The Bastion of the Vilnius Defensive Wall (II)

Grand Duke Gediminas is considered as the founder of the city of Vilnius. The monument is located in front of the Royal Palace and Cathedral Basilica in the very downtown of VilniusGediminas was a diplomatic politician, creating ties with the Roman Pope and other European rulers. He created favourable conditions for merchants and guildsmen to come to the city. Gediminas was a Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1316 to 1341During the time of Gediminas, people of different ethnicities and confessions began to live in Vilnius. He is the founder of the Gediminian-Jagelonian ruling dynasty of Lithuania and later of Poland as well (till 1572)All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2018

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

The organ, made by famous German master Adam G. Casparini in 1776, is one of the most valuable cultural monuments of Lithuania. The organ itself is the only surviving original 18th-century instrument in LithuaniaThe church has many Baroque frescoes. In the cupola, there is a multi-figural composition "Apotheosis of the Holy Spirit" (neo-Baroque, 19th century)The altars and the pulpit are lavishly decorated with round and relief sculptures and ornamentation All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2018

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

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

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

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

It was built from 1633 to 1654 under the patronage of the Vice-Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Stephen Pac. Most probably the exterior was designed by Italian Constantino Tencalla. The exterior of the Church of St. Theresa is designed according to the models of Roman architecture: it is noble and harmonious, built along with the vertical principle with volutes and side obelisksThe St. Theresa Church (left) is located at Dawn St. nearby the Gate of Dawn (at the top) that is famous for its miraculous image of the Mother of Mercy (or Mary of Vilnius)The chapel is built by the Barefoot Carmelite monks for the miraculous picture of Mary of Vilnius in 1671. The St. Theresa Church was built with a large Barefoot Carmelite Monastery, established near Vilnius' defensive wall All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2018

The building in Vilnius Street in Vilnius No. 25 in which Jonas Basanavičius died in hospital on February 16th, 1927. The day of his death coincided with the anniversary of the Independence Act in 1918A memorial plaque on the building informs that in this building in 1909 the Editorial Board of the oldest Lithuanian newspaper "Lithuanian News" started to work Another memorial plague on the building as this building housed a music school, where the famous violinist Jascha Heifetz studied in 1905-1909 All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2022

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

Vilnius University was the first observatory center in Eastern Europe and the 4th in the worldWhite Hall now houses unique astronomical instruments and a reading roomThe narrow staircase leads to the observatory tower, which reveals a panorama of the Vilnius Old TownAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2023

At the Church of the Holy Spirit, a Dominican monastery was established on St. Ignatius Street in 1501. In the 19th century, the buildings of the monastery were converted into a prison The entrance from St. Ignatius Street to the former old Jesuit Novitiate: arranged around three courtyards. It is the same age as the nearby Church of St. IgnatiusThe Church of St. Ignatius was erected from 1622 to 1647 being devastated by fires in 1748-1750. It suffered during the war against Russia from 1655 to 1661. The porch was added in the 19th century.All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020

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 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

The historical building in Tyzenhauzų Str. in VilniusTyzenhauzų Str. building in VilniusTyzenhauzų Str. building in VilniusAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2021

The main façade of the Presidential Palace (Prezidentura) in Vilnius at Simonas Daukantas SquareThe presidential coat-of-arms is adorning the entrance to the President's Chancellery on University StreetThe Inner Courtyard of the Presidential Palace - the palace of the President of the Republic of Lithuania since 1997All 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 of the Assumption is one of the Vilnius' most beautiful Baroque churches and most mature building of the Vilnius' Baroque schoolConstruction on the church began in 1695 and the final work was carried out by Vilnius' Baroque architect Johann Christoph Glaubitz (1700-1767) in 1750-1756The front façade is adorned by a domical rotunda vestibule, and two elegant towers with clocks All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2019

Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania is a national cultural institution open to all users, active in the areas of dissemination of information, culture, science, and education, performing library activities and ensuring implementation of the national information policy falling within its competence The mission of the library is to be the Lithuanian space of knowledge-creating value for the public The vision of the library: to become an integral part of the state's information policy, culture, education, science, and economic progressAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2019

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