Vilnius, Lithuania

I spent 1.5 days exploring Vilnius -- the capital of Lithuania.  I really enjoyed walking around the city -- although most of what was open when I was there were churches (sadly two of the museums that I wanted to visit were closed on Tuesdays).  Food was surprisingly good and people were just lovely -- it seems like everyone speaks excellent English (could just be my sample pool ☺).  My hotel was in a great central location but I wasn't overly impressed otherwise.  Note:  I could have easily spent another full day in Vilnius.

Vilnius was founded in 1323 by Grand Duke Gediminas, who attracted Jewish and German tradesmen and merchants with generous tax exemptions, for centuries it became a destination for those fleeing religious persecution or tough trade guild regulations.  The city's coat of arms features Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travelers.

The same liberal attitude continued through the centuries, and today the city still has its Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Russian Orthodox quarters.  For two centuries (from 1569), it was the co-capital of what was then Europe's biggest empire -- the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.  Later, Vilnius withstood Russian czarist and Soviet occupation, and in 1991 gained its freedom and independence.

Interesting tidbits about Vilnius & Lithuania:

• Lithuania's population:  2.84 million  (2017)
• Vilnius' population:  554,386 (2016)
• Vilnius has an anonymous swing foundation.  It's a group of people who install swings all around the city, often changing their locations.
• Lithuanian belongs to the Baltic group of the Indo-European family of languages.  It is one of the oldest spoken languages in the world and even has words which cognate in Sanskrit.
• The old town of Vilnius is one of the largest surviving medieval old towns in Northern Europe.
• The country is pretty flat -- Aukštojas Hill (964 feet above sea level) is the highest point in the the country.
• Lithuania only ever had a single king:  Mindaugas, who united the tribes and established a monarchy, but was assassinated a few decades later.
• Although 79% of the country is Roman Catholic, Lithuania was the last country in Europe to be converted to Christianity.  Before Christianity, the country's religion was Romuva.
• 190,000 Lithuanian Jews (91% of the population) were killed in the holocaust (WWII).

Landmarks viewed/visited:

• Bernardine Church
• The massive buttresses and towering walls of this, one of the most impressive churches in Vilnius, are capable of providing defense as well as worship.  After successive periods of extension and improvement in the 17th and 19th centuries, it came to a prosaic end when the Soviets converted it to a warehouse.  The Bernadine community regained their building after independence, restoring it to its former glory.
• Cathedral of the Theotokos
• Torrential downpour right before lunch -- I ducked into this cathedral for awhile to keep dry.
• Originally dating back to the middle of the 14th century, the city's Russian Orthodox Cathedral owes much of its partial Neo-Byzantine design to reconstruction work completed in 1522.  In 1808, soon after the start of czarist rule in Vilnius, the building fell into the hands of Vilnius University.  The church was restored as a house of worship towards the end of the 1860s.
• Gate of Dawn
• The chapel in the Gate of Dawn in the former city wall is the city's most famous Madonna, in radiant gold and silver.  Painted by an unknown artist, it was placed over the gates in the 16th century to protect the city from enemies and is said to have miraculous powers.
• Gediminas' Tower
• It is said that Gediminas Castle was built when the Duke of Lithuania Gediminas had a prophetic dream.  This small but powerful castle withstood numerous Crusader attacks.  The first brick castle was completed in 1409.
• Hill of Three Crosses
• Some say that the origins of the three crosses date back to the 17th century when three monks placed them there to pay tribute to a group of fellow monks who were martyred in the 14th century.  The monument has changed many times, and the current one was built by the architect and sculptor, Antanas Vivulskis, in 1989 with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
• St Anne's Church
• This Gothic masterpiece is believed to have been built between 1495 and 1500 to a design by the Bohemian architect Benedikt Rejt, who is most famous for designing parts of Prague Castle.  Unlike other historical churches in Vilnius, St Anne's has managed to escape the ravages of time almost unscathed and is arguably the least changed of them all.  Composed of 33 different styles of brick assembled into a delicate and intricte whole, the effect is simply quite stunning.
• St Casimir's Church
• St Casimir is Lithuania's patron saint.
• One of the finest Baroque churches in Vilnius.  And few churches in Lithuania can rival its unique, colorful history.  St Casimir's began as a Roman Catholic church -- however, at times, the church has also been Russian Orthodox, Lutheran, and a house of atheism -- depending on which foreign occupying power happened to be around.  The church was even occasionally transformed into a granary.  
• St Johns' Church
• Founded in 1387, it predates the 16th-century University within which it is situated, although the present late-baroque structure was built following an 18th-century fire.  Its freestanding campanile is the tallest structure in Old Town, and contains a Foucault's Pendulum demonstrating the rotation of the earth.
• Sts Peter & Paul's Church
• Believed to have been built on the site of worship to Milda, the pagan goddess of love, this breathtaking late Baroque masterpiece was commissioned to celebrate victory over the Russians in 1668.  The rather plain façade betrays an interior by Giovanni Pietro Perti and Giovanni Maria Galli that's quite simply out of this world.  Containing over 2,000 astonishing stucco moldings, representing miscellaneous religious and mythological scenes.  Visiting in 1812, Napoleon famously noted that the wanted to take the building back to Paris on the palm of his hand.
• Užupis Republic
• On 01 April 1997, the Užupis district declared itself a separate republic, forming a bohemian commune with a president, foreign ministry, and even a constitution.
• Vilnius Cathedral & Cathedral Square
• The most important Catholic building in Lithuania, the cathedral was first built in 1251.  The current building dates to around 1419, with countless modifications and additions made after that.  On the roof of the cathedral, the three statues of Sts Stanislaus, Helena, and Casimir, supposedly representing Poland, Russia, and Lithuania, are 1997 copies of the 18th-century originals which were destroyed by the Soviets in 1950.  Spending several years as an art gallery and even a car repair workshop, the cathedral was returned to the Catholic Church in 1988 and re-consecrated on February 5, 1989.
• The 57-meter free-standing bell tower was originally part of one of the gates in the city's defensive wall and has been added to several times over the centuries, giving it its peculiar shape.
• Vilnius University
• One of the oldest universities in Central Europe.  Founded in the 16th century when Europe was in the grips of the Protestant Reformation movement.  Jesuit monks were called to stop the spread of the movement and were asked to take over the education policy.  In 1569 they established a college and 10 years later, the university was born.  The university has 13 internal courtyards, and its building are a mix of Gothic, Baroque, and Classical styles of architecture with the oldest building dating back to 1570.

Breakfast treat:  Šakotis is a Polish-Lithuanian traditional spit cake.  It is made of butter, egg whites and yolks, flour, sugar, and cream, cooked on a rotating spit in an oven or over an open fire.  The cake became popular during the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569 - 1791).  Its origins are attributed to either the Italian Queen Bona Sforza of Poland or the Baltic tribe of Yotvingians.  

Its name means "branched tree" due to its distinctive shape (it is often conical, like a pine tree, and with the drips as branches.  It is baked in a time- and labor-intensive process, by painting layers of dough onto a rotating spit.

Lithuanian potato-meat dumplings (Cepelinai / Zeppelin).  Absolutely delicious (better than they look!) -- and incredibly filling!  There was an option to order 1 or 2 of these dumplings -- I initially ordered 2 -- but my waiter cautioned me that they were extremely filling and that I should start with just 1.  And he was so right!

Lithuania's national dish, cepelinai are large dumplings made of a mixture of raw and cooked potato dough that is filled with pork and doused in a ladle of sour cream and bacon sauce.  Though originally called didzkukuliai, the name was changed to cepelinai in the 20th century because of their resemblance to zeppelin airships.