The legend how was born

This legend relates to , Grand Duke of whose monument stands in Cathedral Square. Grand Duke, Gediminas, was on a hunting trip in the forests of Šventaragis valley around the mouth of the River Vilnia. When night fell, the party, feeling tired after a long and successful hunt, decided to set up camp and spend the night there. While he was asleep, Gediminas had an unusual dream in which he saw an iron wolf at the top of the mountain where he had killed an European bison that day. The iron wolf was standing on the top of a hill with its head raised proudly towards the moon, howling as loud as a hundred wolves. Awakened by the rays of the rising sun, the Duke remembered his strange dream and consulted the pagan priest Lizdeika about it. The latter interpreted the dream as follows: ‘Let that happen to the Ruler and the Lithuanian State what was fated to happen!’ He told the Duke that the dream was a direction to found a city among these hills. The howling of the wolf, explained the priest, represented the fame of the future city: that city will be the capital of Lithuanian lands, and its reputation would spread far and wide, as far as the howling of the mysterious wolf… So the Grand Duke of Lithuania, obeying the will of gods, immediately started to build the future capital, and took it the name – Vilnius – from the stream of the rapid Vilnia.

Vilnius Today

Today, Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, is one of the most frequently visited cities of Eastern Europe. It draws attention, not only because of its unique architectural character, but also by its cultural events and attractions. During the first ten years of independence the city has become a tourist attraction centre. During these ten years the number of tourists has consistently increased and at the same time tourist infrastructure and services have been developed. Vilnius, as the capital of Lithuania, is the home of the President, the Seimas, the Government and the Supreme Court. Diplomatic missions, educational, cultural, financial, research, and healthcare institutions are based here. It is also the largest city of the country. According to the 2012 statistics, the population of Vilnius is 523,000 people, which accounts for 17 per cent of the total population of the country. Vilnius occupies an area of about 400 square kilometres of which 20.2% approximately is developed, and the remainder is green space (43.9% approx.) and water (2.1% approx.). The historical centre of Vilnius, the Old Town, (Senamiestis) is one of the largest old town centres in Eastern Europe (covering almost 360 hectares). The Old Town is situated in a picturesque valley of two rivers – the Vilnia and the , at the crossroads of trade roads, next to the ford, which was guarded by Vilnius castle in the olden times.

Main Facts

1009 Lithuania is first mentioned in written sources, the Quedlinburg Annals, as the place (Litua) on whose borders with Rus’ a Catholic missionary, St Bruno was ‘hit on the head by angry pagans and departed to heaven’.

1253 Grand Duke Mindaugas is crowned King of Lithuania. Now the 6th of July is Statehood Day. Commemorates the coronation of the country’s only king, King Mindaugas.

1323 During Grand Duke Gediminas’ reign Vilnius is first mentioned as the capital of Lithuania.

1387 Grand Duke Jogaila (King Władysław II of Poland since February 1386) began the baptism of his pagan Lithuanian subjects as Christians of the Roman Rite, formed a dynastic union with the Kingdom of Poland and granted Vilnius the rights of a city.

1410 The joint forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania led by Grand Duke Vytautas and the Kingdom of Poland led by King of Poland Jogaila, defeated the Teutonic Order in battle at Grunwald [Tannenberg, Žalgiris].

1495 The first goldsmith and sewing shops were established. Vilnius starts to develop as a centre of trade, industry and culture of Eastern Europe.

1522 Francis Skoryna established the first printing press in the city. The city became one of the most famous book-printing centres in Europe.

1569 Following the Lublin Union thereby a Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (the Republic of the Two Nations) was established, Vilnius lost its importance as an administrative capital.

1579 The Collegium, an institution of higher education, was founded by the Jesuits in Vilnius and was upgraded to the level of Academy, by the Pope. It was the first university in the Baltic countries and became the most important cultural centre in the region.

1795 After the third Partition of the Republic of the Two Nations, Lithuania was annexed by Russia and the name Lithuania was applied to a Russian imperial province. Many city-dwellers were either killed or deported to the eastern regions of the Russian Empire.

1831 After the uprising against the Russian administration had been suppressed, closed down, Catholic churches were turned into Orthodox churches, monasteries were closed down or turned into barracks.

1862 The railway line Sank-Petersburg – Vilnius – Warsaw was built; an iron foundry and tobacco factory were opened; the first brewery was established.

1896-1902 Vilnius became a centre of national revival.

On the 16th February 1918 the Council of Lithuania proclaimed the restoration of an independent Lithuanian state.

1920 Lithuania lost part of the territory, including her historic capital, Vilnius, to Poland. The capital of Lithuania was transferred to Kaunas.

1939-1940 on the basis of the Molotov- Ribbentrop pact with Germany, the Soviet Union compelled Lithuania to sign a mutual assistance treaty, which allowed Red Army units to be stationed on Lithuanian territory. As a result of this alliance, Lithuania regained Vilnius but was incorporated into the Soviet Union.

World War II. During the Second World War, the Old Town of Vilnius suffered greatly. Fortunately, the majority of the most valuable buildings and monuments survived.

On the 11th of March 1990 the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania declared the restoration of Lithuania’s independence.

In May 2004 Lithuania became a member of the European Union and NATO, and Vilnius became the capital of the Member State of the EU and NATO.

*Information is taken from Vilnius Tourism internet page: http://www.vilnius-tourism.lt/