Vilnius Castle Complex

The Vilnius Castle Complex stands on the left bank of the Neris River where it meets the Vilnia. Three castles once formed the group: the Upper, the Lower and the Crooked. The Crooked Castle was destroyed in 1390 and never rebuilt. The remaining Gediminas Tower became a symbol of Vilnius and Lithuania. The complex was fought over for centuries, changing hands in 1655 for the first time. Many buildings were demolished or damaged during later wars and partitions. The Upper Castle was built on Gediminas Hill, occupied since Neolithic times. Wooden walls were strengthened with stone in the 9th century and a wooden castle appeared in the 10th. By the 13th century stone walls with towers surrounded the hilltop. The castle was repeatedly attacked by the Teutonic Order between 1365 and 1402. During the 1390 assault led by marshals Engelhard Rabe von Wildstein and Konrad von Wallenrode, the Crooked Castle fell but the others held. Vytautas the Great later rebuilt the Upper Castle in Gothic style with green roof tiles. The Lower Castle contains the Grand Ducal Palace and Vilnius Cathedral. The palace evolved from 13th-century stone structures and became the political centre of the Grand Duchy. King Alexander moved his residence there after marrying a Moscow princess. Under Sigismund I the Old the palace was expanded with an extra wing and third floor. Italian architect Bartolomeo Berrecci da Pontassieve designed parts of the reconstruction. Only the palace’s foundations and fragments of walls remain today.