Vilnius 700th anniversary program publication

VILNIUS: 700 YEARS YOUNG

Main events for the capital’s 700th anniversary

Vilnius –700 years of history

Seven centuries ago, in 1322–1323, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas sent diplomatic letters to Europe, making the first mention of Vilnius and inviting people to come settle in the capital. The letters made it to their intended recipients and the city became part of European history: Vilnius opened up to the world and the world discovered Vilnius.

Lithuania is marking a historic milestone in 2023 – the 700th anniversary of Vilnius. It is a celebration for us, and something we are creating and celebrating together. On the occasion of this historic milestone, many events, festivals and initiatives will take place in Vilnius, across Lithuania and abroad. After all, bright ideas and a dynamic culture are the essence of city’s youth!

Vilnius: 700 years young

Vilnius is turning 700 years old, but is always young at heart and soul. With a rich background of history and architecture, people continue to live and create the city’s unique face, heart and pulse. Both residents and guests in Vilnius can find many opportunities for self-expression of our unique philosophy intertwined with the city’s creative and progressive aura. Vilnius is full of energy that encourages action, inspires change, paves the way forward and makes ideas limitless.

Youth does not depend solely on age. Over the centuries, Vilnius has preserved its accumulated wisdom and applied it to the modern world. It is better to be brave – Vilnius is a playground for implementing ideas and cultivating talents, regardless of age.

Vilnius’ 700th birthday

January 2023 is a special month. On the morning of 25 January, Vilnius will wake up 700 years old. The January events kick-off the anniversary year, starting with the Vilnius Festival of Lights, which will glow like candles on a cake created by Lithuanian and foreign light artists. It is a gift for everyone and the most unexpected places in Vilnius will shine in a new way. Interactive installations will allow you to create unique compositions. But the gifts don't end there, Vilnius will also invite you to other impressive birthday events and surprises.

TOP EVENTS

National Museum of Lithuania

I am a Vilnian exhibition

Like Vilnius, this exhibition is rich and diverse, but all of the stories testify to the same thing – we are all Vilnians and we all create Vilnius, regardless of whether we were born here or settled here later on in life. A narrative consisting of 50 stories covering 700 years will reveal the secrets, culture and day-to-day life of the people of Vilnius.

National Museum of Lithuania and the Lithuanian National Museum of Art

Gediminas’s Letters in Vilnius exhibition

None of Gediminas’ original letters have survived to this day, so the transcript made in Riga shortly after the letter was received is the most authentic document testifying to the birth of the City of Vilnius. It is an extremely rare opportunity to see what this letter looked like with your own eyes and learn about its significance at the interactive exhibition.

Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre

Opera. Connect: Vilnius – a City of Opera

Opera took to the stages of Vilnius before making its way to Paris, and today the voices of Lithuanian opera soloists can be heard all over the world. Opera.Connect: Vilnius – a City of Opera will take opera out of the concert halls and spread it all over the city. Moreover, Opera on Wheels will bring pieces of opera to the most unexpected spaces. At the Baltic Opera Awards, composers from all three Baltic States will be honoured.

Today opera is more than just classic costumes. Artificial intelligence will recreate the sound of the first operas performed at the Palace of the Grand Dukes in the 17th century for the ears of modern audiences. Alopera is a synthesis of history and modernity that is a must for all music lovers.

LNOBT Open Festival June 2023

Baltic Opera Awards June 2023

Alopera at the Palace of the Grand Dukes on 2-3 September 2023

Once in Vilnius cinema platform

Capture Vilnius as you see it. Whether you’re watching the sunset over the city, having a coffee on a tiny street in the Old Town, splashing around in a fountain or attending an event, make sure to capture your memorable moments and share them with others on the Once in Vilnius platform.

Take part in the Loftas Art Factory’s project and show Vilnius to the world through your own eyes. The images you capture might even be included in Once in a City Called Vilnius, a full-length film that will be released at the end of 2023. Or create your own unique short film using the moments of all the project participants you liked most. The project will prove once again that Vilnius has thousands of faces, and everyone sees them differently.

National Museum the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania

The Palace of the Grand Dukes celebrates Vilnius 700

The Palace of the Grand Dukes celebrates Vilnius

The historic Palace of the Grand Dukes will present the following events in celebration of young Vilnius:

3D projection of Gediminas Tower and exhibition entitled Dawn of the City of Gediminas. The Oldest Wooden Building in Vilnius and its Most Unique Finds

January-June 2023

The return of Žygimantas August tapestries to Vilnius exhibition

May-July 2023

Arc de Triomphe project

6 July 2023

Residence of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania as an object of historical memory during 18th–20th century exhibition

October 2023-January 2024

Vilnius Poker exhibition

Experience Vilnius through the prism of Ričardas Gavelis’ iconic novel, Vilnius Poker. This book, penned during the collapse of the Soviet system and inspired by the thoughts of a free man, is one of the first Lithuanian novels to examine the city and its dwellers. Now, director Oskaras Koršunovas and scenographer Gintaras Makarevičius will invite MO Museum visitors to explore both a familiar and undiscovered Vilnius by wandering around a city-labyrinth constructed by text, images and sound.

Works of visual art reflecting one of the most famous Lithuanian novels will ask us what kind of character Vilnius is today and how we envision it to be in the future. However, the exhibition makes no promises of offering one correct answer, because it doesn’t exist. Your version is part of the Vilnius puzzle.

Photo author: Norbert Tukaj

Art Gene and LENsemble Vilnius

Music for Vilnius project

What does Vilnius sound like? It probably depends on where you are. Close your eyes and listen – it may be church bells, a rippling river, leaves rustling in the wind, laughter or the honking of car horns. Seven worldfamous composers will do just that: they’ll come to Vilnius, choose a place they like in the city, and create a 5-10-minute composition for it. The seven pieces will be performed for Vilnius in different spaces, but the compositions will not only be heard at the presentation concerts.

Modern technologies will help spread the sounds of Vilnius all over the world, and if you’re in Vilnius, you’ll be able to set out on a route to different places. These Music for Vilnius compositions are like short-term sculptures of the modern city.

Concert dates www.700vilnius.lt

Vilnius 200 Years Ago Pavilion

For Vilnius’ 700th anniversary, a new exhibition space will be opened in the capital – the Vilnius 200 Years Ago Pavilion. Here, visitors will have a chance to get acquainted with the people of 19th-century Vilnius and their city. At the heart of the exhibition is a model of the city created using unique archival material, showing the totality of the city as a living organism.

The pavilion will serve as a unique meeting place and inclusive activities will allow visitors to experience Vilnius 200 years ago and strengthen their connection to this contemporary city. Embark on a journey through Vilnius as it was then and discover the many places, buildings and streets that have since been lost, as well as your favourite contemporary places. Would you choose to live in Vilnius in that time?

Vilnius Performance Art Biennial

To mark the city’s 700th anniversary, celebrations will be taking place all over Vilnius, and not only on its official birthday. In July-August 2023, the historical and new parts of the city, parks, streets and enclosed spaces will be filled with temporary but unique works of art –performances making up the first Vilnius International Biennial. See international and Lithuanian stars, as well as works that are making the country famous worldwide.

During the first biennial, creators will examine Vilnius’ historical and modern achievements, as well as its most important dates, events, places and people. The Vilnius Performance Art Biennial’s long-term gift to the city is that the festival will take place every two years and become a permanent part of the city’s array of cultural traditions.

Meno Niša Art Gallery

As Young as Vilnius Music Festival

The feast day of St. Christopher, the patron saint of Vilnius, also needs to be celebrated. After all, he’s the one who protects Vilnius from adversity and keeps it on the right path. The free concerts at Vingis Park will delight you all day long. Classical and popular contemporary music, well-known performers, special audio-visual solutions and a summery mood promise fun for everyone! Vilnius will resound louder than the howl of the Iron Wolf in Grand Duke Gediminas’ dream throughout the festival. Long live Vilnius’ birthday!

Donatas Ulvydas and Artbox

Vilnius Poker cinematographic project

Vilnius is constantly changing, but the city’s DNA remains the same. Ričardas Gavelis’ novel Vilnius Poker is a timeless ode to Vilnius that is still relevanr now, more than three decades since its first publication. For the capital’s anniversary, Vilnius Poker is coming back to life on the big screen and in exhibition and concert halls. Film director Donatas Ulvydas has taken on the impressive feat of giving the legendary work of literature a visual body.

Vilnius Poker is a mystified story about life, love and death in a city that exists beyond time, memory and reality. This movie reveals a different perspective of the city and forms a new Lithuanian urban mythology. Jazz is an inseparable motif of the novel Vilnius Poker. As one of the main scenes of the novel takes place in an abandoned church where musicians secretly perform avant-garde jazz, the programme is being presented in one of Vilnius’ churches. Thus, to celebrate its 700th anniversary, Vilnius is receiving a film as well as a unique avant-garde jazz composition. To discover the many perspectives of Vilnius Poker, an exhibition of paintings and sculptures used in the filming of the movie was initiated.

Dates of the main events of 2023

25-28 January 2023

Vilnius’ 700th birthday

January-August 2023

I am a Vilnian and Gediminas’s Letters in Vilnius exhibitions

January-September 2023

Opera.Connect:

Vilnius – a City of Opera

January-November 2023

Once in Vilnius cinema platform

January-December 2023

The Palace of the Grand Dukes celebrates Vilnius 700

22 April 2023-28 January 2024

The Vilnius Poker exhibition

May-July 2023

Music for Vilnius project

10 May-24 September 2023

Vilnius 200 Years Ago Pavilion

23 June-6 August 2023

Vilnius Performance Art Biennial

25 July 2023

As Young as Vilnius Music Festival

January-December 2023

Vilnius Poker film

Let’s create a celebration together!

The initiator of the Vilnius 700 project is the Vilnius City Municipality.

The curator of the programme is the city’s Tourism and Business Development Agency, Go Vilnius.

The project is being financed by the Vilnius City Municipality and the Chancellery of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.

Let’s meet!

Pilies St. 2, Vilnius

+370 5 262 9660 700@vilnius.lt

I-VII 9:00-2:00, 13:00-18:00

www.700vilnius.lt

© Go Vilnius 2023