Painting and sculpture Vilnius was an artistic centre of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, attracting artists across Europe. The oldest surviving early
Gothic artworks (14th century) are paintings dedicated to churches and
liturgy, such as frescoes in the crypts of
Vilnius Cathedral and decorated
hymnbooks. Sixteenth-century wall paintings are in the city's
Church of St. Francis and St. Bernard and the
Church of Saint Nicholas. Gothic wooden polychrome sculptures decorate church altars. Some Gothic
seals from the 14th and 15th centuries still exist, including those of
Kęstutis,
Vytautas the Great and
Sigismund II Augustus.
Renaissance sculpture appeared during the early 16th century, primarily by the
Italian sculptors Bernardinus Zanobi da Gianotti, Giovani Cini, and Giovanni Maria Padovano. During the Renaissance, portrait tombstones and medals were valued; examples are the marble tombs of
Albertas Goštautas (1548) and
Paweł Holszański (1555) by
Bernardino de Gianotis in Vilnius Cathedral. Italian sculpture is characterized by its naturalistic treatment of forms and precise proportions. Local sculptors adopted the iconographic scheme of Renaissance tombs; their works, such the tomb of
Lew Sapieha () in the
Church of St. Michael, are stylized. The
Lithuanian Art Society was established in 1907 by
Petras Rimša,
Antanas Žmuidzinavičius and
Antanas Jaroševičius, and the Vilnius Art Society was founded the following year. Artists included Jonas Šileika, , ,
Vytautas Kairiūkštis, and
Vytautas Pranas Bičiūnas, who employed Western European
symbolism,
realism,
Art Nouveau and
modernism. In its main square, a statue of an angel blowing a trumpet symbolises artistic freedom. The world's first bronze memorial to
Frank Zappa was installed in the
Naujamiestis district in 1995. In 2015, the Vilnius Talking Statues project was introduced. Eighteen statues around the city interact by smartphone with visitors in several languages.
Museums and galleries Vilnius has a variety of museums. The
National Museum of Lithuania, in the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, Gediminas' Tower and the arsenals of the Vilnius Castle Complex, has exhibits about the history of Lithuania and Lithuanian culture. The Museum of Applied Arts and Design displays Lithuanian folk and religious art, objects from the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, and 18th- to 20th-century clothing. Other museums are the Vilnius Museum, the House of Histories, Church Heritage Museum,
Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights, Fight for Freedom Museum in the
Vilnius TV Tower, M. K. Čiurlionis House, Samuel Bak Museum, Centre for Civil Education, Toy Museum, Vilnil (Museum of Illusions), Energy and Technology Museum, House of Signatories, Tolerance Center, Railway Museum, Money Museum, Kazys Varnelis House-Museum, Liubavas Manor Watermill-Museum, Museum of Vladislovas Sirokomlė, Amber Museum-Gallery, and the Paneriai Memorial visitor information centre. Vilnius has a number of art galleries. Lithuania's largest art collection is housed in the
Lithuanian National Museum of Art. The Vilnius Picture Gallery, in the city's Old Town, houses a collection of Lithuanian art from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. Across the Neris, the National Art Gallery has a number of exhibitions of 20th-century Lithuanian art. The
Contemporary Art Centre, the largest contemporary-art venue in the Baltic States, has an exhibition space of . The centre develops international and Lithuanian exhibitions and presents a range of public programs which include lectures, seminars, performances, film and video screenings, and live music. On 10 November 2007, the
Jonas Mekas Visual Arts Center was opened by avant-garde filmmaker
Jonas Mekas; its premiere exhibition was
The Avant-Garde: From Futurism to Fluxus. In 2018, the
MO Museum opened as an initiative of Lithuanian scientists and philanthropists Danguolė and Viktoras Butkus. Its collection of 5,000 modern pieces includes major Lithuanian artworks from the 1950s to the present.
Literature . Its signs are in Russian, Polish, Lithuanian, French, and German. Around 1520,
Francysk Skaryna (author of the first Ruthenian
Bible) established
eastern Europe's first
printing house in Vilnius. Skaryna prepared and published the ''Little Traveller's Book
(Ruthenian: Малая подорожная книжка
), the first printed book of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, in 1522. Three years later, he printed the Acts and Epistles of the Apostles
(the Apostle''). The
Vilnius Academy Press was established in 1575 by Lithuanian nobleman
Mikołaj Krzysztof "the Orphan" Radziwiłł as the
Vilnius Academy printing house, delegating its management to the
Jesuits. It published its first book,
Piotr Skarga's
Pro Sacratissima Eucharistia contra haeresim Zwinglianam, in May 1576. The press was funded by the Lithuanian nobility and the church. In 1805,
Józef Zawadzki bought the press and founded the
Józef Zawadzki printing shop. Operating continuously until 1939, it published books in a number of languages;
Adam Mickiewicz's first poetry book was published in 1822.
Mikalojus Daukša translated and published a
catechism by Spanish Jesuit theologian
Jacobo Ledesma in 1595, the first printed Lithuanian-language book in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He also translated and published
Jakub Wujek's
Postilla Catholica in 1599. , where Adam Mickiewicz was imprisoned for fighting
Russian rule Many writers were born in Vilnius, lived there, or are
alumni of Vilnius University; they include
Konstantinas Sirvydas,
Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski,
Antoni Gorecki,
Józef Ignacy Kraszewski,
Antoni Edward Odyniec,
Michał Józef Römer, Adam Mickiewicz,
Władysław Syrokomla,
Józef Mackiewicz,
Romain Gary,
Juliusz Słowacki,
Simonas Daukantas,
Mykolas Biržiška,
Petras Cvirka,
Kazys Bradūnas,
Nobel laureate Czesław Miłosz.
Vilnius Academy of Arts alumnae have also added to the internationally acclaimed contemporary writers such as
Jurga Ivanauskaitė,
Undinė Radzevičiūtė and
Kristina Sabaliauskaitė. The first consideration of the
First Statute of Lithuania took place in 1522 at the
Seimas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The code was drafted under the guidance of
Grand Chancellor of Lithuania Albertas Goštautas in accordance with
customary law, legislation, and
canon and
Roman law. It is Europe's first
codification of
secular law. Albertas Goštautas supported the use of Lithuanian in literature and protected Lithuanian authors (including
Abraomas Kulvietis and
Michael the Lithuanian) who criticised the use of
Old Church Slavonic, and called refugees
Old Believers in
De moribus tartarorum, lituanorum et moscorum. Since the 16th century, the
Lithuanian Metrica has been kept at the
Lower Castle and safeguarded by the State
Chancellor. Due to the deterioration of the books, Grand Chancellor Lew Sapieha ordered the Metrica recopied in 1594; the recopying continued until 1607. The recopied books were inventoried, rechecked, and transferred to a separate building in Vilnius; the older books remained in the Castle of Vilnius. According to 1983 data, 665 books remain on
microfilm at the Lithuanian State Historical Archives in Vilnius. Over 200 tiles and plaques commemorating writers who lived and worked in Vilnius and foreign authors connected to Vilnius and Lithuania adorn walls on
Literatų Street () in the Old Town, outlining the history of Lithuanian literature. The
Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore and the
Lithuanian Writers' Union are in the city. The
Vilnius book fair is held annually at
LITEXPO, the Baltics' largest exhibition centre.
Cinema The first public
film session in Vilnius was held in the Botanical Garden (now the
Bernardinai Garden) in July 1896. It was held after 1895 film sessions by
Auguste and Louis Lumière in Paris. The session in Vilnius showed the Lumière brothers'
documentary films. The first films shown were educational, filmed outside Vilnius (in India and Africa), and introduced other cultures.
Georges Méliès' film,
A Trip to the Moon, was first shown at the
Lukiškės Square movie theater in 1902; it was the first
feature film shown in Vilnius. The first
movie theater in Vilnius, Iliuzija (Illusion), opened in 1905 at 60
Didžioji Street. The first movie theaters, similar to theatres, had
boxes with more-expensive seats. Because early films were silent, showings were accompanied by orchestral performances. Cinema screenings were sometimes combined with theatrical performances and illusion shows. Kino Pavasaris is the city's largest film festival. The Lithuanian Film Centre (), tasked with promoting the development and competitiveness of the Lithuanian film industry, is in Vilnius.
Music of the first opera staged in Vilnius (1636), before the first operas in
Paris (1645) and
London (1656) Musicians performed at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania as early as the 14th century, since Grand Duke Gediminas' daughter
Aldona of Lithuania was known to be enthusiastic about music. Aldona brought court musicians and singers to
Kraków after marrying King
Casimir III the Great. During the 16th century, composers such as
Wacław of Szamotuły,
Jan Brant,
Heinrich Finck,
Cyprian Bazylik,
Alessandro Pesenti,
Luca Marenzio, and
Michelagnolo Galilei lived in Vilnius; the city was also home to
virtuoso lutist Bálint Bakfark. One of the first local musicians in written sources was Steponas Vilnietis (Stephanus de Vylna). The first textbook of Lithuanian music,
The Art and Practice of Music (), was published in Vilnius by
Žygimantas Liauksminas in 1667. Italian artists produced Lithuania's first
opera on 4 September 1636 at the Palace of the Grand Dukes, commissioned by Grand Duke
Władysław IV Vasa. Operas are produced at the
Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre and by the
Vilnius City Opera. The Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society, the country's largest and oldest state-owned concert organization, produces live concerts and tours in Lithuania and abroad. The
Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, founded by
Gintaras Rinkevičius, performs in Vilnius.
Choral music is popular in Lithuania, and Vilnius has three choir laureates (Brevis, Jauna Muzika, and the Chamber Choir of the Conservatoire) at the
European Grand Prix for Choral Singing. The
Lithuanian Song and Dance Festival in Vilnius has been presented every four years since 1990 for about 30,000 singers and folk dancers in
Vingis Park. In 2008, the festival and its
Latvian and
Estonian counterparts were designated as a
UNESCO Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. The
jazz scene is active in Vilnius; in 1970–71, the Ganelin/Tarasov/Chekasin trio founded the Vilnius Jazz School. The
Vilnius Jazz Festival is held annually. , leader of
Foje and founder of the annual
Gatvės muzikos diena (Street Music Day) The annual
Gatvės muzikos diena (Street Music Day) gathers musicians on the city's streets. Vilnius is the birthplace of singers
Mariana Korvelytė – Moravskienė,
Paulina Rivoli,
Danielius Dolskis,
Vytautas Kernagis,
Algirdas Kaušpėdas,
Andrius Mamontovas,
Nomeda Kazlaus, and
Asmik Grigorian); composers
César Cui,
Felix Yaniewicz,
Maximilian Steinberg,
Vytautas Miškinis, and
Onutė Narbutaitė); conductor
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla), and musicians
Antoni Radziwiłł,
Jascha Heifetz,
Clara Rockmore, and
Romas Lileikis). It was the hometown of 18th-century composers
Michał Kazimierz Ogiński,
Johann David Holland (colleague of
C. Bach),
Maciej Radziwiłł, and
Michał Kleofas Ogiński. Nineteenth-century Vilnius was known for singer
Kristina Gerhardi Frank, a close friend of
Mozart and
Haydn (who starred in the
premiere of Haydn's
Creation), mid-19th century guitar virtuoso
Marek Konrad Sokołowski and composer
Stanisław Moniuszko. The wealthiest woman in Vilnius during the early 19th century was singer
Maria de Neri. In the early 20th century, Vilnius was the hometown of
Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis,
Mikas Petrauskas, and
Juozas Tallat-Kelpša. Late-20th- and early 21st-century musicians include
Vyacheslav Ganelin,
Petras Vyšniauskas,
Petras Geniušas,
Mūza Rubackytė,
Alanas Chošnau, and
Marijonas Mikutavičius. The
Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, headquartered on
Gediminas Avenue, is also located at the
Slushko Palace in
Antakalnis. Singers who have lectured at the academy include
tenors
Kipras Petrauskas and
Virgilijus Noreika.
Theatre page of a theatre program dedicated to
Algirdas, which was performed in Vilnius The Lithuanian Grand Dukes' entertainment at the castle, rulers' visits abroad and guests' meetings had theatrical elements. During
Sigismund III Vasa's residence in Vilnius in the early 17th century, English actors performed at the palace. Władysław IV Vasa established a professional opera theatre in the Lower Castle in 1635, where
drammas per musica were performed by the Italian Virgilio Puccitelli. The performances had basic, luxurious scenography. A Jesuit School Theatre existed between the 16th and 18th centuries, with its first performance (
Hercules by S. Tucci) in 1570 in Vilnius. Baroque aesthetics prevailed at the theatre, which also had
medieval retrospectives, Renaissance elements,
Rococo motifs, and an educational function. Performances were in Latin, but elements of the Lithuanian language were included and some of the works had Lithuanian themes (
plays dedicated to
Algirdas, Mindaugas, Vytautas and other Lithuanian rulers).
Wojciech Bogusławski established Vilnius City Theatre, the city's first public theatre, in 1785. The theatre, initially in the Oskierka Palace, moved to the
Radziwiłł Palace and
Vilnius Town Hall. Plays were performed in Polish until 1845, from 1845 to 1864 in Polish and Russian, and after 1864 in Russian. After the Lithuanian-language ban was lifted, plays were also performed in Lithuanian. The theatre closed in 1914. During the interwar period (when the city was part of Poland), Vilnius was known for the modern, experimental Reduta troupe and institute led by
Juliusz Osterwa. The Vilnius Lithuanian Stage Amateur Company (), established in 1930 and renamed Vilnius's Lithuanian Theatre, performed in the region. In 1945, it was merged with the
Lithuanian National Drama Theatre.
Photography , captured in 1867 with Vilnius's
photoheliograph (the second such device in the world) According to the memoirs of architect Bolesław Podczaszyński, published in January 1853 in the , Lithuanian
photography began with the
daguerreotyping in the summer of 1839 of the reconstructed
Verkiai Palace by François Marcillac (governor of the children of Duke
Ludwig Wittgenstein). The country's unfavorable political situation hampered the development of new technology and cultural activities. The first known daguerreotype-portrait
atelier in Vilnius was opened in 1843 by C. Ziegler, and ateliers operated in Lithuania until 1859. One of the best-known photographers was K. Neupert, from
Norway. Aleksander Władysław Strauss, and
Józef Czechowicz.
Jan Bułhak founded the country's first photography club in Vilnius in 1927. In 1952,
Švyturys magazine organized the city's first photography exhibition.
Pottery wood products, and
weaving became widespread in the second and fourth centuries. During the
feudal era, home
crafts were components of a
subsistence economy. During the 13th and 14th centuries, crafts became a branch of the economy separate from agriculture. The Grand Dukes of Lithuania promoted the development of crafts in cities, and weaving, shoemaking, fur-making and other crafts predominated. With the early-14th-century introduction of foreign artisans, the development of crafts accelerated; crafts and trade stimulated the growth of Vilnius and other Lithuanian cities. In the 14th and 15th centuries, crafts were specialized (especially the production of tools, household items, fabrics, clothing, weapons, and jewelry);
workshops were established which trained and defended the interests of craftspeople. Production of fine
glassware began,
goldsmithing was developed, and the level of pottery and weaving rose during the 16th century, and the 1529 and 1588 Statutes of Lithuania identify 25 crafts. The
Vilnius Mint, the main
mint of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, minted the Lithuanian
denarius,
shillings,
groschen,
thalers,
ducats, and other coins from 1387 to 1666. Crafting declined in the second half of the 17th century due to the
Russo-Polish War, and most goods were imported and sold by Lithuanian and Polish nobles. It revived from the second half of the 18th century to the first half of the 19th century, with Vilnius the largest Lithuanian craft center. After the abolition of
serfdom, craft schools were established in Lithuanian cities; crafts have prevailed in
clothing manufacturing, goldsmithing, woodworking, food processing, and other fields. Under Soviet occupation, craftspeople worked in
artels until 1960 and then in
combines. After independence, crafts were produced by small and medium-sized businesses.
Saint Casimir, the patron saint of Lithuania, knew Lithuanian, Polish, German and Latin. Fifteenth-century
Byzantine historian
Laonikos Chalkokondyles reported that the Lithuanians had a distinct language.
Ruthenian was used after the incorporation of
Kievan Rus', forming the basis of 19th-century Ukrainian and
Belarusian. Written Ruthenian stemmed from the interaction of
Church Slavonic and
Old East Slavic with Ruthenian dialects, becoming the main language of the
chancery of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 14th and 15th centuries and maintained its dominance until the mid-17th century. Latin and
Polish were also widely used in the chancery; Polish replaced Ruthenian in written sources and Lithuanian in public use during the second half of the 17th century. The first state documents in Lithuanian appeared in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the end of its existence. In 1552, Sigismund ordered that orders from the Magistrate of Vilnius be announced in Lithuanian, Polish, and Ruthenian. Minorities such as
Jews,
Lipka Tatars, and
Crimean Karaites were ruled by the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and their languages were only used among themselves. According to Article 14 of the Lithuanian constitution, Lithuanian is the
official language; however,
interpreter assistance is sometimes provided.
Fashion According to historian
Antanas Čaplinskas, wives of merchants and craftsmen wore rings decorated with gemstones. Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century property inventories list long, wide-sleeved jackets (known as
kontuszy),
żupany decorated with fur, and
kontusz belts.
Buttons, made of
pearl,
coral,
brilliant-cut diamonds and
emeralds, were decorated with diamonds and enamel. Wealthy townspeople in luxurious clothing aroused the envy of Lithuanian nobility, who demanded laws regulating attire. The 1588 Statute of Lithuania limited townspeople to two rings, and Jews could not wear gold chains and
brooches. The annual Vilnius spring
Mados infekcija (Fashion Infection), Lithuania's largest
fashion show, began in 1999. Lithuanian clothing designer
Juozas Statkevičius usually presents his shows in the city.
Holidays and festivals Catholic holidays such as
Christmas,
Easter, and
Saint John's Eve) are widely celebrated. On 16 February (anniversary of the Act of Independence of Lithuania) and 11 March (anniversary of the
Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania), festive and religious events take place in Vilnius. On the evening of 12 January, bonfires are lit to commemorate the January Events.
Kaziuko mugė (Saint Casimir's Fair), held annually in the city's markets and streets on the Sunday nearest to 4 March (the feast of
Saint Casimir), attracts many visitors and Lithuanian and foreign craftspeople.
Easter palms () are symbolic of the fair. Capital Days (), Vilnius's largest festival of music and culture, is held from 30 August to 1 September. The river Vilnia is dyed green every year for
Saint Patrick's Day. During the annual
Vilnius Culture Night, artists and cultural organisations hold events and performances throughout the city. ==Administration==