Chasing Summer –

Vilnius Cathedral

This cathedral was originally built in 1251. When I hear these dates, it seems so unreal. I’m from a country where buildings have been built to last for only a couple hundred years, not several hundred years.

Like most of the really old buildings, it’s been burnt down and broken, only to be reconstructed and renovated over its long history.

It is an immense building with huge columns dominating its front.

Gediminas Tower

This tower sits on the top of a hill at 465 ft. and is easily seen. It was constructed in the 14th century. There are 2 ways to ascend. I approached from the old town and followed a sign to a closed walkway. From the overgrowth, I would say it’s been closed for a while.

The actual entrance is on the other side, which involves a long walk around the base of the hill. I chose to circle to the right mistake. It took a while, but eventually, I met up with the steep trail up. If I had gone left, I would have arrived at the funicular that goes up first. It costs 1 euro in each direction, so I highly suggest that anyone take it.

There is no advantage to the steep climb except more sweat on a hot day. Once I got the top, there were some nice views of the old part of town. It costs 6 euros if you want to climb the tower itself, but I was done climbing, so I just headed back down.

From the top, you can also look across and see the Three Crosses monument.

Palace of the Grand Duke & Monument to Gediminas

At the bottom of the tower hill, there is the Palace of the Grand Duke. Again, the original building fell into disrepair and was torn down and rebuilt between 2002 and 2018. It was used as a government building, particularly for meetings during Lithuania’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.

It is also a museum, but I didn’t go inside. I’m not big on museums.

Out front is the monument to Gediminas. He was a grand duke and lived from 1275-1341.

Old Town and Pilies Street

Pilies Street is in the old town. It connects two main squares of Cathedral Square and Town Hall Square. It is also the place of festivals and markets.

While nothing special was going on mid week when I was here, there were several vendors hawking their wares.

From here, I also went to see the Uzupis Mermaid and the Bridge of Uzupis. Uzuupis is a haven for art and artists, and there are several shops and work areas to support new artists and their work.

Vilnus University

This is the Baltic’s oldest university and has been a teaching institution since 1579. I spent a little time winding through its courtyards and visiting St. John’s Church, which is on the university grounds.

All Saints Church is from the 1620s. There is a tunnel through the sewers connecting the church to the ghettos and priests would provide bread to be brought into the ghetto. The priests also hid some Jews who were smuggled out through this tunnel.

There is also a tower to climb or take an elevator up but it wasn’t open when I was there.

Churches and other Buildings

Of course, there were a slew of churches of several denominations that I visited and loads of buildings that I just found arctitectually apealling.

The Orthodox Church of St. Paraskeva is one of only two fully Lithuanian language parishes for the orthodox church. It was built in 1346. Destroyed by fire in 1557 and again in 1748. There was severe damage in WWII. It was renovated and reconsecrated in 1990.

St. Casimir’s Church was built in the early 17th century by the Jesuits. It also suffered damage and disrepair but was reconsecrated in 1991 and returned to the Catholic community.

Holy Spirit Orthodox Church was built between 1749-1753.

Gate of Dawn and the Chapel was just a minute away from my hotel. It is a city gate and a major Catholic pilgrimage site.

St. Anne’s Church is a Roman Catholic church. It is in Flamboyant Gothic style

I stayed in Moon Garden Hotel, which is just on the outskirts of the old town and a ten minute walk from the train station. It has a receptionist from 8 am to 8 pm only, so late arrivals need to make arrangements to get their door codes to get in. There was also a wonderful breakfast available for purchase.