Vilnius

Thursday, October 4

A fifteen-minute walk took us to the Town Hall Square, where we picked up maps of the city and explored a little of the Old Town on our own before meeting up with a very multicultural group assembled for a morning walking tour through the town center. As is standard with these tours, we had an enthusiastic young guide, whose commentary covered history, language, religion, food, and quirky anecdotes as we walked along the streets and lanes of the city.

As is the case with its Baltic cousins, Lithuania’s history is one of occupation by neighboring powers, though its 400-year-long alliance with Poland has resulted in cultural differences that are evident to this day.  

Nevertheless, like Estonia and Latvia to the north, Lithuania first won independence from Russia in 1918, a status that lasted for just 20 years, until the onset of World War II, when Germany and the Soviets carved up areas of Eastern Europe and the Baltics came under Russia’s “sphere of influence.”  The agreement was short-lived, and the Nazis occupied the Baltics until the Soviets seized control in 1944.  Though each of the three nations had, and continues to maintain, a strong sense of national identity and pride, they presented a unified front in their opposition to Soviet domination and in the Singing Revolution of the late 1980s.  Lithuania was, in fact, the first to declare its independence in 1990.

Linguistically Lithuania and Latvia share similarities, while in terms of religion, Lithuania’s dominant Catholicism owes much to its centuries of Polish influence, though the country’s strong pagan roots are still obvious in its observance of certain holidays and customs.

Vilnius had a large and thriving Jewish community before World War II, 95% of which did not survive.  We stopped at the site of the city’s largest synagogue, destroyed by the Nazis, then replaced by a Soviet elementary school.  The subterranean remnants of the synagogue remain, and there are plans to tear down the now-unused school and use the synagogue’s artifacts in a memorial on the site.  Today, only one synagogue remains in this city; before the war, there had been over 100...  Lithuania has begun to own up to the fact that many of its own citizens assisted the Nazis in their hunt for their Jewish neighbors; we expect to learn more about that horror tomorrow at the Holocaust Museum.  

Right in the middle of Vilnius is the “Uzupis Republic”, the local artists’ and bohemians’ quirky breakaway state.  It has its own VERY unusual constitution with 41 articles, some of which seem “normal” – others (like #1: Everyone has the right to live by the River Vilnele, and the River Vilnele has the right to flow by everyone.), maybe not so much…  At any rate, the constitution is displayed in dozens of languages along a wall in the “Republic,” which is home to about 7,000 people, and which celebrates its independence day on April 1.  When else?!?

We continued our walk through the Old Town, stopping at the Literature Street, where the walls are embedded with tiles and other artistic efforts honoring writers who have ANY connection with Lithuania, or who have even mentioned the country in their work.  There are empty spots available for additional authors; do you suppose this blog counts??

By the time we reached the huge Cathedral Square, the morning’s piercing wind had us feeling thoroughly frozen, so after a stop in the Cathedral, we walked along the main street of the New Town in search of a traditional Lithuanian lunch, but wound up in a British pub.  Truth be told, what we really wanted was just to sit down and warm up.

After lunch, we walked back to the Old Town to see the University of Vilnius, founded in 1579 by the Jesuits.  We visited the Great Hall of the University Library, where an exhibit of historical books, manuscripts and maps, some dating to the 13^th century, was on display under the frescoed ceiling.  Outside, we walked through the courtyards of the university’s “Architectural Ensemble”, and stopped in the Church of Sts. John on the Great Courtyard.

We retraced our steps up Pilies Gatve, the main lane of the Old Town, to the Town Hall Square and then home.  Vilnius has the largest Baroque Old Town in Europe, and even the presence of a number of Soviet-era (ugly) buildings doesn’t mar its overall effect; it’s lovely.