Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

(Ben Green) #1

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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Church of
St Catherine

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