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It is one of the most attractive Russian Orthodox churches in Vilnius: the exterior is a profusion of shining onion-shape domes; but the interior is remarkably serene. The interior's simplicity is interupted only by an elaborate iconostasis The internal space is created by two huge pairs of parallel semi-circular arches, intersecting at the top under the central dome which is also the main source of lightA panel on the right of the iconostatis depicts the two saints, both from noble families in the Middle Ages, to whom the church is dedicatedAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020[wpedon id="1558" align="left"]

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

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[wpedon id="1558" align="left"]

Beside the main house (close to the Antakalnio St.) stands a residential house, in which the first exhibition of Lithuanian art took place in 1907A monument to the brothers Vileišis in Vilnius near the River NerisThe main Vileišis building was one of the first in Vilnius, for whose construction a rare material in Lithuania - concrete - was used. The main house was built in 1904-1906 by the Lithuanian businessman and public figure Petras Vileišis according to a design by engineer August Klein   All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2018

It is thought that a settlement existed on this site before the times of Gediminas and even Mindaugas (killed in 1263), in the 12th centuryThere are several interesting buildings on Bokšto StreetView of Vilnius' Bastion from Bokšto StreetAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2018

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[wpedon id="1558" align="left"]

The church is endowed by Juliana, the wife of Lithuania's Grand Duke Algirdas (1345-1377) and mother of Lithuania's and Poland's ruler Jogaila. Grand Duke of Lithuania Jogaila baptized Lithuania in 1387. She was buried in the churchFragments of Gothic masonry have survived in the bottom part and in some segments up to the top. The present façades and the cupola imitate Georgian medieval architectureIn 1415 the church was transformed into a cathedral. In 1511-1522 it was reconstructed by Prince Constantine Ostrogsky. In 1516 Helen (a Russian Orthodox), wife of Alexander Jagiellon (Polish King and Lithuanian Grand Duke) was buried there. In 1609 the cathedral was given to the Uniates (Greek Catholics). In 1865-1868 it rendered its present appearance, and it began to function as a church again All photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2018

The Town Hall hosted a court, archive, weapons depository, as well as a prison for artisans that had broken the law. Burgomasters also held meetings in the Town Hall, as did the Council of Merchants Since 1991, Vilnius Old Town Hall once again is functioning as a place for holding important events like art exhibitions, concerts, conferences, meetings, etcIn the Middle Ages, the Town Hall Square was a place where physical punishment was carried out. There were gallows and a scaffold nearby, where executions were carried outAll 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

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[wpedon id="1558" align="left"]

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

After being baptized in 1251 into the Roman Catholicism in 1251, Grand Duke Mindaugas built the first cathedral in Vilnius on the site of the present-day Cathedral Basilica (Cathedral of St. Stanislaus and St. Vladislaus). Before that, in pagan times an altar, a sacred fire or even a Perkūnas sanctuary was located on the site of today's Cathedral Basilica The creation of the Lithuanian state started as late as the 13th century. Its first outstanding ruler Mindaugas was baptized in 1251 and crowned King of Lithuania on July 6th, 1253. Today, July 6th is a national holiday of Lithuanian statehood It is assumed that it was Mindaugas who built the first Cathedral in Vilnius. Traces of the original Cathedral incorporating Romanesque style features have been discovered in the vaults of the present Cathedral. After Mindaugas's death, the Christian (Roman Catholic) Cathedral was turned into a place of pagan worship. The author ...

This is the first Evangelical Lutheran Church (Kirche) built-in Vilnius in 1555 on the initiative of the Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Nicholas Radziwiłł the Black. In front of the church, there is a monument erected to Martin Luther The church was rebuilt in 1662 and substantially reconstructed in 1738-1744. In 1944 it was closed down. In 1993 it was returned to the parishioners and renovatedThe church has a single nave and an original pentagonal shape. Its magnificent high altar was designed by German Protestant architect Jan (Johan) Krzysztof GlaubitzAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2019

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

The silver cofin of St. Casimir is under a plaster canopy accompanied by relics. Under the cofin is a miraculous painting in a silver frame, with a silver statue with the saint's attributes placed on the cofin. The relief features a very rare depiction of a smiling Blessed Virgin Mary with Baby JesusIn the chapel there are eight silver-plated wooden Baroque statues of the Kings and Grand Dukes of Poland and Lithuania from the Gediminid and Jagiellon dynasties from the 17th centuryThree-Handed Image of St. Casimir c. 1520. This painting is considered to be miraculous. In 1743 the painting was put into a silver, gold-plated framing. St. Casimir is holding lilies and a rosary, which are his symbolsAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2020

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

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

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[wpedon id="1558" align="left"]

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

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 ...