Lithuanian National Museum (New Arsenal) and a Monument to King Mindaugas

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

Alumnatas Courtyard was the location for the student dormitory of a pontifical seminary in which seminary students (alumni) and future Greek Catholic (Uniate) priests lived. The courtyard is located in the Monastery Quarter of Vilnius very close to the Old Campus of Vilnius University and Presidential Palace (Prezidentura). Alumnatas (the Greek Catholic/Uniate) Courtyard in probably the most impressive and beautiful courtyards in Old Town of VilniusIn the mid-17th century, the courtyard was remodelledin an Italian Renaissance style , along with a chapelLater the buldings around Alumnatas Courtyard passed to Vilnius UniversityAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2018

All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic

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

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

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

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

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 church is Gothic, with some Baroque forms that it acquired in the late 18th centuryIn 1812 the church was partly destroyed by the French army that used it as a granary. Since 1864 the church was closed and converted into an archive The church adjoins a monastery, the oldest in Lithuania, whose construction began in Gediminas' times (in 1334)All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2018

The Church of the Heart of Jesus is a significant monument of Baroque (finished in 1756). It is the only Roman Catholic church in Lithuania to be built along a Greek Orthodox cross designThe church has a large octagonal cupola (dome) and a very reach the elegant exterior. The interior is no less magnificent, although it was severely damaged during the Soviet timeAfter 1945, a prison was established in the church and convent buildings. The church interior and the plan of the convent buildings were transformed. After 1990, the sacral buildings are returned to their former ownersAll 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

The interior sculptural décor was created by Pietro Perti (Italian master) in 1700-1705. Twin towers were built on in the 18th century. It was built by the efforts of Casimir Sapieha the Younger (1637-1720) in 1694-1717 On the façade frieze two Christian soldiers taken into captivity by the Muslims are represented. The main goal of the Trinitarian Order was returning such captives to their homelands The church has an impressive cupola (dome), the interior is adorned with stucco relief works and sculptures - a large part of them is survived. The church is a "sister" to the Church of St. Peter and St Paul in Vilnius (Antakalnis)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 church was named after St. Nicholas, who was the Bishop of Myra and the patron of travelers and merchants. The character of Santa Claus is thought to be based on this saintThe Church of St. Nicholas in Vilnius is the oldest surviving Late Gothic church in Lithuania. The small church was used by the Franciscan monks, who lived nearbyThe interior of the church is decorated with ornate rib and groin vaults. A 16th-century picture of St. Nicholas with a silver frame is located on the left altarAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2018

St. Lazarus' almshouse operated in this church, plague and famine victims were buried there. In 1715, the church and the monastery were given to the brethren of St. Rochus who tended to sick people, and in 1752 - to the sisters of MaryIn a cemetery at the church many outstanding people were buried, among others architect Laurynas Stuoka-Gucevičius. A memorial plaque to him is set up on the south façade of the church. However, later the cemetery was turned into a storage site of construction materialsThe church was severely damaged during a fire in 1794. The church was reconstructed and slightly transformed in 1801-1806. In 1864, the convent was closed down, and the buildings converted into a prisonAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020

Wonderful panoramic view can be seen from the roof (platform) of Gediminas Tower (Upper Castle Tower)Despite wars and destructions, the architectural ensemble of Vilnius Old Town remains unique. Baroque domes and towers of Vilnius Old Town coexist with an irregular medieval city plan Vilnius Old Town is lacking German or Scandinavian features, rather reminiscent of Prague or Rome, Vilnius differs greatly from the other Baltic capitalsAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2019

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 church is an elegant late Baroque monument built-in 1702-1730. It is made even more attractive by an asymmetrical monastery ensemble in 1713-1730The towers date from the mid-18th century. They end in rococo domes with lanterns Both the church and the monastery belonged to the Jesuit Order. The monastery was intended for the Jesuit monks with 10 years of service experience seeking to become professed Jesiuts, i.e., to make the last ceremonial vowes All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2019

Church of St. Anne (left) and Bernardine Church (right). The church of St. Anne is a unique monument of red firebrick Gothic architecture in LithuaniaSt. Anne Church, designed in 1495-1500 by Benedikt Rejt, built up at the turn of the 15th century, and renovated in 1902-1909. 35 different kinds of brick were used help in creating the church. The façade was reinforced in 1960-1970St. Anne Church - a church which French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte wanted to put on his palm and carry it over to Paris. The Church of St. Anne is symmetrical, marked by graceful, pointed forms that continue upwardAll 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