Vilniaus Street in Vilnius continues from Vokieciu Street and runs from Traku Street to Green Bridge. At the end of the 20th century, a Museum of Theater, Music, and Cinema came to the Radziwill Palace, home of the Vilnius City Theater in 1796-1810. Across from the museum is a monument to the poet Salomeja Neris and a high school by the same name.
Contents
- 1 Moving further on Vilniaus Street
- 2 St. Catherines Church Vilniaus Street
- 3 Charitable Society (Now Vilnius Tourist Information Center) Vilniaus Street
- 4 Army Officer’s Residential Building Vilniaus Street
- 5 Vilnius Opera and Ballet Theater Vilniaus Street
- 6 How To Get To Vilnius Lithuania
- 7 Vilniaus Street Vilnius Map
- 7.1 Other Interesting Articles About Vilnius Old Town
- 7.2 Explore Pilies Street in Vilnius Old Town – A Charming Hub of Souvenir Stalls and Restaurants
- 7.3 Explore Wonderful Ausros Vartu Street in Vilnius Old Town 5 Great Tips
- 7.4 Explore Exciting Uzupis Vilnius An Independent Republic – Ultimate Guide
- 7.5 Explore Beautiful Vilnius Old Town – Lovely Didzioji Street
Moving further on Vilniaus Street
Beside St. Catherine’s church is an ensemble of buildings. It’s the Benedictine convent, with several small inner courtyards where the Catholic priest Juozas Stakauskas hid Jews during the Second World War. In front of the convent is a square with a bust of the composer Stanislaw Moniuszko. The largest Historicist-style building on number 39, across from the square is the Vilnius Teachers’ House.
Vilnius Newspaper
The first Lithuanian daily, Vilniaus zinios (Vilnius News), came from this building between 1904 and 1906. Walking to Zaliasis Tiltas (Green Bridge) one can see the remains of another Radziwill estate on number 22. The magnate Janusz Radziwill built this house, renowned for its art collections, at the beginning of the 17th century. After the 1655-1661 war with Moscow, the buildings stayed empty.
The Lithuanian Museum of Art
The Lithuanian Museum of Art took over the reconstructed western wing of the estate in 1984. During the Soviet occupation the poet and Nobel Prize laureate Joseph Brodsky used to visit friends across from the estate. There was a Jewish theater at Liejyklos Street 4 in the first half of the 20th century. A memorial plaque marks the site where Theodor Herzl, founder of the Zionist movement, met with the Vilnius Jewish community in 1903.
Several other historicist-style buildings line Vilniaus Street before it reaches the area where new commercial venues take over. The Old Town ends at the junction with Gedimino Prospektas.
St. Catherines Church Vilniaus Street
Standing lengthwise along the street is the elegant Church of Catherine. It’s now a popular concert venue, which acquired its present-day form in 1741-1773. The church is an example of typical Vilnius Baroque, which features vertical lines and double tower facades. The Chapel of Providence emerged beside the earlier sanctuary in 1641.
Belonging to a Benedictine convent, the church was rebuilt after several fires. The new design created a nave that was as high as it was long. The church has a rich interior, with excellent acoustics, making it a fabulous venue for regular music concerts.
The square behind the church has a bust of Stanislaw Moniuszko. He was a 19th-century Polish composer who lived in Vilnius. His operas and songs have fond references to the lost Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Address | Vilniaus Street 30, Vilnius |
Telephone | +370 52 62 04 1 |
Charitable Society (Now Vilnius Tourist Information Center) Vilniaus Street
At the end of the 19th century, the industrious Charitable Society of Vilnius already had a headquarters and a block of affordable apartments. But it needed a building with a hall and commercial premises. In 1911, a luxurious building, called “the House with the Lions“, emerged on land belonging to the society.
The architect prepared several designs. First, the building was in a geometric, northern Art Nouveau style. But later a more conservative Neo-Classical and Renaissance style was chosen. Half-columns and windows with archivolts split the facade.
The ground floor features display windows. The banker Jozef Montwill, one of the Society’s leaders, set up a company that used the building to sell work by artisans of the Vilnius district. For a while, the building housed the Architekt construction office of the architects W. Michniewicz and A. Parczewski. The modern influence is observable in the laconic forms of the exterior.
Army Officer’s Residential Building Vilniaus Street
The Military Accommodation Foundation is from the end of the 1920’s, formed by Jozef Pilsudski, to solve the housing problem of military personnel. It began constructing standard, multi-story apartment blocks (for 12 or 18 families, or more).
Several such houses emerged in Vilnius and Naujoji Vilnia. But the building constructed on Vilniaus Street stands out from typical examples, due to its imposing form monumental features, modernized Neo-classical style, and the decorations on its pediments.
Vilnius Opera and Ballet Theater Vilniaus Street
Further down Vilniaus Street, there’s a residential building erected in the 20th century, a government building from the period of the Soviet occupation, and the Vilnius Opera and Ballet Theater. The glass walls of the theater have copper plate decorations.
A monument to one of the friends of the Lithuanian opera, the tenor Kipras Petrauskas appeared in front of the theater in 1974. Closer to the river, on Gostauto Street 1, stands a mansion of a Neo-Classicist style, which before belonged to the Vilnius Science Fellows’ Association.
La Traviata
The theater is from 1920 and the repertoire started with the G. Verdi opera “La Traviata”, performed on December 31st, 1920. On January 1st, 1922, the institution became a Government Opera. Opera, ballet, and drama were live in this theater until 1944, when a separate drama theater emerged, and the institution became the Governmental Opera and Ballet Theater.
The theater moved to Vilnius in 1948 and settled in one of the buildings in J. Basanaviciaus Street, where it operated until the autumn of 1974. A new theater building opened in A. Vienuolio Street in November 1974 (architect Nijole Buciute), since then The theater has not changed its site.
The name of the institution changed after the fashion of the time. The current name – Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theater – is from July 1st, 1998. Rue twig was chosen as a Theater symbol, which decorates the Theater stage curtain and logo.
The Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theater is the largest artistic institution in Lithuania, which represents the art of opera and ballet. The Theater has its own ballet and opera troupes, orchestra, and choir. There are two halls: The Large (with 984 seats) and the Chamber (with up to 250 seats).
The stage of the theater has modern equipment. There’s a special floor cover for ballet performances, and technical possibilities allow the play authors to carry out the most original ideas.
Address | A. Vienuolio g. 1, Vilnius |
Telephone | (8-5) 262 0727 |