Vilnius celebrated its 700th birthday with a bang

The Vilnius flag-raising ceremony to honour the 700th anniversary of the founding of the capital of Lithuania took place in Town Hall Square. Before this ceremony began, “A Dedication to the Vilnius of the Future”, a letter written by the mayor and vice-mayors of Vilnius, was signed in Vilnius Town Hall starting at 11:30. Locals had the opportunity to see this part of the ceremony broadcast live to Town Hall Square, where three flags were raised with the coat of arms of St Christopher, the patron saint of Vilnius. The official anniversary of Vilnius was accompanied by the bells of the Church of St Casimir, salutes by the Lithuanian Armed Forces Honour Guard Company, and songs and melodies by Lithuania’s best musicians for this occasion.

Date: 25 January 2023.

Time: 11:30.

Address: Town Hall.

Entry: Free of charge.

Vilnius’s birthday is considered to be when the city’s name was first mentioned in the letters that Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas wrote to the cities of Europe. Take advantage of the extremely rare opportunity to see what this letter looked like with your own eyes! None of Gediminas’s original letters have survived to this day, so the transcript made in Riga shortly after the letter was received is the most authentic document testifying to the birth of the city of Vilnius. How important were these letters that Gediminas wrote? You can learn about their significance at the interactive exhibition that is the feature event of the entire 700th anniversary celebration. So don’t miss the opportunity to visit this special exhibition.

Date: 25 January – 27 August 2023.

Address: Gediminas Tower (Arsenalo g. 5).

Entry: Tickets required. More information about tickets can be found here.

Organiser: National Museum of Lithuania.

More information

We celebrated Vilnius’s birthday by taking a new look at the history of the capital of Lithuania. At the real tower of Gediminas in the Palace of the Grand Dukes, we had the opportunity to hear the letters of Gediminas read aloud and find out what message the Grand Duke of Lithuania sent to distant lands. A symbolic letter of Gediminas made of bronze to mark the anniversary was unveiled in the Grand Courtyard of the Palace of the Grand Dukes. Virtual reality took us to 3D Vilnius – we saw what the tower looked like during the times of Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas (1316-1341).  At the Dawn of the City of Gediminas. The Oldest Wooden Building in Vilnius and its Most Unique Finds exhibition, we had a unique opportunity to see the fragments of a building that stood on the slope of Gediminas Hill 750 years ago, as well as the belongings of a person in the ruler’s circle that have survived to this day.

The Palace of the Grand Dukes museum educators invited families with children of all ages to Vilnius’s birthday party. During special activities for little ones, kids learned about the beginning of the history of the city’s castles and recalled the legend of the founding of Vilnius. Older visitors congratulated the city by creating a card or writing a letter from Vilnius, just like Grand Duke Gediminas did 700 years ago. And story lovers were invited to listen to the story of Gediminas’s family and his children and grandchildren.

Date: 21-28 January 2023. The exhibition and 3D virtual projection of the tower of Gediminas will be open to visitors from 26 January.

Address: Palace of the Grand Dukes (Katedros a. 4).

Entry: Tickets required. More information about tickets can be found here.

Organiser: Palace of the Grand Dukes.

More information

The city of Vilnius was mentioned for the first time in a letter written on 25 January 1323 by its ruler, Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas. This is the first known reference to the eternal capital of Lithuania in written sources. And this is why the 700th anniversary of Vilnius is rightly being celebrated in 2023. To properly mark this anniversary and commemorate a special historical fact, Vilnius Club took the initiative to create a monument that will be erected alongside Gediminas Tower, in the Grand Courtyard of the restored Palace of the Grand Dukes.

The author of this monument, which is called Mandates of Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas to Vilnius and Lithuania, is the sculptor Martynas Gaubas, with Ina and Darius Zubas as patrons. The texts from Gediminas’s letters were selected by Professor Rimvydas Petrauskas. The monument, which is Vilnius Club’s gift for the 700th anniversary of Vilnius, will be handed over for safekeeping to the National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania.

Date: 25 January 2023.

Time: 16:00.

Address: Grand Courtyard of the Palace of the Grand Dukes.

Entry: Free of charge.

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In celebrating the 700th anniversary of Duke Gediminas’ letters to the Christian world, a prayer for Vilnius and its people was said in the heart of the city, at Vilnius Cathedral. It is symbolic that the letter that first mentioned Vilnius was written on 25 January – the feast day of the conversion of Saint Paul.  So a prayer was said for Vilnius and its people to create peace, brotherhood and mercy.

Date: January 25, 2023

Time: 5:30 pm

Place: Vilnius Cathedral

Price: free of charge

Organiser: The Archdiocese of Vilnius

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This was more than just a concert. The Cappella Concertante Vilnense ensemble, which started the tradition of performing Baroque music in Lithuania, congratulated Vilnius on its impressive anniversary. The concert featured soloists Simona Liamo (soprano) and Nora Petročenko (mezzo-soprano). The Cappella Concertante Vilnense orchestra. The programme included music by Claudio Monteverdi, Antonio Vivaldi, Georg Friedrich Händel and other Baroque composers.

Date: 25 January 2023.

Time: 18:00.

Location: Renaissance Great Hall at the Palace of the Grand Dukes.

Price: Free or charge, but advance registration is required. You can register here.

Organiser: Palace of the Grand Dukes and the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre.

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Time Portal, which opened on 25 January in Cathedral Square, brought together the most resounding voices of various generations, whose echo, just as Gediminas wrote, will spread throughout Lithuania, telling about the city, our capital, our Vilnius. Guests were treated to a celebratory programme specially created for the anniversary, the axis of which revolved around musical works of various generations and genres that highlight historical and contemporary themes of Vilnius.

In Cathedral Square, we immersed ourselves in a harmony of words, sounds, voices and images, in the continuous story of Vilnius as a city that belongs to all of us – not only the people of Vilnius, but all of Lithuania – and that was created by Gediminas through his letters, with his vision continued through the ages by other generations, who also raised us, the people who create, work and live in Vilnius today.

The anniversary concert featured Andrius Mamontovas, Monika Liu, Mantas Jankavičius, Ieva Barbora Juozapaitytė, Saulius Petreikis, the groups Solo Ensamblis and Freestarz, the St Christopher Chamber Orchestra, the New Ideas Chamber Orchestra (NICO), and many other performers who met in Cathedral Square, which was transformed into an unconventional stage illuminated by Time Portal signs– visual images of the past and present marking the beginning of the Vilnius Light Festival, which began after the concert.

Date: 25 January 2023.

Time: 19:30.

Address: Cathedral Square.

Entry: Free of charge.

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Time Portal was a visual journey that was started by Grand Duke Gediminas and is being continued by us, from generation to generation, responding to his letter by creating, growing and nurturing this city.

Time Portal, which opened on 25 January in Cathedral Square, invited guests to watch the unique story of Vilnius every day, broadcast on a giant screen – the façade of the Cathedral – during the jubilee Vilnius Light Festival. In Šventaragis Valley, where the waters of the Neris and the Vilnelė meet and the young heart of Vilnius has already been beating for 700 years, video projections helped us see the symbols of Vilnius not only of the past, but also of the future.

Date: January 25-28

Time:

January 25, 9:00-11:00 pm

January 26-28, 6:30-11:00 pm

For the capital’s birthday, Vilnius locals and guests were amazed by the fifth Vilnius Light Festival, which took place on 25-28 January. The theme of this year’s festival was futurism. The artists who came to Vilnius from France, Canada, the United Kingdom, Holland, Spain and Italy expanded the limits of the imagination and forced us to look at the world around us with new eyes.

To mark the city’s 700th anniversary, the authentic courtyards of the Baroque Old Town of Vilnius were opened, and the main symbols of the city were illuminated. Light art was on display in the capital’s most famous streets and squares. The Vilnius Light Festival app included the festival route and helped visitors explore the open-air art gallery. The app was available for downloading or updating on the App Store or Google Play.

During the festival, it was also possible to see Time Portal – a narrative created by video projections about the symbols of Vilnius, its past and its future that was shown in Cathedral Square, on the façade of the Cathedral. On 25 January, the video projection was on display after the main birthday event from 21:00 to 23:00, and then on 26-28 January – from 18:30 to 23:00.

Date: 25-28 January 2023.

Time: 18:00 – 23:00 every day

Address: Various places around Vilnius.

Entry: Free of charge.

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To commemorate Defenders of Freedom Day this year, the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society held an evening of symphonic music with pieces by contemporary composers from the three Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Estonian maestro Erki Pehk stood on the rostrum of the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, and violinist Dalia Kuznecovaitė appeared as a soloist. The musical programme featured a colourful and dynamic musical canvas, including Ülo Krigul’s Concerto for Violin, the world premiere of Arvydas Malcys’s symphony Vakarykštis pasaulis (“Yesterday’s World”), and Pēteris Vasks’s violin concerto Tālā gaisma (“Distant Light”). The 700th anniversary of Vilnius gave us the perfect opportunity to remember why we are free.

Date: 14 January 2023.

Time: 19:00.

Location: Great Hall at the National Philharmonic Society building, Vilnius.

Organiser: Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society.

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Some of us were lucky enough to see the presentation of MO Museum’s Vilnius Poker exhibition and “Drumming”, a piece that Vladimir Tarasov gave to Vilnius for its 700th anniversary. In Ricardas Gavelis’s novel Vilnius Poker, the freedom of the city is reflected in the improvisation that is an integral part of jazz music. On 18 January, the upcoming MO Museum exhibition, which will open its doors to visitors on 22 April, was presented by world-famous musician Vladimir Tarasov’s “Drumming”, which takes you to the Vilnius described in the world of the novel.

Date: 18 January 2023.

Time: 18:30.

Address: MO Museum (Pylimo g. 17).

Entry: Tickets required. More information about tickets can be found here.

Organiser: Exhibition director – Oskaras Koršunovas. Scenographer: Gintaras Makarevičius.

This was more than just a concert. The Cappella Concertante Vilnense ensemble, which started the tradition of performing Baroque music in Lithuania, congratulated Vilnius on its impressive anniversary. The concert featured soloists Simona Liamo (soprano) and Nora Petročenko (mezzo-soprano). The Cappella Concertante Vilnense orchestra. The programme included music by Claudio Monteverdi, Antonio Vivaldi, Georg Friedrich Händel and other Baroque composers.

Date: 25 January 2023.

Time: 18:00.

Location: Renaissance Great Hall at the Palace of the Grand Dukes.

Price: Free or charge, but advance registration is required. You can register here.

Organiser: Palace of the Grand Dukes and the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre.

More information

Time Portal, which opened on 25 January in Cathedral Square, brought together the most resounding voices of various generations, whose echo, just as Gediminas wrote, will spread throughout Lithuania, telling about the city, our capital, our Vilnius. Guests were treated to a celebratory programme specially created for the anniversary, the axis of which revolved around musical works of various generations and genres that highlight historical and contemporary themes of Vilnius.

In Cathedral Square, we immersed ourselves in a harmony of words, sounds, voices and images, in the continuous story of Vilnius as a city that belongs to all of us – not only the people of Vilnius, but all of Lithuania – and that was created by Gediminas through his letters, with his vision continued through the ages by other generations, who also raised us, the people who create, work and live in Vilnius today.

The anniversary concert featured Andrius Mamontovas, Monika Liu, Mantas Jankavičius, Ieva Barbora Juozapaitytė, Saulius Petreikis, the groups Solo Ensamblis and Freestarz, the St Christopher Chamber Orchestra, the New Ideas Chamber Orchestra (NICO), and many other performers who met in Cathedral Square, which was transformed into an unconventional stage illuminated by Time Portal signs– visual images of the past and present marking the beginning of the Vilnius Light Festival, which began after the concert.

Date: 25 January 2023.

Time: 19:30.

Address: Cathedral Square.

Entry: Free of charge.

More information

The anniversary of Vilnius gave us a chance to discover unique locked readings – a dialogue between poems and a soundtrack written live for them. This dialogue is absolutely improvised, naked and alive.  It has no precise scope, mood or genre, yet is always unique.  Three poets well-known to the capital’s bohemians started this dialogue in Lukiškės Prison: Mantas Toločka, Dovydas Grajauskas and Ernestas Noreika. And they were accompanied by three like-minded musicians: Domantas Razauskas (guitar), Simas Butavičius (violin) and Kristijonas Ribaitis (electronics). It was a date between the lines, in the very heart of the prison.

Date: 27 January 2023

Time: 20:00

Entry: Free of charge

Place: Lukiškės Prison

Organiser: Lukiškės Prison 2.0.

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In November, a full house gathered to hear the unique sounds of the Vilnius Poker film concert in Vilnius, leaving no one indifferent. This was followed by an impressive jazz concert full of never-before-seen scenography solutions at the end of January. It was accompanied by musical compositions created by composers Kipras Mašanauskas and Jievaras Jasinskis specifically for the movie Vilnius Poker. This was a chance to take in a live performance by the Vilnius JJAZZ Ensemble, an orchestra of 22 professional jazz musicians.

During the concert, individual full scenes were also shown between the musical pieces. This gave the audience a chance to see even more of the film industry and even more behind-the-scenes material from Donatas Ulvydas’s Vilnius Poker, which was filmed last autumn.

Date: 28 January 2023.

Time: 18:28

Address: Vilnius Film Cluster, Meistrų g.12 C

Entry: Free of charge, but you must preregister here

Organiser: UAB Ulvyds and VšĮ Vilnius JJAZZ Ensemble.

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For the 700th anniversary of Vilnius, embark on a tours of its souvenirs, in search of a wolf, a tower and a church. We usually look at souvenirs when we visit other cities and want to bring back a memento for ourselves or our loved ones. It’s rare for us to take an interest in souvenirs in the town where we live. However, the way Vilnius looks today on the stalls of Pilies Street will tell future generations not only about the city, but also about our relationship with it. These are precisely the souvenirs that the exhibition features – ones that tell stories about Vilnius and its people.

Date: 27 January – 2 July 2023.

Address: Vilnius Museum (Vokiečių g. 6).

Entry: Tickets required. More information about ticket prices can be found here.

Organiser: Vilnius Museum.

More information

Vilnius’s birthday is considered to be when the city’s name was first mentioned in the letters that Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas wrote to the cities of Europe. Take advantage of the extremely rare opportunity to see what this letter looked like with your own eyes! None of Gediminas’s original letters have survived to this day, so the transcript made in Riga shortly after the letter was received is the most authentic document testifying to the birth of the city of Vilnius. How important were these letters that Gediminas wrote? You can learn about their significance at the interactive exhibition that is the feature event of the entire 700th anniversary celebration. So don’t miss the opportunity to visit this special exhibition.

Date: 25 January – 27 August 2023.

Address: Gediminas Tower (Arsenalo g. 5).

Entry: Tickets required. More information about tickets can be found here.

Organiser: National Museum of Lithuania.

More information

We celebrated Vilnius’s birthday by taking a new look at the history of the capital of Lithuania. At the real tower of Gediminas in the Palace of the Grand Dukes, we had the opportunity to hear the letters of Gediminas read aloud and find out what message the Grand Duke of Lithuania sent to distant lands. A symbolic letter of Gediminas made of bronze to mark the anniversary was unveiled in the Grand Courtyard of the Palace of the Grand Dukes. Virtual reality took us to 3D Vilnius – we saw what the tower looked like during the times of Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas (1316-1341).  At the Dawn of the City of Gediminas. The Oldest Wooden Building in Vilnius and its Most Unique Finds exhibition, we had a unique opportunity to see the fragments of a building that stood on the slope of Gediminas Hill 750 years ago, as well as the belongings of a person in the ruler’s circle that have survived to this day.

The Palace of the Grand Dukes museum educators invited families with children of all ages to Vilnius’s birthday party. During special activities for little ones, kids learned about the beginning of the history of the city’s castles and recalled the legend of the founding of Vilnius. Older visitors congratulated the city by creating a card or writing a letter from Vilnius, just like Grand Duke Gediminas did 700 years ago. And story lovers were invited to listen to the story of Gediminas’s family and his children and grandchildren.

Date: 21-28 January 2023. The exhibition and 3D virtual projection of the tower of Gediminas will be open to visitors from 26 January.

Address: Palace of the Grand Dukes (Katedros a. 4).

Entry: Tickets required. More information about tickets can be found here.

Organiser: Palace of the Grand Dukes.

More information

Vilnius’s birthday is considered to be when the city’s name was first mentioned in the letters that Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas wrote to the cities of Europe. Take advantage of the extremely rare opportunity to see what this letter looked like with your own eyes! None of Gediminas’s original letters have survived to this day, so the transcript made in Riga shortly after the letter was received is the most authentic document testifying to the birth of the city of Vilnius. How important were these letters that Gediminas wrote? You can learn about their significance at the interactive exhibition that is the feature event of the entire 700th anniversary celebration. So don’t miss the opportunity to visit this special exhibition.

Date: 25 January – 27 August 2023.

Address: Gediminas Tower (Arsenalo g. 5).

Entry: Tickets required. More information about tickets can be found here.

Organiser: National Museum of Lithuania.

More information

What did Vilnians look like 700 years ago? Would they feel at home in the Vilnius of today? Would you like living in the Vilnius of old? Immerse yourself in a narrative consisting of 50 stories. Covering a period of 700 years, these stories will reveal the secrets, lifestyle and everyday life of the people of Vilnius. Like Vilnius, this exhibition is rich and diverse, but all of the stories testify to the same thing – we are all Vilnians and we all create Vilnius, regardless of whether we were born here or settled here late.

Date: 15 December 2022 – 27 August 2023.

Address: House of Histories (T. Kosciuškos g. 3).

Entry: Tickets required. More information about tickets can be found here.

Organiser: National Museum of Lithuania.

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The 3D virtual reconstruction of the real tower of Grand Duke Gediminas presents the unique early 14th-15 century historical heritage safeguarded at the Palace of the Grand Dukes and reveals the history of the castle and palace of the grand dukes of Lithuania as well as the everyday life of the rulers and other residents of the court from the times of Gediminas to the times of Sigismund II Augustus.

The viewer is transported in virtual reality to Vilnius in the late 13th century, when the House of Gediminid came into power and, thanks to the innovativeness of the rulers, the Round Tower of the only early brickwork castle in Lithuania at the time sprouted up on the territory of the future Lower Castle. The viewer experiences how, as Vilnius became the capital of Lithuania, the Round Tower was rebuilt into the “pre-Gothic” residential/representative Octagonal Tower.

This may have been where Gediminas dictated his famous letters, and later Vytautas and Casimir IV Jagiellon were to reside here. In the mid-16th century, as Sigismund II Augustus continued the development of the residence of the grand dukes of Lithuania that was started by his parents, a Renaissance palace kitchen was installed in place of the old tower. Climbing up through the four floors of the tower, the functions of the rooms and signs of the stylistic eras change before the viewer’s eyes.

The viewer observes the introduction of engineering and interior innovations – the hypocaust heating system (floor I of the tower), the keep guardhouse (floor II of the tower), and the ruler’s representative (floor III of the tower) and private (floor IV of the tower) suites. On all of the floors, the viewer can recognise artefacts integrated into the interiors that have survived to this day and are exhibited in the Palace of the Grand Dukes museum (architectural details, weapons, dishes, furniture, old fabrics, heraldic signs, etc.).

Experiencing an innovative journey through time from early masonry and Gothic right up to the Renaissance and early Baroque, the viewer has the opportunity to see how the site of the former tower was transformed into a palace kitchen in the 16th century and the first half of the 17th century, with its characteristic equipment, environment and utensils. At the end of the virtual tour, the viewer finds out what fate awaited the former Renaissance palace kitchen on the site of the real tower of Gediminas in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Date: From 26 January 2023.

Address: Palace of the Grand Dukes (Katedros a. 4).

Entry: Tickets required. More information about tickets can be found here.

Organiser: Palace of the Grand Dukes.

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What is the connection between some of the world’s most prominent composers and Vilnius? To mark Vilnius’s anniversary, special pieces created for the capital of Lithuania were played in different spaces throughout the city. As part of the immersive exhibition, participants got to know the personalities and creative worlds of the composers working on the “Music for Vilnius” project: Anna Korsun (Ukraine), Michael Gordon (USA), Heiner Goebbels (Germany), Agata Zubel (Poland), Ivan Fedele (Italy), Toshio Hosokawa (Japan), Beat Furrer (Austria). Each element of the exhibition was a separate story inviting participants to discover the composers and the spaces they selected in Vilnius – ones that inspired them to write exceptional music.

Date: 26 January 2023.

Time: 16:00.

Address: Composers’ House (A. Mickevičiaus g. 29).

Organiser: Meno Genas.

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As Vilnius celebrates its 700th anniversary, the ADVENTUR 2023 international tourism and active leisure exhibition celebrated its 10th! Designed to facilitate the promotion of tourism services and an active lifestyle, ADVENTUR is the only international tourism, travel and active leisure exhibition in Lithuania. In 2023, the exhibition talked about the 700th anniversary. The main theme of the exhibition was “Let’s celebrate the journey” – the freedom to celebrate life and go on long-awaited trips, no longer postponing them for the future.  To mark Vilnius’s anniversary, we set out on a three-day trip around the most prominent places in Lithuania and the world.

Date: 27-29 January 2023.

Time: 11:00-19:00.

Address: Litexpo (Laisvės pr. 5).

Entry: Tickets required. More information about tickets can be found here.

Organiser: Litexpo.

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During its 16 years in the city of Vilnius, which is celebrating its 700th anniversary, the Vilnius Short Film Festival has become the largest and most important festival of its kind in Lithuania. As every year, the festival opened the season of cinema events with the slogan “Short, yet films” and offered a dozen different film programmes for audiences of all ages and interests.  The repertoire included approximately 80 short films that have been acknowledged by critics and appreciated by viewers, which reflect the latest trends in cinema, address contemporary issues, and reveal the diversity of the genre, innovation and openness to experimentation.

Date: 18–24 January 2023

Venue: In cinemas in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda and Šiauliai as well as on the ŽMONĖS Cinema VOD platform throughout Lithuania.

Eitvydas Doškus’s short film Once Upon a Vilnius will be shown as Part II of the National Competition Programme. Screenings in Vilnius:

20 January, 19:15 National Competition Programme II (Skalvija)
22 January, 15:30 National Competition Programme II (Kino Pasaka)
23 January, 18:30 National Competition Programme II (Paupio Pasaka)

Price: paid. For more information on ticket prices, click here.

Organiser: Lithuanian Shorts

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Although the first Vilnius Performance Art Biennale will take place in the public spaces of the capital in the summer of 2023, the introductory piece, which was an anniversary gift for Vilnius, has already been performed. A performance specially created by artist Emilija Škarnulytė filled the National Opera and Ballet Theatre. The audience got a closer look at the performance genre and became part of an unforgettable experience. This was the lead-up for the Vilnius Performance Art Biennial, which will take place from 23 July to 6 August 2023. At the biennial, guest artists will reveal Vilnius as a network densely woven with visible and invisible threads and charged with various voltages.

Date: 23 January 2023.

Time: 19 hour.

Address: Great Hall of the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (A. Vienuolio g. 1).

Entry: Tickets required. More information about tickets can be found here.

Organiser:  Meno Niša Art Gallery.

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For the capital’s birthday, Vilnius locals and guests were amazed by the fifth Vilnius Light Festival, which took place on 25-28 January. The theme of this year’s festival was futurism. The artists who came to Vilnius from France, Canada, the United Kingdom, Holland, Spain and Italy expanded the limits of the imagination and forced us to look at the world around us with new eyes.

To mark the city’s 700th anniversary, the authentic courtyards of the Baroque Old Town of Vilnius were opened, and the main symbols of the city were illuminated. Light art was on display in the capital’s most famous streets and squares. The Vilnius Light Festival app included the festival route and helped visitors explore the open-air art gallery. The app was available for downloading or updating on the App Store or Google Play.

During the festival, it was also possible to see Time Portal – a narrative created by video projections about the symbols of Vilnius, its past and its future that was shown in Cathedral Square, on the façade of the Cathedral. On 25 January, the video projection was on display after the main birthday event from 21:00 to 23:00, and then on 26-28 January – from 18:30 to 23:00.

Date: 25-28 January 2023.

Time: 18.00 – 23.00 every day

Address: Various places around Vilnius.

Entry: Free of charge.

More information

Time Portal was a visual journey that was started by Grand Duke Gediminas and is being continued by us, from generation to generation, responding to his letter by creating, growing and nurturing this city.

Time Portal, which opened on 25 January in Cathedral Square, invited guests to watch the unique story of Vilnius every day, broadcast on a giant screen – the façade of the Cathedral – during the jubilee Vilnius Light Festival. In Šventaragis Valley, where the waters of the Neris and the Vilnelė meet and the young heart of Vilnius has already been beating for 700 years, video projections helped us see the symbols of Vilnius not only of the past, but also of the future.

Date: January 25-28

Time:

January 25, 9:00-11:00 pm

January 26-28, 6:30-11:00 pm

Famous for its historical heritage and unique character, the city of Vilnius is celebrating its 700th anniversary while also undergoing significant changes. Some of the fragments of life caught on film are no longer there. However, the short not only bears witness to what has faded into oblivion, but also glimpses into what is yet to come. This poetic work is based on Time Passes through the City, a portrait film by Almantas Grikevičius that has already become a classic; this builds a bridge of time between two different generations of filmmakers who cherish the city of Vilnius.

Date: 12, 25 January 2023.

Address: Skalvija Cinema, A. Goštauto g. 2.

Entry: Tickets required. More information about tickets can be found here.

Organiser: Skalvija.

On 26 January, celebrating the 700th anniversary of Vilnius, the SODAS 2123 cultural complex, along with Garso Generatoriai, Meno Avilys and Just a Moment, offered a special opportunity to see Eitvydas Doškus’s short film, Once Upon a Vilnius. Famous for its historical heritage and unique character, the city of Vilnius is undergoing significant changes. Some of the fragments of life caught on film are no longer there. However, the short not only bears witness to what has faded into oblivion, but also glimpses into what is yet to come. The film by acclaimed cinematographer and debuting director Eitvydas Doškus was accompanied by live music by Paulius Kilbauskas and Vygintas Kisevičius.

Date: 26 January 2023.

Time: 20:30-21:00.

Address: SODAS 2123 cultural complex, Vitebsko g. 23.

Entry: Free of charge.

Organisers: SODAS 2123, Garso Generatoriai, Just a Moment, Meno Avilys.

Watch the movie trailer

In January 2023, Vilnius recognised the most deserving Vilnius residents, organisations and institutions for the 25th time and presented them with statuettes of St Christopher, the patron saint of the capital. The city’s residents, institutions and organisations had until 2 December 2022 to nominate candidates for the awards. The St Christopher statuettes are given every year for achievements in culture and art, health, sports, business, tourism, law enforcement, charity and other areas.

Date: 26 January 2023.

Time: 19:00.

Place: LRT TV

Organiser: Vilnius City Municipality.

We invite you to the Tourist Information Centre to celebrate the 700th birthday of Vilnius! On these days you will find a lot of surprises and gifts.

We invite you to take part in activities:

• Answer fun questions about Vilnius and get delicious gifts from Vilnius.
• Download the „Once in Vilnius“ app and share your story or greeting about Vilnius with the hashtag #onceinvilnius
  Come to the Tourist Information Centre, show your post and you will receive a gift.

Date: 25-29 January 2023

Time: 25 January 9:00-20:00, 26-29 January 9:00-12:00, 13:00-18:00

Venue: Vilnius Tourism Information Centre, Pilies g. 2

Do you know what Lithuanian nobles and rulers treated their guests to? Have you ever wondered what products Lithuanians enjoyed in pagan times and the Middle Ages? To mark the 700th anniversary of the city of Vilnius, we invite you to a tasting of Lithuanian dishes to get acquainted with the old stories of Lithuanian cuisine.

Price: 49 €/person

Period: The offer is valid for the entire year, until 30 December 2023

Address: Stiklių g. 8, Vilnius

Contact details: +370 5 262 9046

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Pacai Restaurant invites you to enjoy a seven-course dinner created expressly for Vilnius’s anniversary. The restaurant is located in the historic Pacai Palace, which is filled with memories of the city’s history of hospitality, and now plays an important role in representing the capital to the city’s guests. Constantly looking for new flavours and subtleties of service, we create a unique experience that becomes part of your memories of Vilnius.

Price: 77 € person.

Period: Through 31 January.

Address: Didžioji g. 7-1 (Pacai Hotel),

Contact details: +370 633 80287, [email protected].

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Anniversary menu:

• Broth with a kybyn (pasty filled with chopped lamb)
• Baked zander with boletus cream
• Potatoes au Gratin, honey-thyme sauce
• Flan/ginger crumbs/
• Coffee caviar

Price: EUR 50/person

Beef broth with an authentic Karaim kybyn (pasty filled with chopped lamb)

Price: EUR 4.50

Period: Until the end of 2023.

Address: Pilies g. 24.

Contact: 861443849.

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Amatininkų Užeiga is one of the oldest pubs in Vilnius, but few people know that the origins of the current Amatininkų Užeiga began with the Iron Wolf Café, which was opened in 1989 at the very foot of Gediminas Hill.

Inspired by this almost legendary story, we have prepared a special menu for Vilnius’s 700th anniversary and called it the “Iron Wolf Feast”, as if inviting you back to the days of the dukes, when Vilnius first began.

Iron Wolf Feast:

• Pork hock – reminiscent of hunted prey
• Cucumbers with honey and curd cheese – a popular dessert from the days of the dukes
• A jug of honey gira (kvass) – an allusion to the mead that was drunk abundantly in the old days

Price: 17,50 €

Period: 4 January to 31 January

Address: Didžioji g. 19, Vilnius

Contact details: +370 687 22 366

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We are offering a four-course menu of the most delicious Vilnius stories.  This tasting menu is a variety of stories going back to pre-war times that we put on plates with love. Stop by to get to know them and experience them first-hand, becoming one with the history of Vilnius.

Price: 40 €

Period: Valid throughout 2023

Address: Šv. Mykolo 4, Vilnius

Contact details: +370 688 22 210, [email protected]

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Coffee mascarpone dessert with orange jam and a dusting of cranberries.  Amazing and full of surprises, this combination of wintry flavours was inspired by a height of 165 metres. Only try it above the clouds!

Special offer: Festive dessert, raspberry tea, and lift ticket (Monday-Thursday, 11:00-17:00, €16)

Price: 6 €

Period: 2 January to 31 January 2023

Address: Sausio 13-osios g. 10 Vilnius

Contact details: +370 5 252 5333

Daugiau informacijos

• Imberlach (35€/kg) – a Jewish delicacy made of carrots, ginger and nuts, sliced into rhombuses that resemble diamonds
• Teiglach (2€) – pastries boiled in a honey
• Shakshouka (5.80€/serving) – Israeli scrambled eggs on a bed of tomatoes
• Cholent (7.50€/serving) – a slow-cooked stew with beef, beans and potatoes that is a unique Jewish dish
• Bagel (1.50€) – a soft, round or oval wheat dough roll with a shiny surface that is first boiled or steamed before being baked
• Forshmak (3.50€) – chopped herring, an old Jewish dish

Period: 1 January 2023 to the end of the year

Address: Pylimo g 4, Vilnius

Contact details: +370 656 98801

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• Stuffed fish (According to the old Litvak recipe). Price – 8 €
• Beef filet “Zrazai” with dried wild mushrooms, parsnips, celery, pumpkin puree (“Nelson’s Zrazai” first time mentioned in 1858). Price – 22 €
•  Dark chocolate cake with coffee sauce (According to the recipe of the “Baltasis Štralis” cafe, 1918). Price – 7 €

Period: Through 30 September

Address: Gedimino pr. 23, Vilnius (Neringos restaurant)

Contact details: +37067815569

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Hazie is celebrating its birthday together with Vilnius and invites you to taste dishes where an aroma of modernity balances perfectly with the old Lithuanian flavours.

For an appetizer, we are serving black salsify root with coffee cream, pickled apples and country smoked fatback bits. For the main course, we have fried catfish with celery tagliatelle, smoked fish sauce and hazelnuts.

Visit Hazie, where the authentic walls will remind you of the rich history of Vilnius.

Price: 37 €

Period: 26-31 January 2023.

Address: Maironio 13, Vilnius.

Contact details: +370 644 30 826; [email protected].

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Inspired by Grand Duchess of Lithuania Bona Sforza, we are giving the city of Vilnius a special dessert for its 700th anniversary.

Price: 9 €

Period: Until 1 April 2023

Address: Savičiaus g., 7 Vilnius

Contact details: +370 614 89 223

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Vilnius has always been at the crossroads of different peoples and cultures. Culinary traditions travelled from kitchen to kitchen, from family to family, and interesting combinations and improvisations appeared. Some things have been forgotten, while some have survived to this day. Holiday Inn and the Rib Room have decided to add some dishes that everyone is familiar with to their menu… herring, zrazy and Napoleon cake… classics with a twist.

• Grandma’s herring. A traditional starter with a special touch. Herring fillet served with butternut squash jam | red onion and apple jelly | home-made mushrooms in sour cream | sprouts and black bread crumbs. Price: 9 €
• Radvilas’ zrazy. Old Vilnius style slow-roasted beef tenderloin roulade with dried mushroom filling served with black bread sauce | golden pearl barley | stewed mushrooms | crispy parsnip roots. Price: 25 €
• Cake Napoleon with cranberries. A rustic puff pastry cake with a sweet vanilla cream, flavoured with a pinch of fresh cranberries. Served with cranberry caviar | rhubarb jelly. Price: 5,50 €

Period: January to March 2023

Address: Šeimyniškių g. 1, Vilnius (Holiday Inn Vilnius hotel)

Phone: 852103012

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On your taste journey through the 700-year history of Vilnius, the Meat Steak House restaurant is the perfect place to stop and take a moment to remember Napoleon’s visit to Vilnius. Perhaps he was the one who brought French macarons to the Lithuanian capital? Tasting our hot version of macarons with caramel and forest berry sorbet, you can enjoy the flavour and Napoleon’s impact on the evolution of Vilnius.

Price: 5.90 €

Period: Until 1 April 2023

Address: A. Juozapavičiaus g. 13, Vilnius

Contact details: +370 612 35200

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As the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilnius dictated culinary fads and trends for the entire region for centuries. It was a place where the eating culture of manors, merchants, travellers and locals intertwined. What caught on became part of traditional Vilnius cuisine, which, like the city itself, is multi-layered and multicultural, and reflects the collection of various social strata, peoples and traditions. We invite you to taste the historical dishes of Vilnius, which are prepared based on the old tradition and the presentation of which is interpreted and adapted for today’s diners by our head chef, Ramūnas Giraitis.

• Forshmak (herring appetizer) – pieces of herring fillet, onions, apples, eggs, olive oil EUR 5.95.
• Lithuanian borscht – beetroot soup cooked in chicken broth with porcini and pieces of meat. Served with sour cream –  3.75 €
• Boiled pig’s trotter with peas. Served with boiled peas, flavoured cracklings and pickled cucumbers –  5.95 €
• Nelson’s Zrazy – beef tenderloin roll stuffed with dried mushrooms, rye bread and fried onions. Served with mashed potatoes or roasted potato wedges, forest mushroom sauce and pickled cucumbers – 12.95 €
• Traditional handmade boiled dumplings with meat filling. Served with sour cream or with sour cream and cracklings – 6.95 €
• Seven Sisters Cake – layers of sponge cake with cocoa buttercream ​filling, topped with toasted hazelnuts – 4.55 €
• Krupnikas (40 mL) – a liqueur made from honey and aromatic herbs by the Franciscan friars settled in Nyasvizh by Mikołaj Krzysztof “the Orphan” Radziwiłł. Krupnikas was served for the first time, officially, in 1593, to the guests who came to celebrate the completion of the Radziwiłł castle in Nyasvizh. The beverage is traditionally heated to a temperature of 50°C and served in small glasses – 2.95 €

Period: 13 January – 21 February 2023.

Address: All Vilnius (and Kaunas) Etno Dvaras restaurants are participating.

Contact details: You can find restaurant contact details online here. 

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Grey is located in the heart of the city, nearby Vilnius Cathedral. Lots of concrete and laughter, bricks and socialising, shades of grey and delicious food. Popular, well-known dishes and unexpected innovative flavours go hand in hand in Grey’s kitchen. The restaurant bar has an impressive collection of drinks. Grey says that concrete can be light, an old brick can be modern, and grey can stand out. Come and see for yourself!

Mango passion fruit mousse with chocolate cake crumbs, served with Amaretto mulled wine

Price: 7.00 €

Can also be purchased separately. Dessert EUR 3.50, mulled wine EUR 4.50.

Period: Until 28 January 2023.

Address: Pilies g. 2, Vilnius

Contact details: +370 633 22 677

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• Litvak forshmak. This dish had no name for a long time. However, in 1870, it was already described as forshmak. This herring tartare was a favourite and long-standing dish in the kitchens of many Vilnius residents. Price: 6.50 €
• Lithuanian beetroot soup. If you were transported back to the Middle Ages, you would be surprised to see beetroot soup on the table. Back then, soup was not made from beetroots, as it is today, but from beetroot leaves. Over the years, other leafy plants, pieces of meat and chard have been added to the soup. Price: 4.95 €
• Litvak kishke is a Jewish version of the Lithuanian vėdarai (traditionally, pig’s intestines stuffed with mashed potatoes). Kishke is made of potato dough and mushroom stuffing. Before the Second World War, kishke became one of the symbols of Litvak cuisine. As historical data suggests, kishke can certainly be called an authentic Vilnius dish. Price: 9.50 €
• Lazanki. Lazanki came to Lithuania with the cuisine of the Bona Sforza court. It is a kind of version of lasagne. The dish is made from wheat flour and served with cottage cheese, hard cheese, roasted pumpkin, cedar pine nuts and spinach. Price: 8.50 €
• Jesuit bigos. Bigos is meat that has been boiled or fried and stewed repeatedly, cut into smaller pieces. It is not known what wine was used to braise the meat. The dish is made from beef and served with fried onions, spinach and crushed small potatoes. Price: 14.90 €
• Lithuanian vereshchaka. Vereshchaka can be found mentioned by most 19th-century authors as a typical Lithuanian dish. In 1855, while travelling around Vilnius, the publicist and poet Władysław Syrokomla noted that ‘Lithuanians love fat: pork is a necessary delicacy on their table’. In the past, we could find various recipes for vereshchaka, but the recipe has become more established over time. Cooked and fried pork bacon is served with pearl barley, fried pumpkin and apple puree. Price: 13.90 €
• Stefanija. In 1918, the House of Signatories was home to a confectionery, famous for its cakes and pastries. This candy shop was a popular gathering place for the intelligentsia: university professors and poets used to spend time there. It would not have been surprising if the speeches on Lithuania’s independence had also been made while enjoying this dessert. We invite you to enjoy an improvisation of this cake created by FORTAS chefs. Price: 3.95 €
• Krupnik. This beverage was created in 1593 by Benedictine monks living in the Radvilas’ estate. For a long time, the liqueur was popular only in Lithuania, but in the 19th century it began to spread to Poland and then to other countries around the world. Vilnius residents used to drink it heated to 50 degrees. Price: 3.50 €

Period: 12 January to 12 February

Addresses and contact details:

• Algirdo g. 17, Vilnius, tel. 8 652 01138
• Vilniaus g. 18, Vilnius, tel. 8 637 37000
• Konstitucijos pr. 7A, Vilnius (Europa shopping centre), tel. 8 650 96994

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We’re inviting you to a birthday lunch featuring the best dishes from Lithuanian cuisine, home-made rye bread and birthday cake.

Price: 10 €

Period: 25 January 2023.

Address: T. Ševčenkos g. 16.

Contact details: +370 620 34 154, +370 650 35 730.

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• Signature kvass of Bernelių Užeiga
• Signature boletus soup with smoked bacon. Mushroom (boletus) soup with roasted vegetables and cubes of roasted bacon. The soup is served in a loaf of rustic bread.
• Host’s treats. The hostess cooks and bakes, while the host invites guests: a meat and potato dumpling, vėdarai (pig’s intestines stuffed with mashed potatoes), potato pancakes, stewed cabbage, fried sausages, smoked pork shank, fermented cucumbers, cracklings, sour cream, steak sauce.

Total cost of the offer: 30-40 €

Period: 2 January to 30 March 2023

Address: Pilies g. 10, Vilnius and Lelevelio g. 6, Vilnius

Phone: +370 615 26812

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Festive dessert – Slyvainis – hot plum cake with ice-cream

If you haven’t baked this cake before, you probably tried it made by your mother or grandmother when you were a child.  It is the most delicious sponge cake with plums – the little brother of the Lithuanian apple pie Obuolainis. It has been baked in Lithuania for about 100 years.

Price: 8.00 €

Period: until 1 April 2023

Address: Savičiaus g. 6, Vilnius

Phone:  865800422

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Now that the holidays are over, the guests have all gone home, and the tables are no longer heaped with food, we invite you to visit us again. Aloha has missed you, and the chef is already preparing beef cheeks with carrot and parsnip purée, baby corn and meat and wine sauce. Stop by to try it and share your opinion.

Price: 19 €

Period: Until 31 January 2023

Address: Ozo g. 14 C, Vilnius

Contact details: +370 612 31 241

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Although this is not a tasting menu, but rather – individual dishes, guests will be able to order as many as they please.

• Cucumber salad with brined salmon – 9 €
• Potato pancakes stuffed with bacon and cheese – 6 €
• Pork and Padrón pepper kebabs – 10 €

Period: 4 January to 31 January

Address: Vokiečių g. 3 and Pilies g. 8, Vilnius

Contact details: Vokiečių g. 3 – [email protected], +370 695 30 411; Pilies g. 8 – [email protected], +370 611 20 576

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