Timeline of Vilnius

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Vilnius, Lithuania.

Prior to 17th century

Part of a series on the
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Prehistory Kunda culture Narva culture Neman culture Corded Ware culture Baltic tribes Yotvingia Amber Road / Aesti Lithuania proper
Middle ages Duchy of Lithuania Grand Duchy of Lithuania Kingdom of Lithuania Jagiellonian period
Early Modern era Early elective monarchy Deluge and decline Three partitions Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Swedish Lithuania
Modern era Russian rule Kingdom of Lithuania Wars of Independence Lithuanian–Soviet War Independence declared 1940 Soviet occupation Nazi occupation 1944 Soviet re-occupation Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic Independence restored Republic of Lithuania
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Chronology
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v t e

• 1323
  • Gediminas relocates Lithuanian capital to Vilnius from Trakai.^[1]
  • Castle on Gediminas Hill expanded.
• 1330 – Coat of arms of Vilnius granted.
• 1345 – Pyatnitzkaya Church built.^[2]
• 1348 – Cathedral of the Theotokos built.
• 1387
  • Magdeburg rights granted.
  • St. Nicholas Church
    built.
• 1397 – Cathedral School active (approximate date).
• 1409 – Gediminas' Tower built.
• 1413 – City becomes capital of the newly formed Vilnius Voivodeship by the Union of Horodło.
• 1426 – Church of St. John built.^[2]
• 1469 – Church of Saints Bernard and Francis founded.^[2]
• 1500 –
  St. Anne's Church
  consecrated.
• 1522
  • City walls and Gate of Dawn built.
  • Francysk Skaryna sets up printing press.
• 1555 – Lutheran Church built on Nyemetzkaya Street.^[2]
• 1557 – Vilnius Cathedral rebuilt.
• 1560 –
  St. Paraskeva Church
  rebuilt.
• 1570 – Jesuit library established.
• 1572 – Synagogue built.
• 1579 – Alma Academia et Universitas Vilnensis Societatis Iesu founded.
• 1588 – Plague.^[1]
• 1597 – Monastery of the Holy Ghost founded.^[2]

17th-18th centuries

• 1610 – Fire.^[1]
• 1626 – Church of St. Theresa founded.^[2]
• 1630 –
  All Saints Church
  built.
• 1633 – Great Synagogue built.
• 1644 – Biblioteca Sapehana willed to Vilnia University.^[3]
• 1653 –
  Radziwill Palace
  built.
• 1655 – July: Battle of Vilnius; Russians in power.^[1]
• 1656 – Town becomes part of Russia.^[1]
• 1658 –
  Battle of Werki
  .
• 1697 – Sapieha Palace built.
• 1701 –
  St. Peter and St. Paul's Church
  built.
• 1702 – Swedes in power.^[1]
• 1710 –
  Plague
  .
• 1739 – Green Bridge constructed.
• 1749 –
  Divine Mercy Sanctuary
  built.
• 1778 – Lithuanian 5th Infantry Regiment relocated from
  Pińsk to Wilno.^[4]
• 1779 – 5th Infantry Regiment relocated from Wilno to Mścibów.^[4]
• 1781 – University Botanical Garden established.
• 1783 – 5th Infantry Regiment relocated from Mścibów back to Wilno.^[4]
• 1787 – Lithuanian 4th Infantry Regiment stationed in Wilno.^[4]
• 1788 – Russians in power.^[1]
• 1790
  • 4th Infantry Regiment relocated from Wilno to Borysów.^[4]
  • Lithuanian 3rd Infantry Regiment relocated from
    Kowno to Wilno.^[4]
• 1791
  • Lithuanian 3rd Infantry Regiment relocated from Wilno back to Kowno.[4]
  • Lithuanian 7th Infantry Regiment stationed in Wilno.^[5]
• 1794 –
  Vilnius Uprising
  .
• 1795
  • Town becomes part of Russia, and capital of Vilna Governorate.
  • St. Paraskeva Church
    rebuilt.
• 1799
  • Town Hall rebuilt.
  • Romm publishing house relocates to Vilnius.

19th century

• 1801
  • Rasos Cemetery consecrated.
  • Royal Palace demolished.
• 1809 – Antakalnis Cemetery established.
• 1810 – Bernardine Cemetery established.
• 1812
  • Napoleon uses the city as a military base.^[6]
  • Vilnian National Guard formed.
  • 5 July: 3rd Light Cavalry Regiment of the Polish Guards founded in Wilno.^[7]
  • 22 September: Polish 21st Mounted Rifles Regiment founded in Wilno.^[8]
• 1823 – Population: 20,900.^[9]
• 1825 –
  Tuskulenai Manor
  built.
• 1828 – Jewish cemetery established in Uzupis (approximate date).
• 1831 – Uprising.^[1]
• 1832 – University closed.^[1]
• 1834 – Presidential Palace renovated.
• 1836 – St. George Avenue laid out.
• 1845 – Theatre opens.^[2]
• 1852 – Central Archive of Early Register Books established.^[10]
• 1855 – Museum of Antiquities established.
• 1856 – Public library established.^[11]
• 1861 – Demonstration against Russian Empire.
• 1863 – Uprising against Russian Empire.
• 1866 –
  St. Nicholas Orthodox Church
  reconsecrated.
• 1867 – Pretchistenski Cathedral rebuilt.^[2]
• 1881 – Population: 89,560.^[12]
• 1883 – Population: 93,760.^[1]
• 1897 –
  Jewish Labor Bund founded in Vilnius.^[13]
• 1898 –
  St. Alexander Nevsky Church and District Court built.^[2]
• 1900 – Population: 162,633.[1]

20th century

• 1901 – Kaziukas Fair relocates to Place Lukiskim.
• 1903 –
  Our Lady of the Sign Church
  built.
• 1904 – Lukiškės Prison built.
• 1905 – December: Great Seimas of Vilnius held.
• 1906
  • Society of Friends of Science organized.
  • Vileišis Palace built.
• 1907 – Lithuanian Art Society founded.^[14]
• 1911 –
  St. Casimir Church, Naujoji Vilnia
  built.
• 1913
  • Orthodox Church of St. Michael and St. Constantine
    built.
  • Population: 204,290.^[15]
• 1915
  • 19 September: Germans in power.^[16]
  • City becomes capital of Lithuania District.
• 1916 – Vilna Troupe active.
• 1918
  • 16 February: Lithuania declares independence from German Empire.
  • Museum of History and Ethnography established.

• 1919
  • April:
    Polish army
    .
  • Central Library of Lithuania organized.^[17]
  • Jabłkowski Brothers department store opens.
• 1920 – October: Żeligowski's Mutiny.
• 1925
  • Darius Stadium opens.
  • Elektrit Radiotechnical Society, Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Vilnius, and Yiddish Scientific Institute
    established.
  • 6 May:
    School massacre
    .
• 1926 – City becomes capital of Wilno Voivodeship.
• 1928 – Northern Trade Fair begins.
• 1931 – Population: 195,000.
• 1933
  • City Museum
    established.
  • Śmigły Wilno soccer team formed.
• 1939
  • 18–19 September: Battle of Wilno (1939) between the Poles and the invading Soviets at the start of World War II.
  • Soviets in power.
  • 28 October: Lithuanians in power.
  • Vilnius Pedagogical Institute
    established.
• 1940
  • City becomes capital of Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic.
  • Vilnius State Theatre established.
• 1941
  • June: Germans in power.
  • July: Ponary massacre begins.^[18]
  • 5 July: Dulag transit camp for prisoners of war deployed in the city.^[19]
  • August: Dulag transit camp for prisoners of war relocated to Lida.^[19]
  • August: Subcamp of the Stalag 336 POW camp established by the Germans.^[20]
  • 9 September: Subcamp of Stalag 336 converted into the Stalag 344 POW camp.^[20]
  • December: Wehrmacht military prison established.^[21]
• 1942 – Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye formed in Vilna Jewish Ghetto.
• 1943 – HKP 562 forced labor camp set up by Germans.

• 1944
  • Wehrmacht military prison relocated to Tarnów.^[21]
  • 6–15 July: Operation Ostra Brama; Soviets in power.
  • Airport begins operating.
• 1945 – Music School founded.
• 1946 –
  Russian Drama Theatre re-established.^[22]
• 1950 – Žalgiris Stadium opens.
• 1951 – Vilnius Heat Plant commissioned.
• 1955 – Šeškinė village becomes part of the city.
• 1956
  • Trolleybuses begin operating.
  • Vilnius Gediminas Technical University established.
• 1963
  • National Library of Lithuania relocates to Vilnius.^[17]
  • Polish Theater founded.
• 1964 –
  Statyba
  basketball team formed.
• 1965
  • Žirmūnai Bridge constructed.
  • Vingis Park renovated.
  • Population: 293,000.^[23]
• 1967 – Technika (publisher) established.
• 1968 – Ratilio ensemble formed.
• 1971 – Palace of Concerts and Sports opens.
• 1972 – Valakampiai Bridge constructed.
• 1974
  • Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre built.
  • Evangelical Cemetery
    demolished.
• 1979 – Population: 503,000.^[24]
• 1980 – Seimas Palace and Vilnius TV Tower built.
• 1983 – Vilnius Combined Heat and Power Plant commissioned.
• 1985 – Population: 544,000.^[25]
• 1987 – Vilnius Jazz Festival begins.
• 1989 –
  Jewish State Museum
  established.
• 1990
  • 11 March: Lithuania declares independence from USSR.
  • Vilnius Lyceum and Vilniaus lietuvių namai (school) established.
• 1991 – January: City
  besieged
  by Soviet forces.
• 1992
  • Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania^[26] and Verkiai Regional Park established.
  • Museum of Genocide Victims opens.
• 1994 – Military Academy of Lithuania established.
• 1995 – Alis Vidūnas becomes mayor.
• 1997
  • 1 April: Užupis neighborhood declares itself an independent republic.
  • Rolandas Paksas becomes mayor.
  • Kalnai Park established.
• 1999
  • Vilnius Book Fair begins.^{[citation needed]}
  • Juozas Imbrasas becomes mayor.
• 2000
  • House of the Signatories museum opens.
  • Artūras Zuokas becomes mayor.

21st century

• 2001 – Sportima Arena opens.
• 2002
  • Vilnius Ice Palace
    opens.
  • Energy and Technology Museum established.
• 2003
  • Mindaugas Bridge opens.
  • 750th anniversary of the coronation of Mindaugas.
  • FK Vetra
    relocates to Vilnius.
• 2004
  • Vetra Stadium
    open.
  • European Humanities University relocates to Vilnius.
  • Europa Tower built.
  • Vilnius Academy of Business Law
    established.
  • Vilnius Marathon begins.
• 2005 –
  Lietuvos rytas Arena
  opens.
• 2006 – May: City hosts regional democracy conference.
• 2007
  • Juozas Imbrasas becomes mayor again.
  • Jonas Mekas Visual Arts Center opens.
• 2008
  • February: City hosts NATO meeting.
  • Vilnius Airport railway station opens.
  • Gariunai Market
    pavilion built.
• 2009
  • Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania rebuilt.
  • City designated a European Capital of Culture.
• 2011
  • Vilniaus viesasis transportas
    (bus company) established.
  • Population: 554,060.
  • Artūras Zuokas becomes mayor again.^[27]
• 2015 – Remigijus Šimašius becomes mayor.
• 2023
  • July: City hosts NATO meeting.

See also

• History of Vilnius
• List of mayors of Vilnius
• Neighborhoods of Vilnius

References

This article incorporates information from the

Lithuanian Wikipedia, Polish Wikipedia, and Russian Wikipedia

.

Bibliography

See also: History of Vilnius § Bibliography

• Jedidiah Morse; Richard C. Morse (1823), "Wilna", A New Universal Gazetteer (4th ed.), New Haven: S. Converse
• "Wilna",
  hdl:2027/osu.32435029752839{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
  )
• "Vilna (town)" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). 1910. pp. 88–89.
• "Vilna", Russia with Teheran, Port Arthur, and Peking, Leipzig: Karl Baedeker, 1914,
  OCLC 1328163
• William Henry Beable (1919), "Vilna", Russian Gazetteer and Guide, London: Russian Outlook
• Patricia Kennedy Grimsted (1979). "The Archival Legacy of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: The Fate of Early Historical Archives in Vilnius". Slavonic and East European Review. 57.
• Weeks, T. R. (2015). Vilnius between Nations, 1795–2000. Northern Illinois University Press.

External links

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