Vilnius ( VIL-nee-əs; Lithuanian: [ˈvʲɪlʲnʲʊs] ⓘ) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania and the most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated July 2026 population was 619,405, and the Vilnius urban area (which extends beyond the city limits) has an estimated population of 767,907.
Vilnius is notable for the architecture of its Old Town, considered one of Europe's largest and best-preserved old towns. The city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The architectural style known as Vilnian Baroque is named after the city, which is the easternmost Baroque city and the largest such city north of the Alps. The Renaissance and Baroque architecture of Vilnius was largely influenced by the Italian architecture as Italian descent architects, artists participated in designing and decorating it. The culture of Italy in Vilnius was significantly strengthened by the Italian princess Bona Sforza, who in 1517 married the Lithuanian Grand Duke Sigismund I the Old, and by their son Sigismund II Augustus.
The city has been the capital of Lithuania since at least 1323, when it was first mentioned as such in a letter of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas. Since the 13th century until the mid-17th century the Vilnius Castle Complex had served as the residence of the Lithuanian monarchs. Furthermore, the city was noted for its multicultural population during the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, with contemporary sources comparing it to Babylon. Before World War II and the Holocaust, Vilnius was one of Europe's most important Jewish centres, leading Napoleon to dub it "the Jerusalem of the North" when he passed through in 1812. The city's current demographics are additionally marked by the population exchange between Poland and Soviet Lithuania after World War II, before which Poles made up the majority of inhabitants. As of 2021, around two thirds of Vilnius' residents were Lithuanians.
Vilnius was a 2009 European Capital of Culture with Linz in Austria. In 2021, the city was named one of fDi's 25 Global Cities of the Future. Vilnius is a financial centre, ranked 76th globally and 29th in Europe on the Global Financial Centres Index. The city is an important center for the global fintech industry. It hosted the 2023 NATO Summit. In 2025 Vilnius was the European Green Capital. Vilnius is a member of Eurocities and the Union of Capitals of the European Union (UCEU).
Etymology and other names
The name of Vilnius first appeared in Latin-edited letters by Gediminas from the year 1323, in the form Vilna (in civitate nostra regia, dicta Vilna). In another letter from 1325, the form Wilno also appears (Datum Wilno). Both forms ultimately originate from the old Lithuanian name of the tributary river Vilnia (meaning ripple), which flows into the Neris River in the center of old Vilnius, near the Castle Hill. The name of the river was transferred to the city. The form Wilno is still used in the Polish language today. The Lithuanian form Vilnius, which is used today, was recorded at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries in the Postil of Mikalojus Daukša, but it only became widespread during the Lithuanian national revival at the end of the 19th century.
The form Vilna made its way into Western European languages and, for a long time, served as the standard designation for the city of Vilnius, especially in historical and diplomatic texts. The most notable non-Lithuanian names for the city include Latin: Vilna, Polish: Wilno (Polish: [vil.nɔ] ⓘ), Belarusian: Вiльня (Vilnia), German: Wilna (German: [ˈvɪlna] ⓘ), Latvian: Viļņa, Ukrainian: Вільно (Vilno), Yiddish: ווילנע (Vilne), Hebrew: וילנה (Vilna). A Russian name dating to the Russian Empire was Вильна (Vilna), although Вильнюс (Vilnyus) is now used.
According to a legend recorded around the 1530s, Grand Duke Gediminas (c. 1275 – c. 1341) was hunting in the sacred forest near Šventaragis' Valley, where the Vilnia River flows into the Neris. The successful hunt for a wisent lasted longer than expected, and Gediminas decided to spend the night in the valley. That night, he dreamed of a huge Iron Wolf standing on top of a hill, howling loudly. Upon awakening, the Duke asked the krivis Lizdeika to interpret the dream. The chief priest explained:
What is destined for the ruler and the State of Lithuania, is thus: the Iron Wolf represents a castle and a city which will be established by you on this site. This city will be the capital of the Lithuanian lands and the dwelling of their rulers, and the glory of their deeds shall echo throughout the world.
Gediminas, obeying the gods, built two castles: the Lower Castle in the valley, and the Crooked Castle on Bald Hill. He moved his court there, declared it his permanent seat and capital, and developed the surrounding area into a city he named Vilnius.
History
Vilnius's history dates to the Stone Age. The city, at least, from 1323 until 1795 was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Later Vilnius was ruled by imperial and Soviet Russia, Napoleonic France, Imperial and Nazi Germany, interwar Poland, and again became a capital of Lithuania in the 20th century.
A Baltic settlement since its foundation, Vilnius became significant in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The city was first mentioned in letters by Grand Duke Gediminas, who invited Jews and Germans to settle and built a wooden castle on a hill. Vilnius became a city when it was given city rights in 1387, after the Christianization of Lithuania, and was settled by craftsmen and merchants of a variety of nationalities. It was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (until 1795) within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Vilnius flourished under the Commonwealth, especially after the 1579 establishment of Vilnius University by the Lithuanian Grand Duke Stephen Báthory. The city became a cultural and scientific center, attracting migrants from east and west. It had diverse communities, with Polish, Jewish, Orthodox, and German populations. The city experienced a number of invasions and occupations, including by the Teutonic Knights, Russia and, later, Germany.
Under imperial Russian rule, Vilnius became the capital of Vilna Governorate and had a number of cultural revivals during the 19th and early 20th centuries by Jews, Poles, Lithuanians, and Belarusians. After World War I, the city experienced conflict between Poland and Lithuania which led to its occupation by Poland in October 1920. It remained part of Poland until its annexation by Lithuania in September 1939 and then by the Soviet Union in June 1940, becoming the capital of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Independence
On 11 March 1990, the Supreme Council of the Lithuanian SSR announced its secession from the Soviet Union and intention to restore an independent Lithuania. On 9 January 1991, the Soviet Union sent in troops; this culminated in the 13 January attack on the State Radio and Television Building and Vilnius TV Tower which killed 14 civilians. The Soviet Union recognised Lithuanian independence in September 1991. According to the Constitution of Lithuania, "the capital of the State of Lithuania shall be the city of Vilnius, the long-standing historical capital of Lithuania".
Vilnius has become a modern European city. Its territory has been expanded with three acts since 1990, incorporating urban areas, villages, hamlets, and the city of Grigiškės. Most historic buildings have been renovated and a business and commercial area became the New City Centre, the main administrative and business district on the north side of the river Neris. The area includes modern residential and retail space, with the municipal building and the 148.3 m (487 ft) Europa Tower its most prominent buildings.
Vilnius was selected as a 2009 European Capital of Culture with Linz, the capital of Upper Austria. The 2008 financial crisis led to a drop in tourism, which prevented many projects from completion; allegations of corruption and incompetence were made; tax increases for cultural activity led to protests, and economic conditions sparked riots. On 28–29 November 2013, Vilnius hosted the Eastern Partnership summit at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. Many European presidents, prime ministers, and high-ranking officials participated. In 2015, Remigijus Šimašius became the city's first directly elected mayor. The 2023 NATO summit was held in Vilnius.
Geography
Vilnius is at the confluence of the Vilnia and Neris rivers in southeastern Lithuania. Vilnius is 312 km (194 mi) from the Baltic Sea and Klaipėda, the main Lithuanian seaport. It is connected by road to other major Lithuanian cities, such as Kaunas (102 km or 63 mi away), Šiauliai (214 km or 133 mi away) and Panevėžys (135 km or 84 mi away).
Vilnius has an area of 402 km2 (155 sq mi). Buildings cover 29.1 percent of the city; green space covers 68.8 percent, and water covers 2.1 percent. The city has eight nature reserves: Vokės Senslėnio Slopes Geomorphological Reserve, Aukštagiris Geomorphological Reserve, Valakupių Klonio Geomorphological Reserve, Veržuva Hydrographic Reserve, Vokė Hydrographic Reserve, Cedronas Upstream Landscape Reserve, Tapeliai Landscape Reserve, and Šeškinė Slopes Geomorphological Reserve.
Several lakes, including Balžis, are located on the north-eastern outskirts of Vilnius.
One of the claimed locations for the geographical midpoint of Europe is located in the vicinity of Vilnius, 26 kilometers from the city. The claim is based on the 1989 work by Jean-George Affholder of the Institut Géographique National (French National Geographic Institute) who used the centre of gravity of the geometrical figure of Europe to estimate the midpoint at 54°54′N 25°19′E / 54.900°N 25.317°E, near the village of Girija. A monument by sculptor Gediminas Jokūbonis, a column of white granite surmounted by a crown of stars, was built there in 2004.
Climate
Vilnius has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb), with temperature records since 1777. The average annual temperature is 7.3 °C (45 °F); the average January temperature is −3.9 °C (25 °F), and the July average is 18.7 °C (66 °F). Average annual precipitation is 691 mm (27.20 in). Temperatures in the city have increased significantly during the last 30 years, a change which the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service attributes to human-induced global warming.
Summer days are warm to hot, especially in July and August, with daytime temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F) during periodic heat waves. Outdoor bars, restaurants and cafés are frequented during the day.
Winters can be very cold, although temperatures above 0 °C (32 °F); still occasionally occur. Temperatures below −25 °C (−13 °F) are recorded every other year. Vilnius's rivers freeze in particularly cold winters, and the lakes surrounding the city are almost always frozen from December to March, and even April, in the most extreme years. The Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service, headquartered in Vilnius, monitors the country's climate.
Culture
Painting and sculpture
Vilnius was an artistic centre of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, attracting artists across Europe. The oldest surviving early Gothic artworks (14th century) are paintings dedicated to churches and liturgy, such as frescoes in the crypts of Vilnius Cathedral and decorated hymnbooks. Sixteenth-century wall paintings are in the city's Church of St. Francis and St. Bernard and the Church of Saint Nicholas. Gothic wooden polychrome sculptures decorate church altars. Some Gothic seals from the 14th and 15th centuries still exist, including those of Kęstutis, Vytautas the Great and Sigismund II Augustus.
Renaissance sculpture appeared during the early 16th century, primarily by the Italian sculptors Bernardinus Zanobi da Gianotti, Giovani Cini, and Giovanni Maria Padovano. During the Renaissance, portrait tombstones and medals were valued; examples are the marble tombs of Albertas Goštautas (1548) and Paweł Holszański (1555) by Bernardino de Gianotis in Vilnius Cathedral. Italian sculpture is characterized by its naturalistic treatment of forms and precise proportions. Local sculptors adopted the iconographic scheme of Renaissance tombs; their works, such the tomb of Lew Sapieha (c. 1633) in the Church of St. Michael, are stylized. During this period, local and Western European painters created religious and mythological compositions and portraits with late Gothic and Baroque features; illustrated prayerbooks, illustrations, and miniatures have survived.
During the late-16th-century Baroque, wall painting had developed. Most palaces and churches were decorated in frescoes with bright colors, sophisticated angles, and drama. Secular painting – representational, imaginative, epitaph portraits, scenes of battles and politically important events in a detailed, realistic style – also spread at this time. Baroque sculptures dominated sacred architecture: tombstones with sculpted portraits and decorative sculptures in wood, marble, and stucco. Italian sculptors such as G. P. Perti, G. M. Galli, and A. S. Capone, key figures in the development of sculpture in the 17th-century grand duchy, were commissioned by Lithuanian nobility. Their works exemplify the mature Baroque, with expressive forms and sensuality. Local sculptors emphasized Baroque decorative features, with less expression and emotion.
Lithuanian painting was influenced by the Vilnius Art School during the late 18th and 19th centuries, which introduced classical and romantic art. Painters had internships abroad, mainly in Italy. Allegorical, mythological compositions, landscapes, and portraits of representatives of various circles of society began, and historical themes prevailed. The era's best-known classical painters are Franciszek Smaglewicz, Jan Rustem, Józef Oleszkiew, Daniel Kondratowicz, Józef Peszka, and Wincenty Smokowski. Romantic artists were Jan Rustem, Jan Krzysztof Damel, Wincenty Dmochowski and Kanuty Rusiecki. After the 1832 closure of Vilnius University, the Vilnius Art School continued to influence Lithuanian art.