8/13/17

Vilnius, Lithuania


Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania and its largest city. Vilnius is located in the southeast part of Lithuania and is the second largest city in the Baltic states.  Vilnius is is known for the architecture in its Old Town, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Prior to World War II, Vilnius was one of the largest Jewish centers in Europe. Its Jewish influence has led to it being described as the "Jerusalem of Lithuania" and Napoleon named it "the Jerusalem of the North" as he was passing through in 1812. 
 Gediminas’ Tower is an important state and historic symbol of the city of Vilnius and of Lithuania itself.

 The Cathedral of St. Stanislav and St. Vladislav


Back of Presidential Residence.












Three Crosses. The origins of the three crosses date back to the 17th century when three monks placed them there to pay tribute to a group of fellow monks who were martyred in the 14th century. According to the history books, seven monks were killed and seven were tied to wooden crosses and floated down the Neris River, with the instruction to return to the west where they came from.

Republic of Užupis, along with its own flag, currency, president, cabinet of ministers, a constitution celebrates this independence annually on Užupis Day, which falls on April 1. Artistic endeavours are the main preoccupation of the Republic.

Copies of the 39 articles of the Republic's constitution and 3 mottos - "Don't Fight", "Don't Win", "Don't Surrender" - in 23 languages, can be found affixed to a wall in Paupio street in the area. Some of these articles; for instance, Article 5 simply reads "Man has the right to individuality.". Others are more idiosyncratic; a typical example can be found in Articles 1 ("People have the right to live by the River Vilnelė, while the River Vilnelė has the right to flow past people."), 12 ("A dog has the right to be a dog.") and 37 ("People have the right to have no rights."), each of which makes an unusual apportionment of rights. There are a number of paired articles, such as Articles 16 ("People have the right to be happy.") and 17 ("People have the right to be unhappy.") which declare people's right to either do or not do something, according to their desire.



Bar is Republic of Užupis HQ.


 St. Anne's Church




 City Market Building.








 Church of Black Madonna

 Black Madonna

 Brass cheese wheel outside of cheese shop.






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