Theme:
Landscape
&
Architecture

 16-20th 
centuries

	Catalog of the Exhibition

Vilnius' Old City is an integral part of Europe's heritage, and its most authentic, artistic and representative element is the University's ensemble of ancient buildings, located in the old city quarter bounded by Universiteto, Skapo, Pilies and St. Jonas Streets. Many leading figures of Lithuania's world of science, education and the arts, lived and worked in these buildings, among them the first rector of the Academy, Petras Skarga; theologians Zygimantas Liauksminas and Albertas Kojelavicius-Vijukas; the poet Motiejus Kazimieras Sarbievijus; astronomers Tomas Zebrauskas and Martynas Pocobutas; the painter Pranciskus Smuglevicius and others.

In these historic chambers, one of the most outstanding centers of Lithuanian science and culture - the University's library - has worked for 429 uninterrupted years, with a printing-house since 1631. The pearl of Vilnius' Old City, St. Johns' Church, counts its days from the very beginnings of Lithuania's Christianization.
All of the architectural styles of Vilnius -- Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Classic -- come together harmoniously in the University ensemble established in the Old City.

From the closed and cozy little Observatory Courtyard, whose panoramic view is graced by the fine, artistic fa?ade of the Observatory building, there opens a grand view of the Great Courtyard and its dynamic space with the incomparable 
fasade of St. Johns' Church. And next to that, the M.K. Sarbievijus Courtyard: authentic 16th century brick walls with two-story buttresses, and a memorial plaque to the poet and humanist M.K. Sarbievijus. There are twelve of these courtyards in the Vilnius University architectural ensemble; also noteworthy are the magnificent interiors. All of this, as an indivisible whole, is a compact, finished work of architecture and art, manifesting the multinational cultural heritage of Vilnius. 

  Sound record (in Lithuanian)