The Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania was built and flourished for 400 years. It was destroyed and levelled to the ground 200 years ago.
Today the Palace is reconstructed and remains the symbol of long-lasting statehood of Lithuania and reminiscence of the majestic history of one of the most influential European countries.
In the 5 th-8th centuries in this historical place there was a settlement. At the end of the 8th century an early stone castle was built, the remnants of defensive walls, towers and other buildings might be observed in the lobby under the courtyard and in the vaults of the palace.
The residence commemorates the founding of the state of Lithuania and the period of the Gediminidis Dynasty. During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Grand Dukes resided both in the Lower and Upper castles, which became stone castles and had some Gothic features.
The Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas had also resided in the Lower castle. There were some plans to have him coronated in Vilnius, so the castles had to emphasise the majesty and status of the state of Lithuania which had spread from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.
Frequent guests at Vilnius castles were the Vytautas’s successors, the dukes and the kings of Poland Casimir IV Jagiellonian with his son Alexander Jagiellonian, who substantially expanded the ruler’s palace.
A t the beginning of the 16th century, the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Sigismund I the Old started the reconstruction of the palace. His wife, the Italian duchess Bona Sforca, undoubtably had a great influence on the construction and furnishing of the palace. She aimed to turn the Vilnius Palace into a modern, representative residence of the Gediminidi – Jagiellonian dynasty. Thanks to Bona Sforza, Italian artists were invited to Lithuania and the most famous masters of that time decorated the palace and took care of its cultural life.
The son of Sigismund I the Old and Bona Sforza and the actual ruler of Lithuania Sigismund II Augustus started implementing the changes, he built a new palace and created a patio, Famous artists from Italy and other countries worked on the construction and decoration of the new palace. The envoys from different foreign countries were accepted and the foreign policy of the last representatives of the Jagiellonian dynasty and the House of Vasa had been implemented there. The gatherings of the Lithuanian Council of Lords were held, privileges were granted, the Statute of Lithuania was edited, courts were held, Lithuanian Metrica and the treasury were kept, and money was minted here.
Sigismund II Augustus had gathered an abundant library, and impressive collections of tapestries, weapons, armour, paintings, and hunting trophies in the palace. Even the Papal legate Berardo Bongiovanni was surprised by the treasure and its jewels kept in the palace. Even the first operas were staged here, earlier than in London or Paris.
The end of the Vilnius Palace was marked by the year 1655, when the capital was occupied by the Moscow and Cossack troops, which settled in the castles for six years, destroyed them and looted the valuables.
In the following years, due to the huge deficit of the state treasury, there were no funds to rebuild the ruined palace. After the final partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
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