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

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

14th century 1323 Gediminas relocates Lithuanian capital to Vilnius from Trakai. Castle on Gediminas Hill expanded. 1330 – Coat of arms of Vilnius granted. 1345 – Russian Orthodox Church of St. Paraskeva built. 1348 – Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Theotokos built. 1387 Magdeburg rights granted. Roman Catholic Church of Saint Nicholas built. 1397 – Cathedral School active (approximate date).

15th century 1409 – Gediminas' Tower built. 1413 – City becomes capital of the newly formed Vilnius Voivodeship by the Union of Horodło. 1426 – Roman Catholic Church of St. Johns built. 1469 – Roman Catholic Church of St. Francis and St. Bernardino founded.

16th century 1500 – Roman Catholic Church of St. Anne consecrated. 1501 – First mentions of Armenians in the city. 1522 City walls and Gate of Dawn built. Francysk Skaryna sets up printing press. 1555 – Evangelical Lutheran Church built on Vokiečių Street. 1557 – Roman Catholic Vilnius Cathedral rebuilt. 1560 – Russian Orthodox Church of St. Paraskeva rebuilt.

1570 – Jesuit library established. 1572 – Synagogue built. 1579 – Alma Academia et Universitas Vilnensis Societatis Iesu founded. 1588 – Plague. 1597 – Monastery of the Holy Ghost founded.

17th century 1610 – Fire. 1626 – Roman Catholic Church of St. Theresa founded. 1630 – Roman Catholic Church of All Saints built. 1633 – Great Synagogue built. 1644 – Biblioteca Sapehana willed to Vilnius University. 1653 – Radvila Palace built. 1655 – July: Battle of Vilnius; Russian occupation begins, lasting until 1661. 1656 – Tsardom of Muscovy declares that it annexed the city mid-war. 1658 – Battle of Verkiai. 1661 – Vilnius liberated from Muscovite occupation. 1697 – Sapieha Palace built.

18th century 1701 – Roman Catholic Church of St. Peter and St. Paul built. 1702 – Swedish occupation. 1710 – Plague. 1739 – Green Bridge constructed. 1749 – Roman Catholic Sanctuary of the Divine Mercy built.

1770s and 1780s 1778 – Lithuanian 5th Infantry Regiment relocated from Pinsk to Vilnius. 1779 – 5th Infantry Regiment relocated from Vilnius to Mścibów.

1781 – University Botanical Garden established. 1783 – 5th Infantry Regiment relocated from Mścibów back to Vilnius. 1787 – Lithuanian 4th Infantry Regiment stationed in Vilnius. 1788 – Russians in power.

1790s 1790 4th Infantry Regiment relocated from Vilnius to Barysaw. Lithuanian 3rd Infantry Regiment relocated from Kaunas to Vilnius. 1791 Lithuanian 3rd Infantry Regiment relocated from Vilnius back to Kaunas. Lithuanian 7th Infantry Regiment stationed in Vilnius. 1794 – Vilnius uprising.

Long 19th century 1795 City occupied by the Russian Empire. It is designated as the capital of Vilna Governorate. Russian Orthodox Church of St. Paraskeva rebuilt. 1799 Town Hall rebuilt. Romm publishing house relocates to Vilnius.

1801 Rasos Cemetery consecrated. Royal Palace demolished. 1809 – Antakalnis Cemetery established. 1810 – Bernardine Cemetery established. 1812 Napoleon enters the city, marking the beginning of the brief French period in Lithuania. 1 July: Vilnian National Guard founded in Vilnius. 3 July: 18th Lithuanian Infantry Regiment founded in Vilnius. 5 July: 3rd Light Cavalry Lancers Regiment of the Imperial Guard (Lithuanian) founded in Vilnius. 22 September: 21st Lithuanian Mounted Rifle Regiment founded in Vilnius.

1820s 1823 – : 20,900. 1825 – Tuskulėnai Manor built. 1828 – Jewish cemetery established in Užupis (approximate date).

1830s and 1840s 1831 – Uprising of 1831 across Lithuania, but Vilnius is not liberated due to the defeat of the rebels at the battle of Paneriai on June 19. 1832 – University closed. 1834 – Presidential Palace renovated. 1836 – St. George Avenue (now Gediminas Avenue) laid out. 1845 – Theatre opens.

1850s 1852 – Central Archive of Early Register Books established. 1855 – Museum of Antiquities established. 1856 – Public library established.

1860s 1861 – Demonstration against Russian Empire. 1863 – Uprising against Russian Empire. 1866 – Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas reconsecrated. 1867 – Pretchistenski Cathedral rebuilt.

1880s–1890s 1881 – : 89,560. 1883 – : 93,760. 1897 – General Jewish Labour Bund founded in Vilnius. 1898 – Russian Orthodox Church of St. Alexander Nevsky and District Court built.

1900s 1900 – : 162,633.

1901 – Kaziukas Fair relocates to Lūkiškės Square. 1903 – Power Plant, Choral Synagogue and the Russian Orthodox Church of Our Lady of the Sign 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.

1910s 1911 – Catholic Church of St. Casimir, Naujoji Vilnia built. 1913 Russian Orthodox Church of St. Constantine and St. Michael built. : 204,290.

World Wars and occupations 1915 19 September: German occupation begins. 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.

Interwar 1919 April: Vilna offensive by Polish army. Central Library of Lithuania organized. Jabłkowski Brothers department store opens. 1920 – October 9: Vilnius occupied by Polish (so-called Central Lithuanian) troops during the 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 – : 195,000. 1933 City Museum established. Śmigły Wilno soccer team formed.

World War II 1939 18–19 September: Battle of Vilnius (1939) between the Poles and the invading Soviets at the start of World War II. Soviet occupation of Vilnius. 28 October: Vilnius returned to Lithuania as part of the terms of the Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty. Vilnius Pedagogical Institute established. 1940 City becomes capital of Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. Vilnius State Theatre established. 1941 June: Germans occupation begins. July: Ponary massacre begins. 5 July: Dulag transit camp for prisoners of war deployed in the city. August: Dulag transit camp for prisoners of war relocated to Lida. August: Subcamp of the Stalag 336 POW camp established by the Germans. 9 September: Subcamp of Stalag 336 converted into the Stalag 344 POW camp. December: Wehrmacht military prison established. 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. 6–15 July: Operation Ostra Brama; Soviet occupation begins. Airport begins operating.

Soviet occupation 1945 – Music School founded. 1946 – Russian Drama Theatre re-established.

1950s 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.

1960s 1963 National Library of Lithuania relocates to Vilnius. Polish Theater founded. 1964 – Statyba basketball team formed. 1965 Žirmūnai Bridge constructed. Vingis Park renovated. : 293,000. 1967 – Technika (publisher) established. 1968 – Ratilio ensemble formed.

1970s 1971 – Palace of Concerts and Sports opens. 1972 – Valakampiai Bridge constructed. 1974 Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre built. Evangelical Cemetery demolished. 1979 – : 503,000.

1980s 1980 – Seimas Palace and Vilnius TV Tower built. 1983 – Vilnius Combined Heat and Power Plant commissioned. 1985 – : 544,000. 1987 – Vilnius Jazz Festival begins. 1989 – Jewish State Museum established.

Independent Lithuania 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 and Verkiai Regional Park established. Museum of Genocide Victims opens. 1994 – General Jonas Žemaitis 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. 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 Vėtra relocates to Vilnius. 2004 Siemens Arena and Vetra Stadium open. European Humanities University relocates to Vilnius. Europa Tower built. Mykolas Romeris University and 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. Gariūnai Market pavilion built. 2009 Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania rebuilt. City designated a European Capital of Culture. 2011 Vilniaus viešasis transportas (bus company) established. : 554,060. Artūras Zuokas becomes mayor again. 2015 – Remigijus Šimašius becomes mayor. 2025 2023 July: City hosts NATO summit.

2026 : 617,984 (city proper) and 747,864 (urban area)

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

External links