Vilnius Panorama of the Neris River

Originally, the Vilnius Lower Castle's jurisdictional court and administration was housed in this building during the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 18th century it was reconstructed into a weapons store-house and militarry baracks. Today, the museum holds the most important archaeological, historical, and ethnic cultural collections of Lithuania that cover Lithuania's history from the Stone Age to the present-day. In front of the building is a monument to King Mindaugas In 2003, a monument to King Mindaugas was erected in the square in front of the building of New Arsenal (today Lithuanian National Museum)In the 19th century, an entrance in the Classical style was biultAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2018

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

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 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

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

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

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

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

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

A plaque above the entrance to the courtyard of the house in which Mark Antokolski lived in the Old Town of VilniusThe inner courtyard of the house in which Mark Antokolski livedMark Antokolski returned to Vilnius every summer while studying at the Imperial Art Academy in St. Petersburg in the years 1862-1868All 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

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

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

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 ...

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

The church and Vilnius Calvary are an expression of gratitude to God for the liberation in 1661 of Lithuania from the Russian EmpireIt is the second oldest and once the most famous Calvary in Lithuania, revered by pilgrims and processions of believersThe late Baroque church was rebuilt in the 18th century. The central nave is decorated with 18th century mural paintings, the sacristy - with 18th century stucco relief worksAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2021

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 ...

One of Baroque gates of the Sapieha ParkAmong the surviving details of the palace are Baroque façades with stucco relief works by Pietro Perti and three Baroque gates. The park is the only one in Vilnius Vilnius with features of a regular Baroque park The palace and the gates were decorated with sculptures and frescoes created by masters who had worked in the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul and St. Casimir's Chapel of the Cathedral Basilica in VilniusAll photos are copyrighted by Vladislav B. Sotirovic© Vladislav B. Sotirovic 2019

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

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