VILNIUS 51

Façade of St John’s Church and

adjoining bell tower

Vilnius

University^6
Vilniaus universitetas

Universiteto 3. Map D3. Tel (5) 268

7001. 
      

      10am–5:30pm Mon–Sat.

      
      

      8 for prior booking call (5) 268

      
      


7002. = http://www.vu.lt

The oldest university in
Eastern Europe, Vilnius
University was founded as a
Jesuit College in 1568 before
becoming a school of higher
education in 1579. The
current campus, constructed
between the 16th and 18th
centuries, is a combination of
different architectural styles.
Lithuania’s largest university,
it has 13 courtyards and
multiple buildings. The most
impressive of its courtyards,
the Great Courtyard has open

Colourful interior of Littera, with its collection of books and study material, Vilnius University

St John’s Church 7

šv Jono bažnyčia

Universiteto 3/šv Jono 12. Map D3.

Tel (5) 611 795. # 10am–5pm Mon–

Sat. 5 6pm Mon–Sat, 11am Sun.

At the southern edge of the

Vilnius University campus,

the imp ressive façade of the

Church of St John the Baptist

and St John the Evangelist

and the nearby bell tower

dominate the Great Courtyard.

The original Gothic church,

built here in 1426, was recon-

structed in 1749 in flamboyant

Baroque by Jan Krzysztof

Glaubitz (1700–67). He

was the most influential of

Vilnius’s late-Baroque archi-

tects and one of the creators

of the distinct school known

as Vilnius Baroque.

The magnificent structure

boasts an overwhelming

four-tier façade made up of

clusters of columns. The

church has ten imposing

altars that are interconnected.

These faux marble altars with

Corinthian columns illuminate

the otherwise austere interior.

Initially, there were 22 col-

umns, most of which were

removed during further rebuil-

ding in the 19th century. At

68 m (223 ft), the bell tower,

which was given two addi-

tional tiers by Glaubitz,

is considered the tallest

structure in the Old Town.

centuries, illustrating the
heavy impact that Christian
themes had on traditional
mediums such as sculpture.
The collection includes way-
side wooden crosses, shrines,
saints and rūpintojėlis
(Lithuanian local represen-
tations of a weary Christ hold-
ing his head in his right hand).
Particularly illuminating is the
work of Vincas Svirskis (1835–
1916), a prolific craftsman
who carved many shrines for
farmsteads and villages in the
Kėdainiai and Kaunas regions.

galleries dating from the 17th

century, which were later

lined with dedications to

professors. Accessed via a

passage from the western side

of the Great Courtyard, the

Observatory Courtyard by

contrast is a serene enclosed

garden from which the

observatory and its zodiac

symbols can be seen.

Sarbievius Courtyard, the

oldest part of the campus, is

located north of the Great

Courtyard and at its far end,

is the bookshop Littera.

Frescoes carica turing profes-

sors and students decorate its

interior. These were painted

in 1978 by Lithuanian artist

Antanas Kmieliauskas.