| Page Views: 7,605 Last Visit to Vilnius: - I Live Here | Vilnius - mix of cultures by Raimix - last update: Jun 30, 2009 |
Mix of cultures - it is nice to say about Vilnius like about cosmopolitan city in mostly all history of this town. Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, Jewish and other cultural influences shaped this town and it can be seen from Vilnius old town's architecture and population, where only about 55% of people are Lithuanians, differently from other places of Lithuania.
It's hard to introduce Vilnius with two - three words. It is just beautiful: unique old town with beautiful churches, castle, river Neris and much more to see.
In the 5th century, a wooden castle occupied a site overlooking the junction of Neris and Vilna rivers. By the 13th century, a town had grown up beside the protective walls of the castle. The first written mention of Vilnius was in 1323 by the founder of the city, Grand Duke Gediminas.
I hope Vilnius is going to be the main town of North-East Europe, because it shows a lot of attempts to do this purpose.
I am always trying to update this page by new things I experienced in my home town - Vilnius is changing so fast, that sometimes I feel like tourist in city I live for 25 years. |
|  | Old town and architecture
It takes lot of time to explore old part of Vilnius, because of this old town is one of the biggest in Europe.
What is more, Vilnius sometimes is called "baroque town" due to lot of baroque architecture in old part of town. It is not really right phrase, it seems architecture is much more different - there are Gothic, Renaissance, classicism and more styles too for exploring. The real example of mixed architecture can be Vilnius University, working from the year of 1579.
Vilnius historical centre (old town) was included to UNESCO World Heritage list in the year of 1994. |
|  | Vilnius - town of churches
The most fascinating trip in Vilnius is a trip of all churches in old town and not only there. The styles of churches ranging from Gothic to classicism makes special feeling and broadens the knowledge of architecture.
Lithuania is the only Catholic country of three Baltic countries and the Catholicism especially is highlighted by the great number of old churches in Vilnius. |
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| Pros: | "Beautiful city and nice people." | | Cons: | "Some ugly sovietic micro-regions, crowd of cars." | | In A Nutshell: | "Go and see the all main architecture styles of Europe in Vilnius!" |
Raimix's Vilnius Travel Tips
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Comments for Raimix about Vilnius | | | | |
BruceDunning Sun Aug 2, 2009 23:45 UTC The buildings have a lot of elegance and solid pride in what they stand for. Great pictures and comments of your fine city | Tuna_ank Sun Jul 19, 2009 17:25 UTC Your city looks very nice. I will see there soon. Thanks for explanations. | Andrew_W_K Fri Jul 17, 2009 15:07 UTC Great tip. It reminds me of the Madelaine in Paris, very similar neo classical architecture. | junecorlett Sat Jun 27, 2009 07:39 UTC Vilnius is a very pretty place. Nice restaurant tips, the decor is lovely. |
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