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The Royal Palace at the foot of the Castle Hill was a residence of the Grand Duke of Lithuania
The Lower Castle is related with the times of Sigismund the Old and Sigismund August, Qween Nona and Barbora Radvilaitė (16th century)
In the 16th century the Royal Palace with its Inner Courtyard was an Italian-style palace with four wings and attics. The building around encircled the Inner Courtyard of 2,500 square metres and were connected to the eastern wall of the Cathedral Basilica by a roofed gallery
All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic
© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2018
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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
Continue Reading![The Ensemble of the Verkiai Estate](http://see-vilnius.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Verkiai-Vilnius-150x150.jpg)
In 1780, Vilnius Bishop Ignacy Massalski settled in Verkiai. He commissioned Lithuanian architect Laurynas Gucevičius to reconstruct an earlier palace. The general plan and maintenance buildings were designed by Lithuanian architect Martin KnackfussThe ensemble encompasses the park of 36 ha. Situated on two terraces, the park consisted of two parts - the upper and the great park. A view of Vilnius and the Neris River is exposed from a steep slopeSince 1960 the ensemble belongs to the Lithuanian Academy of Science and is gradually renovatedAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2021
Continue Reading![Literatų Street](http://see-vilnius.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/DSCF1126-150x150.jpg)
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
Continue Reading![Vilnius Panorama of the Neris River](http://see-vilnius.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_20191124_132740-150x150.jpg)
Mindaugas Bridge is constructed in 2003. It has the name of the only Lithuanian King crowned on July 6th, 1253On the foothill on the left riverside of Neris, there is a Renaissance building of Old Arsenal followed by the buildings of House of the Castle Keeper and New Arsenal On the right riverside of Neris, a new business center of Vilnius is growing during the last two decadesAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2019
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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
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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
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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
Continue Reading![The Kenessa of Vilnius – Karaite sanctuary](http://see-vilnius.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/IMG_20200326_162820-150x150.jpg)
The architect Michail Prozorov designed the rectangular building with three-walled apse according to the requirements of Karaim liturgyThe oriental-style exterior has a protruding central part and the onion-shaped dome over it. The distinctive exterior of the building emphasises its unique purposeIn 1949, the Kenessa, along with many other sacral buildings, was nationalized and closed down. In 1988, it was returned to the Karaim community. In 1993, it was re-consecrated and has remained open sinceAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020
Continue Reading![The Russian Orthodox Church of St. Michael and St. Constantine](http://see-vilnius.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/DSCF6005-150x150.jpg)
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Continue Reading![Vilnius Old Town Hall](http://see-vilnius.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/DSCF6062-150x150.jpg)
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Continue Reading![The Calvary Church of the Discovery of the Holy Cross](http://see-vilnius.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Vilnius-Calvary-Church-4-150x150.jpg)
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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
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Continue Reading![The Renaissance Palace Garden in Vilnius](http://see-vilnius.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/IMG_20191124_130328-150x150.jpg)
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Continue Reading![The Bastion of the Vilnius Defensive Wall (I)](http://see-vilnius.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/DSCF2091-150x150.jpg)
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Continue Reading![Trakų Street in Vilnius](http://see-vilnius.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/DSCF2274-150x150.jpg)
Trakų St. finishes where it meets Pylimo St, which runs along the course of the old city wall. There used to be a gate here, which was pulled down together with the wall at the very beginning of the 19th century. In the niche of the Umiastowski estate (Trakų St. 2) there is a Statue of "The City Guard" (1973) In Trakų Street, there is the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption that was founded here by the noble Goštautas family in 1387, the same year as Lithuania became converted to Christianity. However, it is believed that the church with the monastery existed even earlierOne of courtyards of the buildings in Trakų StreetAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020
Continue Reading![Church of Blessed Mary the Comforter and the Augustine Monastery](http://see-vilnius.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_20191112_103208-150x150.jpg)
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
Continue Reading![Church of St. Anne](http://see-vilnius.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/DSCF6176-150x150.jpg)
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Continue ReadingThe Hill of Three Crosses
The Ensemble of the Verkiai Estate
Literatų Street
Vilnius Panorama of the Neris River
The Pac Mansion
Tyzenhauzų Str. building in Vilnius
The Verkiai Palace
Jewish Quarter (I)
The Kenessa of Vilnius – Karaite sanctuary
The Russian Orthodox Church of St. Michael and St. Constantine
Vilnius Old Town Hall
The Calvary Church of the Discovery of the Holy Cross
Church of the Holy Cross & former Hospitaller Monastery
The Bastion of the Vilnius Defensive Wall (III)
Vilnius – Guided Sightseeing Tours
The Renaissance Palace Garden in Vilnius
The Bastion of the Vilnius Defensive Wall (I)
Trakų Street in Vilnius
Church of Blessed Mary the Comforter and the Augustine Monastery
Church of St. Anne