Page 232 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Estonia Latvia & Lithuania

230  LITHU ANIA REGION B Y REGION

the resi dence of the viewing platform at the top
Grand Dukes that stood provides a panorama of
at the foot of Castle Hill the spires and rooftops of the
and survived the sieges Old Town to the south, as
of the 14th century – well as a glimpse of the new
form the Lower Castle. skyscrapers rising to the west.
In the 1520s, the Royal A funicular offers a ride to the
Palace was renovated Upper Castle.
in Renaissance style by The original stone buildings
Italian architects invited of the Upper Castle were
by Sigismund the Old built in 1419, with restor ation
(r.1506–48) and his wife. work taking place in the 1950s.
The palace became the According to legend, while
hub of a vibrant cultural on a hunting trip, Grand
life. Excavations carried Duke Gediminas dreamed
out here in 1987 to 2001 of an iron wolf howling from
unearthed decorative the hills in the park. This,
tiles, tap estries, jewellery his pagan priest said, was a
and armour from this sign that a powerful fortress
Vilnius Cathedral Belfry, Cathedral Square period and earlier. These should be built there. Wooden
objects are thought upper and lower castles and
9 Cathedral Square to have lain buried since the another on the adjacent hill
Katedros aikštė palace was destroyed by Tsarist were the result.
autho rities in 1802 as they did
Map 2 D3. @ 10, 11, 33.
not want a symbol of Lithuanian
The paving stones around the power dominating the city. w Lithuanian
square show the outline of the National Museum
wall around the Lower Castle, Lietuvos nacionalinis muziejus
a defence that made Vilnius a q Upper Castle
14th-century bastion against Aukštutinė pilis Arsenalo 1. Map 2 D3. Tel 262 9426.
the crusades. @ 10, 33. Open 10am–6pm Tue–Sun.
At the square’s western end Arsenalo 5. Map 2 D3. & 8 ∑ lnm.lt
Tel 261 7453. @ 10, 11, 33.
is the Vilnius Cathedral Belfry. Open Apr–Sep: 10am–9pm daily;
It was originally part of the Oct–Mar: 10am–6pm daily. & An early 19th-century building,
fortifications. There was also a known as the New Arsenal,
western gate where Vilnius The western tower, the only houses the Lithuanian National
Cathedral stands today. The remaining part of the Upper Museum. In front of it stands
square’s eastern end is domi- Castle complex, which once a statue of King Mindaugas,
nated by a statue of Grand included defensive structures, which was unveiled together
Duke Gediminas. Unveiled in is today the symbol of with the nearby bridge in July
1996, it conveys the city independent Lithuania. The 2003. The museum presents
founder’s predilection for
diplomacy over force. In the
square’s centre is a tile marked
stebuklas (miracle), reputed to
be the point where the Baltic
Way (see p43), the human chain
linking Vilnius, Rīga and Tallinn
in 1989, started from. Locals
believe that turn ing around on
it three times makes a wish
come true.

0 Lower Castle
Žemutinė pilis
Katedros 4. Map 2 D3. Tel 212 7476.
@ 10, 11, 33. Open 8am–5pm Mon–
Fri (to 3:45pm Fri). 8
∑ valdovurumai.lt
A group of buildings, including
Vilnius Cathedral, the Old
Arsenal and the Royal Palace – Western tower, the Upper Castle’s lone surviving structure
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp304–305 and pp326–8

230-231.indd 230 15/02/17 10:15 am