Lithuania : World Heritage Sites – Vilnius Historic Center

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The Church of St. John's

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The Gate of Dawn

In 1994, Vilnius Historic Center was inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage List. From the 13th century until the end of the 18th century, the Vilnius Old Town used to be the political centre, and in the 16th century it became the scientific and cultural centre of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Old Town of Vilnius has developed into a historic city from the city plan, which existed from the 14th until the 16th centuries.

Vilnius has grown in a special historic and natural environment surrounded by castles and the Neris and Vilnia Valleys. The Old Town represents an excellent blend of Eastern and Western cultures with an impressive complex of authentic Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Classicism buildings of defensive, dwelling, representative and sacred nature.