Vilnius 700th anniversary programme: July
We’ve been celebrating Vilnius’s 700th birthday with music, lights and spectacular performances since 25 January. And there’s another birthday present in store on 25 July: Young Like Vilnius – a free music festival that will fill Vingis Park with a festive vibe! Throughout the month of July (and not just in Vilnius!), celebrate the capital’s jubilee at concerts, festivals, exhibitions, educational workshops, and gastronomic tours in the city’s restaurants. If 700-year-young Vilnius has this much energy to celebrate and have fun – then everyone can do it! Are you ready? After all, it’ll be another hundred years before another anniversary like this comes along!
Festivals:
Today, St Christopher, the patron saint of Vilnius, can be proud – Vilnius is celebrating its 700th anniversary! On 25 July 2023, which is the feast day of St Christopher, Vilnius will become a unique international music arena this jubilee year. In 2023, Vilnius will be treating all of its music-loving residents and guests to a free music festival in Vingis Park, which is one of the largest open spaces in the city.
The Young Like Vilnius festival will be a rare opportunity to hear unique performances and see shows featuring amazing specials effects and visuals. It is sure to become one of the main Vilnius anniversary events, capturing the attention of music fans around the world.
Date: 25 July 2023.
Location: Vingis Park.
Entry: Free of charge.
Organiser: Go Vilnius, the tourism and business development agency of the City of Vilnius.
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The Christopher Summer Festival is a diversity of world music in Vilnius’s most beautiful spaces. Having earned the EFFE Label, the event continues to prove that there is no wrong time or place for music. So this year too, with the help of outstanding artists and unexpected formats and combinations, it will create experiences that you’ll definitely want to share. The Christopher Summer Festival doesn’t require a tuxedo. The important thing here is emotions!
Date: 26 June – 5 September 2023.
Location: Courtyard of the Adam Mickiewicz Library (Trakų g. 10), the Church of St Casimir (Didžioji g. 34), the Bernardine Gardens (B. Radvilaitės g. 8), the Church of St Catherine (Vilniaus g. 30).
Entry: Tickets required. More information about ticket prices can be found here.
Organiser: VŠĮ Kristupo Festivalis.
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Vilnius got a special gift for its 700th birthday – a new festival. The first Vilnius Performance Art Biennial focuses all of its attention on Vilnius and its residents and their stories. Lithuanian and foreign artists will appear in the city’s public places, inviting you to embark on a trip not only around popular spaces, but also parks, secluded corners or closed rooms – this is a great opportunity to get to know Vilnius artistically. Some of the pieces were created specifically for this festival and will be shown for the first time. The international event will be held every two years, so take the opportunity to see these exceptional performances.
Date: 23 July – 6 August 2023.
Location: Various places around Vilnius.
Entry: Free of charge.
Organiser: Meno Niša Art Gallery.
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Parties:
Vilnius’s Loftas Art Factory is officially recognised as the most active space in Lithuania for music, cinema, theatre, fashion and dance projects as well as conferences, seminars and exhibitions. Loftas is a place that brings together the most interesting artists and creatives – from experimental start-up projects to global stars. Many events have already become annual happenings. Every summer, the LRT OPUS terrace opens in the Loftas courtyard, delighting everyone with concerts by Lithuania’s most interesting bands.
More information coming soon.
Location: Loftas Art Factory, Švitrigailos g. 29.
Organiser: Loftas Art Factory.
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Lukiškės Prison has grabbed the attention of residents and artists alike. The new version of Lukiškės Prison creates a different image, emotion and story. Lukiškės Prison 2.0 is not just a new or better version of the prison. It’s much, much more. Lukiškės Prison is full of culture, music and enlightened people. Its community of residents creates good and shares it with the city’s residents. This historical heritage site in the centre of Vilnius has become a generator of music, modern art, design and culture.
More information coming soon.
Location: Lukiškės Prison, Lukiškių skg. 6.
Organiser: Lukiškės Prison 2.0.
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Exhibitions:
For the 700th anniversary of Vilnius, MO Museum is offering the opportunity to become immersed in the atmosphere of a legendary novel about Vilnius. Ričardas Gavelis’s Vilnius Poker is interpreted with the help of unique pieces by Lithuanian artists, so the exhibition is a chance to see the social, political and cultural current affairs of those times, as well as works that were ideologically unacceptable back then.
The exhibition does not attempt to portray the novel directly – rather, it creates Vilnius as a multifaceted character. It was theatre director Oskaras Koršunovas, who is one of the most prominent and innovative figures in Lithuanian theatre, and set designer Gintaras Makarevičius who accepted the challenge to visually rethink the novel. Now, they are rebelliously inviting visitors to reflect on the experience and future of the modern city.
Date: 22 April 2023 – 28 January 2024.
Location: MO Museum (Pylimo g. 17).
Entry: Tickets required. More information about tickets can be found here.
Organiser: MO Museum.
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Put together by the VU Library, this exhibition will introduce the public to the history of the city of Vilnius. The exhibition will feature documents stored in the VU Library funds, including rare prints, manuscripts, photographs, and so on.
Date: 11 May – 15 October 2023.
Location: P. Smuglevičius Hall, Universiteto g. 3.
Entry: Free of charge.
Organiser: Vilnius University.
The project is presenting the Lithuanian capital of the last quarter of the 18th century and the second half of the 19th century. The story of its inhabitants evokes history and invites you to get to know the old city directly. This year, residents of Vilnius and guests to the city will be able to visit the specially designed pavilion and see a unique model of the Old Town. The interactive model will allow you to see the changes in the city’s topography and buildings, as well as its demographic, social and cultural development. Discover the story bank in Pavilion: Vilnius 200 Years Ago.
Date: 13 May 2023 – 15 October 2023
Place: Square in front of the New Arsenal, next to the Monument to King Mindaugas, Arsenalo g. 5
Price: free of charge
Organiser: Lithuanian National Museum
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Vilnius’s birthday is considered to be when the city’s name was first mentioned in the letters that Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas wrote to the cities of Europe. Take advantage of the extremely rare opportunity to see what this letter looked like with your own eyes! None of Gediminas’s 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. How important were these letters that Gediminas wrote? You can learn about their significance at the interactive exhibition that is the feature event of the entire 700th anniversary celebration. So don’t miss the opportunity to visit this special exhibition.
Date: 25 January – 27 August 2023.
Address: Gediminas Tower (Arsenalo g. 5).
Entry: Tickets required. More information about tickets can be found here.
Organiser: National Museum of Lithuania.
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What did Vilnians look like 700 years ago? Would they feel at home in the Vilnius of today? Would you like living in the Vilnius of old? Immerse yourself in a narrative consisting of 50 stories. Covering a period of 700 years, these stories will reveal the secrets, lifestyle and everyday life of the people of Vilnius. 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 late.
Date: 15 December 2022 – 27 August 2023.
Address: House of Histories (T. Kosciuškos g. 3).
Entry: Tickets required. More information about tickets can be found here.
Organiser: National Museum of Lithuania.
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Gastronomic experiences:
Anniversary menu:
- Broth with a kybyn (pasty filled with chopped lamb)
- Baked zander with boletus cream
- Potatoes au Gratin, honey-thyme sauce
- Flan/ginger crumbs/
- Coffee caviar
Price: EUR 50/person
Beef broth with an authentic Karaim kybyn (pasty filled with chopped lamb)
Price: EUR 4.50
Period: Until the end of 2023.
Address: Pilies g. 24.
Contact: 861443849.
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We are offering a four-course menu of the most delicious Vilnius stories. This tasting menu is a variety of stories going back to pre-war times that we put on plates with love. Stop by to get to know them and experience them first-hand, becoming one with the history of Vilnius.
Price: 40 €
Period: Valid throughout 2023
Address: Šv. Mykolo 4, Vilnius
Contact details: +370 688 22 210, [email protected]
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Do you know what Lithuanian nobles and rulers treated their guests to? Have you ever wondered what products Lithuanians enjoyed in pagan times and the Middle Ages? To mark the 700th anniversary of the city of Vilnius, we invite you to a tasting of Lithuanian dishes to get acquainted with the old stories of Lithuanian cuisine.
Price: 49 €/person
Period: The offer is valid for the entire year, until 30 December 2023
Address: Stiklių g. 8, Vilnius
Contact details: +370 5 262 9046
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- Imberlach (35€/kg) – a Jewish delicacy made of carrots, ginger and nuts, sliced into rhombuses that resemble diamonds
- Teiglach (2€) – pastries boiled in a honey
- Shakshouka (5.80€/serving) – Israeli scrambled eggs on a bed of tomatoes
- Cholent (7.50€/serving) – a slow-cooked stew with beef, beans and potatoes that is a unique Jewish dish
- Bagel (1.50€) – a soft, round or oval wheat dough roll with a shiny surface that is first boiled or steamed before being baked
- Forshmak (3.50€) – chopped herring, an old Jewish dish
Period: 1 January 2023 to the end of the year
Address: Pylimo g 4, Vilnius
Contact details: +370 656 98801
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- Stuffed fish (According to the old Litvak recipe). Price – 8 €
- Beef filet “Zrazai” with dried wild mushrooms, parsnips, celery, pumpkin puree (“Nelson’s Zrazai” first time mentioned in 1858). Price – 22 €
- Dark chocolate cake with coffee sauce (According to the recipe of the “Baltasis Štralis” cafe, 1918). Price – 7 €
Period: Through 30 September
Address: Gedimino pr. 23, Vilnius (Neringos restaurant)
Contact details: +37067815569
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The programme of events is constantly updated.