During the reign of Grand Dukes Butvydas and Vytenis, a city started emerging from a trading settlement and the first Franciscan Catholic church was built. Historian Romas Batūra identifies the city with Voruta, one of the castles of Mindaugas, who was King of Lithuania after coronation in 1253. History įurther information: Kingdom of Lithuania and Grand Duchy of Lithuania Therefore, Gediminas, obeying the will of the gods, built the city, and gave it the name Vilnius, from the Vilnia River. 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." "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. Upon awakening, the Duke asked the krivis ( pagan priest) Lizdeika to interpret the dream. He fell soundly asleep and dreamed of a huge Iron Wolf standing on top a hill and howling as strong and loud as a hundred wolves. Tired after the successful hunt of a wisent, the Grand Duke settled in for the night. 1275–1341) was hunting in the sacred forest near the Valley of Šventaragis, near where the Vilnia River flows into the Neris River. The neighborhoods of Vilnius also have names in other languages, which represent the languages spoken by various ethnic groups in the area.Īccording to legend, Grand Duke Gediminas (c. Wilna is still used in German, along with Vilnius. The name Vilna is still used in Finnish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Hebrew: וילנה. The names Wilno, Wilna and Vilna were also used in older English-, German-, French- and Italian-language publications when the city was one of the capitals of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and an important city in the Second Polish Republic. A Russian name from the time of the Russian Empire was Вильна ( Vilna), although Вильнюс ( Vilnyus) is now used. The most notable non-Lithuanian names for the city include Polish: Wilno, Belarusian: Вiльня ( Vilnia), German: Wilna, Latvian: Viļņa, Ukrainian: Вільно ( Vilno), Yiddish: ווילנע ( Vilne). The city has also had many derivative spellings in various languages throughout its history: Vilna was once common in English. The name of the city originates from the Vilnia River, from the Lithuanian for ripple.
In 2009, Vilnius was the European Capital of Culture, together with Linz, Austria.
Napoleon called it "the Jerusalem of the North" as he was passing through in 1812. Its Jewish influence has led to its nickname "the Jerusalem of Lithuania". Before World War II, Vilnius was one of the largest Jewish centres in Europe. Vilnius is known for the architecture in its Old Town, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. It is the seat of Lithuania's national government and the Vilnius District Municipality. Vilnius is situated in southeastern Lithuania and is the second-largest city in the Baltic states, but according to the Bank of Latvia is expected to become the largest in 2025. The population of Vilnius's functional urban area, which stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 718,507 (as of 2020), while according to the Vilnius territorial health insurance fund, there were 732,421 permanent inhabitants as of October 2020 in Vilnius city and Vilnius district municipalities combined. Vilnius ( / ˈ v ɪ l n i ə s/ VIL-nee-əs, Lithuanian: ( listen) see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 as of 2022.
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