The view from the cathedral bell tower

It didn’t seem that long ago they were busy renovating the bell tower which stands opposite the cathedral – Vilniaus Šv. Stanislovo ir Šv. Vladislovo arkikatedra basilica – on the edge of the square in the Autumn of 2013.

Twelve months later it was finished and open to the public.

We’d seen the earlier renovation of the cathedral on our early visits from 2005 and this completes the picture.

And it’s been well worth the wait. The tower has 7 levels and 140 steps to climb – so you need a head for heights and to be reasonably agile as there is no lift  as in the university bell tower. There were no guide books available but as its part of the National Museum I can’t imagine there won’t be one in future. And the two helpful members of staff were very knowledgeable.

As I said there is no lift and your ascent from the entrance lobby starts with a stone staircase leading up to the next level.

Once there you can see the small bells. Further up there are six big ones, four of which ring on a regular basis. You can also see the statue of the Grand Duke at eye level here as well.

 

From there on up it’s by well-crafted wooden steps.

These take you up to the big bells and great views across the city.

Also you are now high enough to look down on the statue of the Grand Duke, not something I thought I would do without going up in a hot-air balloon!

At the highest level the public can access you can see the workings of the bell mechanism

You are also looking across at the top of the cathedral and can see close-ups of the statues with the castle in the background.

 Did I mention you need a head for heights? Well having gone up so high you have to come back down again which gives you a chance to admire the heavy wooden beams which are supporting the floors and the bells as you navigate the wooden steps.

You can also see the intricate woodwork through a viewing tube on one of the lower floors.

Then one last set of steep stone steps and you are back at the lobby area.

 

 

A great experience  at a reasonable price and if you are a photographer some great photo opportunities.

 

A trip to the castle in Vilnius

Last time I went looking for a castle (in Germany) I ended up at the zoo. But that’s a different story.

In Vilnius you can’t really miss the castle, whether you are on Piles g. (Castle street), in the cathedral square, or across the river. On high ground surrounded by rivers you can see why this had been a defensible location since the bronze age. The wooden original was replaced by brick and rebuilt several times. In reality the part visitors refer to as the castle is the Gediminas Tower or Upper Castle as there were three castles making up the defensive complex originally (the lower castle included the cathedral and the Royal Palace of the Grand Dukes).

There are two ways to get into it. You can either walk up the path which starts behind the newly reconstructed, but as yet not open to visitors, Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. You can just see where it starts at the bottom of the first picture and where you arrive in the next picture.

Or you can walk round the front of the cathedral, past the statues of the Three Kings, If you look up you can see that they are re-turfing the slope after taking out trees . You can see (RH Picture) how wooded it was last year and some locals liked it that way although it’s probably more historically correct now (it probably wasn’t a good idea to have trees too close to your castle providing cover and ammunition for you enemies).

Then walk past the statue of King Mindaugas outside the NationalMuseum, follow the road round  parallel to the river along Arsenalo g. and go in through the museum gates.

There just past the mysterious stone (pagan?) figure in the grass you can take the funicular for 3 litas.

Once there you can have a wander round the battlements of Gedimas’ tower and take in a panoramic view of the city.

You can see the Hill of 3 Crosses and look over cathedral square or watch the River Neris wending it’s way through the city.

To get inside the castle costs another 5 litas (just over £1) and is good value for money.

From the ground floor you have two options. You can walk up into a large room where there are a number of museum pieces, weapons and suits of armour – not all original although there is an interesting sword with the words “Free Polonia” engraved on it in Latin.

But for me the interesting things are the scale model dioramas showing how Vilnius and the castle complex used to look.

The next floor is dedicated to the Baltic Way. There are photographs, a map and texts in different languages as well as a video running on a screen. There is also a large vertical Lithuanian flag (photo with kind permission of Kindadukish).

From here you can also look out through the windows across the city.

To get on top of the tower you have to go back down and then negotiate your way up a narrow spiral staircase to the top. They’ve improved the exit in recent years so it’s weatherproof but on a busy day it’s a bit tricky squeezing past people.. No disabled access here.

And on a fine day the views are wonderful. Make the most of it and don’t forget your camera.

Finally on the way out we spotted something new. For 7 Litas you can buy a commemorative medallion. There are two designs, One is of the Grand Duke and one of the Tower. The obverse is the same on both, a map of Lithuania.

So no tacky souvenirs shop or coffee/tea shop, not even a vending machine. And long may it stay that way,

For 15 Litas – that’s less than £4 – it’s a value-for-money way to spend a couple of hours.

The castle is part of the National Museum of Lithuania and you can find more information on their website.