Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

Vilnius 1

Whether viewed from one of the hills that overlook the

Old Town or one of the many pavement cafés with tall

spires rising all around, Vilnius is unmistakably a city of

great beauty; it is home to six hundred thousand people.

The city sustained a series of wars, invasions and fires

between the early 17th and mid-18th centuries. Efforts

to rebuild the city resulted in the rich offshoot of the

Baroque style that is typical of Vilnius today. The Old

Town, on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1994,

blends Gothic and Neo-Classical styles.

The best places to begin a tour of the

Old Town are Vilnius Cathedral in

the north and the Gates of Dawn

in the south. Vilnius University

and its surround ing churches and

court yards are one of the city’s

finest architectural ensembles.

46 NORTH EASTERN EUROPE

Applied Arts Museum 5

Cathedral Square 2

Church of St Casimir 9

Gates of Dawn 0

Holocaust Museum w

Lower Castle 3

The Museum of Genocide Victims e

St John’s Church 7

State Jewish Museum q

Town Hall Square 8

Upper Castle 4

Vilnius Cathedral pp48–9 1

Vilnius University 6

SIGHTS AT A GLANCE

Outdoor cafés along a cobblestoned street, Old Town

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Franciscan

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Church of

St Catherine

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