Timeline of Vilnius

14th century • 1323 • Gediminas relocates Lithuanian capital to Vilnius from Trakai. • Castle on Gediminas Hill expanded. • 1330 – Coat of arms of Vilnius granted. • 1345 – Russian Orthodox Church of St. Paraskeva built. • 1348 – Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Theotokos built. • 1387 • Magdeburg rights granted. • Roman Catholic Church of Saint Nicholas built. • 1397 – Cathedral School active (approximate date). 15th century • 1409 – Gediminas' Tower built. • 1413 – City becomes capital of the newly formed Vilnius Voivodeship by the Union of Horodło. • 1426 – Roman Catholic Church of St. Johns built. • 1469 – Roman Catholic Church of St. Francis and St. Bernardino founded. 16th century • 1500 – Roman Catholic Church of St. Anne consecrated. • 1501 – First mentions of Armenians in the city. • 1522 • City walls and Gate of Dawn built. • Francysk Skaryna sets up printing press. • 1555 – Evangelical Lutheran Church built on Vokiečių Street. • 1557 – Roman Catholic Vilnius Cathedral rebuilt. • 1560 – Russian Orthodox Church of St. Paraskeva rebuilt. • 1570 – Jesuit library established. • 1572 – Synagogue built. • 1579 – Alma Academia et Universitas Vilnensis Societatis Iesu founded. • 1588 – Plague. • 1597 – Monastery of the Holy Ghost founded. 17th century • 1610 – Fire. • 1626 – Roman Catholic Church of St. Theresa founded. • 1630 – Roman Catholic Church of All Saints built. • 1633 – Great Synagogue built. • 1644 – Biblioteca Sapehana willed to Vilnius University. • 1653 – Radvila Palace built. • 1655 – July: Battle of Vilnius; Russian occupation begins, lasting until 1661. • 1656 – Tsardom of Muscovy declares that it annexed the city mid-war. • 1658 – Battle of Verkiai. • 1661 – Vilnius liberated from Muscovite occupation. • 1697 – Sapieha Palace built. 18th century • 1701 – Roman Catholic Church of St. Peter and St. Paul built. • 1702 – Swedish occupation. • 1710 – Plague. • 1739 – Green Bridge constructed. • 1749 – Roman Catholic Sanctuary of the Divine Mercy built. 1770s and 1780s • 1778 – Lithuanian 5th Infantry Regiment relocated from Pinsk to Vilnius. • 1779 – 5th Infantry Regiment relocated from Vilnius to Mścibów. • 1781 – University Botanical Garden established. • 1783 – 5th Infantry Regiment relocated from Mścibów back to Vilnius. • 1787 – Lithuanian 4th Infantry Regiment stationed in Vilnius. • 1788 – Russians in power. 1790s • 1790 • 4th Infantry Regiment relocated from Vilnius to Barysaw. • Lithuanian 3rd Infantry Regiment relocated from Kaunas to Vilnius. • 1791 • Lithuanian 3rd Infantry Regiment relocated from Vilnius back to Kaunas. • Lithuanian 7th Infantry Regiment stationed in Vilnius. • 1794 – Vilnius uprising. == Long 19th century ==

• 1795 • City occupied by the Russian Empire. It is designated as the capital of Vilna Governorate. • Russian Orthodox Church of St. Paraskeva rebuilt. • 1799 • Town Hall rebuilt. • Romm publishing house relocates to Vilnius. • 1801 • Rasos Cemetery consecrated. • Royal Palace demolished. • 1809 – Antakalnis Cemetery established. • 1810 – Bernardine Cemetery established. • 1812 • Napoleon enters the city, marking the beginning of the brief French period in Lithuania. • 1 July: Vilnian National Guard founded in Vilnius. • 3 July: 18th Lithuanian Infantry Regiment founded in Vilnius. • 5 July: 3rd Light Cavalry Lancers Regiment of the Imperial Guard (Lithuanian) founded in Vilnius. • 22 September: 21st Lithuanian Mounted Rifle Regiment founded in Vilnius. 1820s • 1823 – : 20,900. • 1825 – Tuskulėnai Manor built. • 1828 – Jewish cemetery established in Užupis (approximate date). 1830s and 1840s • 1831 – Uprising of 1831 across Lithuania, but Vilnius is not liberated due to the defeat of the rebels at the battle of Paneriai on June 19. • 1832 – University closed. • 1834 – Presidential Palace renovated. • 1836 – St. George Avenue (now Gediminas Avenue) laid out. • 1845 – Theatre opens. 1850s • 1852 – Central Archive of Early Register Books established. • 1855 – Museum of Antiquities established. • 1856 – Public library established. 1860s • 1861 – Demonstration against Russian Empire. • 1863 – Uprising against Russian Empire. • 1866 – Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas reconsecrated. • 1867 – Pretchistenski Cathedral rebuilt. 1880s–1890s • 1881 – : 89,560. • 1883 – : 93,760. • 1897 – General Jewish Labour Bund founded in Vilnius. • 1898 – Russian Orthodox Church of St. Alexander Nevsky and District Court built. 1900s • 1900 – : 162,633. • 1901 – Kaziukas Fair relocates to Lūkiškės Square. • 1903 – Power Plant, Choral Synagogue and the Russian Orthodox Church of Our Lady of the Sign built. • 1904 – Lukiškės Prison built. • 1905 – December: Great Seimas of Vilnius held. • 1906 • Society of Friends of Science organized. • Vileišis Palace built. • 1907 – Lithuanian Art Society founded. 1910s • 1911 – Catholic Church of St. Casimir, Naujoji Vilnia built. • 1913 • Russian Orthodox Church of St. Constantine and St. Michael built. • : 204,290. == World Wars and occupations ==

• 1915 • 19 September: German occupation begins. • City becomes capital of Lithuania District. • 1916 – Vilna Troupe active. • 1918 • 16 February: Lithuania declares independence from German Empire. • Museum of History and Ethnography established. Interwar • 1919 • April: Vilna offensive by Polish army. • Central Library of Lithuania organized. • Jabłkowski Brothers department store opens. • 1920 – October 9: Vilnius occupied by Polish (so-called Central Lithuanian) troops during the Żeligowski's Mutiny. • 1925 • Darius Stadium opens. • Elektrit Radiotechnical Society, Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Vilnius, and Yiddish Scientific Institute established. • 6 May: School massacre. • 1926 – City becomes capital of Wilno Voivodeship. • 1928 – Northern Trade Fair begins. • 1931 – : 195,000. • 1933 • City Museum established. • Śmigły Wilno soccer team formed. World War II • 1939 • 18–19 September: Battle of Vilnius (1939) between the Poles and the invading Soviets at the start of World War II. • Soviet occupation of Vilnius. • 28 October: Vilnius returned to Lithuania as part of the terms of the Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty. • Vilnius Pedagogical Institute established. • 1940 • City becomes capital of Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. • Vilnius State Theatre established. • 1941 • June: Germans occupation begins. • July: Ponary massacre begins. • 5 July: Dulag transit camp for prisoners of war deployed in the city. • August: Dulag transit camp for prisoners of war relocated to Lida. • 9 September: Subcamp of Stalag 336 converted into the Stalag 344 POW camp. • 1942 – Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye formed in Vilna Jewish Ghetto. • 1943 – HKP 562 forced labor camp set up by Germans. • 1944 • Wehrmacht military prison relocated to Tarnów. 1950s • 1950 – Žalgiris Stadium opens. • 1951 – Vilnius Heat Plant commissioned. • 1955 – Šeškinė village becomes part of the city. • 1956 • Trolleybuses begin operating. • Vilnius Gediminas Technical University established. 1960s • 1963 • National Library of Lithuania relocates to Vilnius. • 1967 – Technika (publisher) established. • 1968 – Ratilio ensemble formed. 1970s • 1971 – Palace of Concerts and Sports opens. • 1972 – Valakampiai Bridge constructed. • 1974 • Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre built. • Evangelical Cemetery demolished. • 1979 – : 503,000. 1980s • 1980 – Seimas Palace and Vilnius TV Tower built. • 1983 – Vilnius Combined Heat and Power Plant commissioned. • 1985 – : 544,000. • 1987 – Vilnius Jazz Festival begins. • 1989 – Jewish State Museum established. == Independent Lithuania ==

• 1990 • 11 March: Lithuania declares independence from USSR. • Vilnius Lyceum and Vilniaus lietuvių namai (school) established. • 1991 – January: City besieged by Soviet forces. • 1992 • Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania and Verkiai Regional Park established. • Museum of Genocide Victims opens. • 1994 – General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania established. • 1995 – Alis Vidūnas becomes mayor. • 1997 • 1 April: Užupis neighborhood declares itself an independent republic. • Rolandas Paksas becomes mayor. • Kalnai Park established. • 1999 • Vilnius Book Fair begins. • Juozas Imbrasas becomes mayor. • 2000 • House of the Signatories museum opens. • Artūras Zuokas becomes mayor. 21st century • 2001 – Sportima Arena opens. • 2002 • Vilnius Ice Palace opens. • Energy and Technology Museum established. • 2003 • Mindaugas Bridge opens. • 750th anniversary of the coronation of Mindaugas. • FK Vėtra relocates to Vilnius. • 2004 • Siemens Arena and Vetra Stadium open. • European Humanities University relocates to Vilnius. • Europa Tower built. • Mykolas Romeris University and Vilnius Academy of Business Law established. • Vilnius Marathon begins. • 2005 – Lietuvos rytas Arena opens. • 2006 – May: City hosts regional democracy conference. • 2007 • Juozas Imbrasas becomes mayor again. • Jonas Mekas Visual Arts Center opens. • 2008 • February: City hosts NATO meeting. • Vilnius Airport railway station opens. • Gariūnai Market pavilion built. • 2009 • Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania rebuilt. • City designated a European Capital of Culture. • 2011 • Vilniaus viešasis transportas (bus company) established. • : 554,060. • Artūras Zuokas becomes mayor again. • 2015 – Remigijus Šimašius becomes mayor. • 2025 • 2023 • July: City hosts NATO summit. • 2026 • : 617,984 (city proper) and 747,864 (urban area) ==See also==