travel/culture
THECAPITAL
OFCULTURE
severalcenturies,creatingablendofmany
differentarchitecturalstyles.Although
VilniusisknownasaBaroquecity,thereare
examplesofGothic,Renaissanceandother
2009isavery
styles.Owingtoitsuniqueness,theOld
TownofVilniuswasinscribedonthe
specialyearnot
UNESCOWorldHeritageListin1994.
Theoriginal(wooden)cathedralwasbuilt
onlyforVilniusbut
in1251andin1387itwasrebuiltinthe
Gothicstyle.Itisnowaclassicalstyle alsofortherestof
cathedral,themostbeautifulpartbeingthe
baroquechapelofSt.Casimir,builtin1623- thecountryas
1636.Therearetoursthroughthe
catacombsunderthecathedralandoutside
Lithuaniacelebrates
inthesquare,thereisaparticularpavingtile
onwhichiswrittentheword‘stebuklas’
itsmillennium
(miracle).Standonit,makeawishandturn
aroundthreetimes–yourwishshould
anniversary.
cometrue.
TheEuropeanPark,openfrom10amto
sunset,isamassiveopenareawheremore
than90sculpturesareexhibited.Founded monuments–therearemorethan300of
in1991byLithuaniansculptorGintaras them,butthemainlandmarkisthefamous
Karosas,theexhibitionspansanareaof55 medievalTrakaiCastle,situatedonanisland
hectaresandisvisitedbyover60,000people intheGalveLake.Entrancetothecastleis
annually.A20minutedrivefromVilnius,the overanancientdraw-bridge.
ideaoftheEuropeanParkistogivemeaning Constructionbeganinthe14thcentury
tothegeographiccenteroftheEuropean andtodayitistheonlyinsularcastlein
ContinentasascertainedbytheFrench EasternEurope,equippedwiththeunique
NationalGeographicInstitutein1989. (forthattime)systemofforced-airheating–
(Severalcountriesclaimtobeattheheart wherethecoldstonewallswereheatedby
ofEurope,butaccordingtotheresearchof pipedhotair.Whenthecapitalwasmoved
Images:top,Colourful Lithuaniansouvenirs(Rudi Roels- theInstitute,theoneandonlygeographical
toVilniusthetownbecameaplaceofexile
www.flickr.com/photos/rudiroels)Middle:OvoidCafeinthe
centralpointofthecontinentisinLithuania, fordisagreeablenoblemenandthecastle
Europashopping mall,one oftwoegg-shapedcafesthat
afactthathaswonrecognitioninthe becameapoliticalprison.
hang above the voidoffthe secondfloor.(Surinder Midha)
SincetheSovietUnionrecognized
Bottom:Popular accordionist busker andinternational
GuinnessBookofWorldRecords).The
competitionswinner,GintareAkstinaviciute.(VincenzoL.D.)
geographicalcentreofEuropeisjusttothe LithuanianindependenceinAugust1991,
northofVilnius-26kilometrestobeexact- Vilniushasrapidlytransformedandthe
For more informationonVilnius,check out the
nearthevillageofPurnuskesandall townhasemergedasamodernEuropean
InYourPocketguideatwww.inyourpocket.com
Europeansareinvitedtovisitthesiteatleast city.Manyofitsolderbuildingshavebeen
onceintheirlives. renovated,andabusinessandcommercial
TogetthereflyfromInvernessAirportto
TrakaiwastheancientcapitalofLithuania, areaisbeingdevelopedintotheNewCity
LondonGatwick.LithuaniaAirlines(flylal.com)
situated30kmfromVilnius.The‘townon Centre,expectedtobecomethecity’smain
offersreturnflightsex-Gatwickfrom£168
thewater,’asTrakaiisusuallycalled,is administrativeandbusinessdistrictonthe
particularlyrichinarchitecturalandcultural northsideoftheNerisriver. a73
30 thenorthmagazine
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