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The original Gedimino Tower was part of the former castle and fortress dating from the 13th century.
After a great fire in the 15th century and destruction during the Russian occupation, the tower was greatly restored in 1930. It houses the Upper Castle Museum and can be climbed for panoramic views of Vilnius.
Directions:
The Gedimio Tower is one of the main landmarks of Vilnius. It is situated on top of the 48 m high Castle Hill, just behind the Cathedral Square.
Address:
Gedimino Tower, Gediminas Hill, Vilnius Leave a Comment
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 Gediminas Castle seen from
River Neris by King_Golo
Apart from that, most people visit the castle due to its historic value: Of the actual castle there's nothing left but the tower, but you can easily imagine how good this site was for building a stronghold.
The castle was also the starting point of the Baltic Chain. On August, 23, 1989, about 1.5 to 2 million people gathered on a route of 600km between Vilnius and Tallinn and held hands as a sign of protest against Soviet rule. This was the longest human chain in history! The date of the event was consciously chosen: It was the 50th anniversary of the notorious pact of Molotov and Ribbentrop who sealed the fate of many European countries by agreeing upon whether Stalin or Hitler would invade them. The pact was especially fatal for the Baltics.
There used to be a plaque which commemorated this event on Gediminas Tower but for whatever reason it has been removed.
Btw, it is equally impossible to find the ending point of the chain in Tallinn if you don't know about it- I asked at the tourist information and they had not even heard about it! Leave a Comment Directions: on the hill behind the Cathedral - the castle can either be accessed by foot on a winding path or by a newly constructed funicular railway which was recently built after the city authorities learned that only one in ten Vilnius people had climbed the hill
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 View from the castle by Carletto76
Very nice is also the southern side, looking towards Uzupio and the forests around Vilnius.
From here you can see al the dozens of bell towers of all the churches in Vilnius, while it's better not to look too far since you'd see just Soviet-style buildings! Leave a Comment Directions: near Cathedral square, on mount
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 Gediminas Castle by ginteLeave a Comment Directions: Near the Cathedral Square.
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The first timber castle was built on Castle Mount by Grand Duke Gediminas around 1320. It was replaced by a brick one in the second half of the 14th century, which had to be re-built by Grand Duke Vytautas after a fire in 1419.
The castle served the Polish kings as a bell foundry and a jail and, later, as King Sigismund August's library. In 1655 it was conquered by the Muscovites, which was the start of its gradual decline. The only remaining part of it at present is just one tower which houses the Museum of the Castle. From its top you can admire the panorama of Vilnius.
Unfortunately, we could only see the castle from below. There were no signposts to the funicular and it was getting too late for us to attempt a walk. The pictures of the panorama of the town were taken by my friend on her stay in Vilnius. Thanks, Basia.
Photos: Barbara Godlewska Leave a Comment Directions: near Cathedral square, on mount
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 Defence Tower of the
Castle by Carletto76
But it's really worth to go up there to see the view of the town and the interesting exposition inside the tower, where you can take a look ad models of the old settlement of Vilnius with the two castles up and down Gediminas hill. There inside you can also see armours, swords, ancient coins and other expositions that introduces to the history of Lithuania. Leave a Comment Phone: +370.5.2617453Directions: near Cathedral square, on mount
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There are 2 ways of going up to the Higher Castle Museum. The first one is the physical approach. Get on those walking shoes and walk up the hill. Its a nice walk and on the way up to the top you can see the Hill with 3 Crosses. Just step very carefully as its a cobbled path and injuries can happen, especially if its icy.
Then there is the more lazy approach of taking the funicular. Unfortunately we did not know about the funicular until we had been up and down again, so we walked, but its not really that energy drainging, so I'd suggest you give at least one of the methods a go.
Once at the top you have lovely views of Vilnius. You can see all the lovely churches, the old town, and the skyscrapers on the other side of the river. But if you go inside the Museum, you can climb up to the top, where the views are even better, and you can see quite far on a clear day.
Just also note that the 78 steps going up the tower are not very wide, and people going up and down use the same stairs, so just take care when going up, but its well worth the climb, the views are great! Leave a Comment Phone: 261-74-53Directions: Its a little hill right behind the Cathedral, you cannot miss it.
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 View from the Castle by Carletto76
The river Neris divides very well the old town, with all the baroque chuches, from the new town with its modern skyscrapers, some of them really nice, expecially if compared with the ugly Soviet-style apartment-blocks you can see on the hills far away. Leave a Comment Directions: near Cathedral square, on mount
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Vilnius Castle
Situated in the strict centre of Vilnius on a not too steep hill which makes it accessible to anybody. Enjoy - first a romantic walk, then a breathtaking view of the biggest Old Town in the Eastern Europe. Leave a Comment
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My second time was really by accident as I decided to climb and see the Three Crosses on the top of the hill. I began to walk towards to the hill after some other tourists. I was close to the top when I realised that I had come to the Castle Hill! Since I was there I thought that I could just as well climb up the Gedimina’s Tower. On the way there are two small museums showing the changing appearance of Vilnius’ medieval fortification system. Quite interesting. From the top one can see Vilnius’ all the main landmarks – really great view. Leave a Comment
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