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This morning we went on a walking tour of the streets of Old Town.
We entered Old Town through the Gate of Dawn. The architecture was magnificent and there were numerous churches. The Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit was our first stop which had 3 Pagan monks buried in the front of the altar, Saints Anthony, John, and Eustathios. We walked down Pilies Street which is the Old Town's main artery and the hub of cafe and street market life. The central squares in the Old Town are the Cathedral Square which most distinctive feature is the Cathedral's bell tower, situated several yards from the cathedral itself and the Town Hall Square. We walked past The Ensemble of St. Anne's and Bernardines' Churches and Bernardines' Monastery. The St Anne' s church is the most famous Gothic building in Lithuania. It was built in the 15th century. According to the legend, the Napolean is to have said that he would like to take St. Anne's Church in his hands.
We drove to St Peter and Pauls church which is a baroque style. This church is well known for its impressive interior. According to a legend at the same place where the church stands nowadays there stood a temple for Milda, Lithuanian pagan goddess of love and matchmaking. I bought a set of amber rosary beads for Danny here. The most impressive piece inside the church was a chandalier in the shape of a sail boat with a dragon head.
We had some free time so Sandy, Martin, Pete and I went back to Cathedral Square and walked around to the Fenicula that could take us up to Vilnius Castle Complex. The complex consisted of three castles: the Upper, the Lower, and the Crooked. The Crooked Castle was burned down by the Teutonic Knights in 1390 and was never rebuilt. The Vilnius Castles were attacked several times by the Teutonic Order after 1390, but they did not succeed in taking the entire complex. Its complete capture occurred for the first time during the 1655 Battle of Vilnius. Soon afterwards, the severely damaged castles lost their importance, and many buildings were abandoned. Today, remains the Gediminas Tower which is built on a hilltop, known as the Upper Castle. The hill on which it is built is known as Gediminas Hill, about 40 meters in height and around 160 meters in length. The views of the city from here were spectacular. We walked down the windy path to Pilies Street and had lunch in a cafe. We had potato dumplings with sour cream and pork crackle (Cepalina's or otherwise known as Zeppelins because of their shape).
After lunch we met up with our tour group for an optional tour to Trakai Castle which was on a peninsula in the middle of Lake Galve. The castle was the heart of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until 1323 when Grand Duke Gediminas moved the capital to Vilnius.
The BEST thing about this tour was the view , and the BEST view is from a square by the lake shore where the restaurants are. It was a pleasant 15 minute walk from the car park , crossing the lake by bridges, with spectacular views of the castle and surrounding nature. The Castle dates back to 14th century when it was built as a defensive fortress and later it was converted into a residential palace of Lithuania Grand Duchy, until being destroyed in war with the Russians in 17th century. From then, it was demolished and abandoned, until ironically the Soviets rebuilt it after WWII. Inside the castle is a history museum. We headed back to our hotel and met up with Sandy and Martin for pre dinner drinks and then walked back into Old Town for dinner. I had a salmon steak and Pete had duck leg which were both delicious.- comments