Palace of the Grand Dukes

The palace of the grand dukes of Lithuania stood at the foot of Gediminas Hill from the fifteenth century, was rebuilt in Renaissance and early Baroque form, and was demolished by the Russian administration in the early nineteenth century. Excavation from the 1980s exposed the foundations, and a decision to rebuild the palace above them produced the building that opened in stages from 2013, a reconstruction based on the archaeology, on inventories and on comparable buildings. Inside, one route runs through the excavated cellars with original masonry, tiles and finds displayed in place; another runs through recreated ceremonial rooms furnished in the styles of successive periods. Whether reconstruction of this kind is the right approach is argued about; the underground archaeology is not in dispute.

History

Stone buildings stood on the site in the 13th and 14th centuries, and the Gothic stone palace was built in the 15th century, apparently after a great fire of 1419, partly to host the planned coronation of Vytautas the Great. Grand Duke Alexander Jagiellon, later King of Poland, moved his residence here and had it renovated, and under Sigismund I the Old it was greatly enlarged in the Renaissance style, with a new wing and a third floor, to plans probably by the Italian architect Bartolomeo Berrecci; a courier of Queen Bona Sforza put the cost of the work of 1520-1530 at 100,000 gold ducats. For four centuries it was one of the political and cultural centres of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, but it declined after the Muscovite army took Vilnius in August 1655, and soon after Lithuania passed to the Russian Empire the remaining buildings were pulled down in 1801 and their bricks and stones sold. A new palace was built on the site from 2002, opened to the public on 6 July 2013 and completed in 2018 (Wikipedia, Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania).

What you'll find

• The excavated foundations - original masonry and finds shown in the cellars.
• Recreated state rooms - ceremonial interiors in successive period styles.
• Archaeological displays - tiles, stove ceramics and objects from the site.
• The Cathedral Square setting - the palace rebuilt at the heart of the city.

When to go

Year round; the museum is indoors and suits any weather. It closes on Mondays. Vilnius is at its most pleasant from May to September, when the square outside is busiest.

Good to know

The building is a modern reconstruction, completed in the 2010s, not a surviving palace, and opinions on that divide sharply. The two routes are ticketed separately or combined, which confuses arrivals. Allow more time than expected; the underground section is the more rewarding half.

Nearby

Vilnius Cathedral is next door; Bernardine Gardens lie east.