Vilnius

Lithuania

PERSONAGES WHAT TO EAT MUST-SEE PICTURES

PERSONAGES

Mindaugas

Mindaugas (Lithuania, circa 1200 - Lithuania, 1263) was the first Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only king to be effectively in office in the history of the Country. Little is known about his origins, childhood, and rise to power; he is mentioned in a treaty of 1219 along with the older (or more influential) dukes of Lithuania, and in 1236 he is described as the head of all Lithuanians. During the summer of 1253 he was crowned king and, at the height of his conquests, came to exercise his dominion over about 100,000 km² of the so-called Lithuania proper, an area populated by 300,000 inhabitants, according to estimates. The lands of the Slavs in his possession or under his sphere of influence extended for another 100,000 km². In the 1990s, historian Edvardas Gudavičius published a study to reconstruct an exact coronation date, which he identified on 6 July 1253. On that date, the "State Day" (Lithuanian: Valstybės diena) is celebrated in Lithuania.

Vincas Kudirka

Vincas Kudirka (1858-1899) was a Lithuanian poet, author of the national anthem Tautiška Giesmė (The National Song). Kudirka began writing poetry in 1888 and at the same time became increasingly active in the Lithuanian nationalist movement. Together with other Lithuanian students in Warsaw he founded the secret society Lietuva ("Lithuania"). The following year the company began publishing the underground newspaper Varpas ("The Bell"), of which Kudirka was editor and journalist for ten years. On September 1898, he published in the 6th issue of Varpas the lyrics of Tautiška Giesmė ("The National Song"), which would later become the Lithuanian national anthem, of which Kudirka also composed the music. Kudirka gave great impetus to Lithuanian culture. He wrote a handbook and an article on the principles of versification. He edited a two-volume collection of Lithuanian folk songs. He was an appreciated satirist. He died of tuberculosis in 1899, just over forty years old. Tautiška Giesmė’s second stanza was engraved on his tombstone.

Svetimi dūmai akis graužia

Dry bread at home is better than roast meat abroad.

WHAT TO EAT

Vedarai

Vedarai is one of the most popular traditional dishes in Lithuania. It is a chopped potato sausage stuffed with pork intestine: a very tasty dish, usually served together with fresh vegetables or mashed potatoes.

Cepelinai

Among the typical Lithuanian dishes, one of the tastiest are definitely cepelinai, large potato dumplings with a filling of meat or cheese, served together with a sauce of sour cream, and accompanied by bacon or mushrooms.

šaltibarščia

Another traditional Lithuanian dish is šaltibarščiai, namely the cold beetroot soup, a dish of Polish origin that will surely surprise you. To be eaten in summer, for its refreshing taste, it is usually accompanied by boiled potatoes to dip. Its warm variant (barščiai) is called burokėlių sriuba and is good to eat in winter, and is served with sour cream.

MUST-SEE

The three Crosses of Vilnius

According to legend, the Three Crosses of Vilnius are located in the place where a group of French monks from a nearby monastery were martyred. According to the popular tale, 7 were killed and another 7 were tied to wooden crosses and thrown into the river, with the recommendation to go back where they came from. The crosses found today on the hill are not those of 1400 because they were destroyed or removed several times, the last time in 1950 by the Soviet regime. What we see today was carved in 1989, just after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Hill of the Three Crosses is undoubtedly one of the most evocative places of Vilnius, not so much for the view of the city but because it is a place of secular devotion transformed into a symbol of freedom during and after Communism. The climb to the hill is tiring and can be complicated when there is snow or rain.

The Vilnius Castle

The castle, built in the ninth century, was the residence of the Grand Duke of Lithuania since 1323, but also a fundamental construction in the defensive system of the city. Destroyed by a fire in 1400, what remains will be devastated until almost nothing remains. The Tower of Gediminius that you can see now is a reconstruction that was made in 1960 and houses a museum. The national flag on the roof of the tower is of great symbolic importance for all Lithuanians. Over the centuries, first the Poles, then the Nazis and then the Russians tore it away but the Lithuanians have always raised their banner. From the top of the tower you can admire a wonderful view of Vilnius and the surrounding area.

The Augustinian Monastery

The Augustinian Monastery is an important cultural site for the history of Vilnius. It has experienced a number of historical events. The church itself is of great interest from an architectural point of view as well. Firstly, in Lithuania, it is quite rare to find a temple with a single tower of the front facade, which is the Church of the Mother of God of Consolation. And secondly, the church is the last baroque building in Vilnius. According to the EHU students, it is important that their university is located in the center of the old city of Vilnius, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.