The Lower Castle in Vilnius

KRASZEWSKI JÓZEF IGNACY, WILNO OD POCZĄTKÓW JEGO DO ROKU 1750, T. 1–4, WILNO, 1840–1842.

Lithograph after Józef Ignacy Kraszewsky.

Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, ‘Vilnius from its Foundation to 1750’, vol. III, 1841.

Kraszewski devoted the third volume of his work to the legal and economic life of the city, to the streets, and the most important buildings. He described the construction of the city wall in the 16th century, and Oziębłowski depicted several gates in it. One illustration shows a gate into the castle, leading from the Grand Dukes’ Palace to Pilies St. Adjacent to it is the Supreme Court of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. These buildings were pulled down in 1836, when the Imperial Russian government built an esplanade beside the cathedral. The fate of the Gates of Dawn, with its miracle-working picture of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was more fortuitous. In 1828–1829, the architect Karol Podczaszyński rebuilt the chapel set against the gate, and a side gallery, in the Classical style. One lithograph shows the new appearance of the gate, which was modern for that time.

Text author Laima Laučkaitė.

KRASZEWSKI JÓZEF IGNACY, WILNO OD POCZĄTKÓW JEGO DO ROKU 1750, T. 1–4