Pilies Gatve is the street that bisects Vilnius' Old Town. This old cobblestone road is full of footpath cafés and restaurants. Running off Pilies are numerous old alleyways and lanes, some of which lead to flower-filled courtyards. Also on Pilies are some large churches and a small square with the obligatory souvenir stalls. Actually Senamiestis and Vilnius in general seems to be full of churches, I previously mentioned Cathedral Square and its Basilica, of itself a masthead of Lietuvos orthodox spirituality. Not surprising then that one of the city's sobriquets is "the city of churches" (another reflecting its staunch Catholicism is "Little Rome").
In or off Pilies there are a number of old ecclesiastical buildings with a range of styles - Gothic, Renaissance, Neo-Byzantine and Neo-Classical. The standout Catholic ones include St Catherine's & St Anne's, the latter church Napoleon reputedly took a distinct shine to when he 'visited' (a statement attributed to him is that it enchanted him so much he wanted to take it back to Paris in the "palm of his hand"!). and the very large Orthodox Cathedral (Our Mother of God) on Maironio street. Given what a staunchly Catholic country Lithuania is, I was a little surprised a the large number of Russian Orthodox churches in Vilnius - clearly the former imperial 'footprint' of the Russian giant is still evident in the country.
Didžioji G. has two of the most impressive cathedrals in St Parasceve and St Casimir (the latter with its unusual, small, black crown dome). In front of the beautiful pastel-shaded St Parasceve are billboards with historic photos and stalls selling paintings. Looking at the Vilnius churches as a whole you will discover a chequered history, there is a pattern of most of them burning down, being rebuilt in stone, being desecrated and misused, and finally being returned to their religious function. At the south end of the Old Town, in Aušros Vartu G. you can see the only remnant of the historic wall to survive, the 15th century city gate, the Gates of Dawn (Aušros vartai) with its decorated chapel and Medieval arch. Also in Aušros Vartu are gift shops selling the Baltic Sea mineral that Lithuanians refer to as their 'gold', amber (worth a look inside but quite pricey).
On the western side of Senamiestis is Vokiečiu G. or German street, with its long, grassy walkway and food kiosks down the middle. Once the main area for German inhabitants of Vilnius (hence the name!) but there remains very little sense of its 'German-ness' today. Further to the west in Naujamiestis (the New Town) there is more trace of German past occupancy of Vilnius in the shape of a German War Cemetery.
Similarly, nearby Pylimo G. was once home to Vilnius' large Jewish community, which before WWII numbered around 100,000 (45 per cent of the city's population). Vilna Jews are now reduced to a few thousand in total who are mostly quite aged. The Jewish Ghetto of the 1940s is memorialised only by one or two monuments and signs. The pattern of impressive Russian Orthodox churches continues on the western side of the Old City, of special note are the Church of Saints Michael and Constantine and the Church of the Apparition of the Holy Mother of God both with beautiful Neo-Byzantine cupolas, a must-see for church architecture aficionados.
