today in the House of Signatories, along with a memorial hall where the act of Lithuania's independence was signed on February 16th, 1918 when Lithuania was under the German occupation and administration during WWI (1915-1918)The first floor of the house with statues symbolizing agriculture and fishing is very decorative. Niches on the second floor hold two male bustsHaving acquired this house in the late 19th century, Karol Sztral reconstructed it according to architect Aleksei Polozov's project in the style of HistoricismAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2019

In this house, belonging at the time to a university professor, Adam Mickiewicz stayed for a short period in 1822 and completed the poem "Gražina"It is small museum of three rooms but it is currently being expended. Among the exhibits are several portraits of Adam Mickiewicz and some period furniture, including a table and chair from Kaunas and a chair from Paris that the poet himself usedThe exhibition includes among the many volumes of his work in foreign languages, for instance, a Persian translation of his "Sonnets from the Crimea" All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020

This building in Savičiaus Street in Vilnius Old Town acquired its present appearance in the 18th century with the 19th-century façade. Until the mid-19th century, the building was home to Vilnius governors and burgomasters In 1995, on the artist's 120th anniversary, a memorial culture center and the flat museum was opened in this house. The center and museum, today, hosts lectures on music, art, and philosophy, as well as chamber concertsM. K. Čiurlionis created 350 musical pieces and around 500 artworks. When he lived in this house, he created his most remarkable paintingsAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2019

Earlier in this courtyard was an artillery school. The Rector of the Vilnius University S. Malewski as well as lived in the building of this courtyardA poet Adam Mickiewicz spent much time with his son in their house in 1818-1819. As the first-year student, he lived in one of those buildings. Later, it became a gathering place of the PhilomatsThe courtyard is surrounded by two-storey buildings. A Gothic façade of one of them is facing Pilies StreetAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2023

An idea to designate this small street a memorial site to writers began to be implemented in 2008Literatų Street No. 5: The Piasecki house built in the late 18th century. In 1823, having arrived from Kaunas, Adam Mickiewicz resided here at the invitation of the parents of his friend Kazimierz Piasecki. On the pediment of the entry arch a memorial plaque with a Polish inscription is set up; plaques with Lithuanian and Russian inscriptions are set below on both sides of the arch In the 19th century there were many bookshops on this street, hence its nameAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2019

The architect of the Vilnius Bastion is unknown. The building that rose in the early 17th century is attributed to the period of late Renaissance and in that period Vilnius did not have a municipal architectThe wars of the mid-17th century and the 18th century weakened the military power of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The army led by the Russian Emperor Aleksey Mikhailovich approached Vilnius in August 1655 and seized the cityWhen Vilnius was liberated in 1660, the city's defensive fortifications needed repair. However, there was not enough funds and the citizens were unable to maintain defensive fortifications, supply them with arms and gunpowder and provide securityAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020

The church was financed by Grand Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Grand Hetman, and Vilnius Voivode - Lew Sapieha, who had converted to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism. He was one of the most influential nobles in the Grand Duchy of LithuaniaLew Sapieha gave the church and surrounding buildings for the Bernardine nuns to have a convent and built a Sapieha family mausoleum in the churchThe convent was also a place where the daughters of rich aristocrats were taught. Today, the Church Heritage Museum operates in the churchAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2019

The church is inconspicuous from the street, as its façade does not face the streetThe 51 meter-tall dome can be seen from seven Old Town streetsThe Dominican Church of the Holy Spirit is one of the most magnificent churches in Vilnius. It is an excellent monument of high and late Baroque  All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2018

One of the Latin inscriptions: "This house is that of Urania: be gone profane worries! Here the humble Earth is scorned: from here one rises to the stars"Here it was a Jesuit pharmacy. Medical herbs were grown in the courtyardThe buildings of the Observatory Courtyard are the oldest in the university ensembleAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2018

Universiteto St. 3 - The oldest building of Vilnius University with Gothic elements stands there dating from early 16th centuryThe Brzostowski estate. In 1667-69, a plot of land with buildings was bought by a diplomat, later the Trakai voivode Cyprian Pawel Brzostowski. The exterior and interior of the palace was decorated by architect Martin Knackfuss in 1769Alumni house. It was the Ecclesiastical Seminary founded by Pope Gregory XII in 1582. A three-storey palace with arccades was built in 1622All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020

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