Vilnius

Know locally as Vilna, Vilnius is the capital city of Lithuania. Vilnius is one of the oldest cities in the country, mythically founded in 1323 by Lithuanian Duke Gediminas, who made it his capital city. Despite the myth, there is evidence that the city was a fairly advanced settlement by the time of Gedimas.

Vilnius located in the far south-east corner of modern Lithuania. This non-central location can be attributed to the changing shape of the nation through the past centuries; Vilnius was once not only culturally, but geographically the center of Lithuania.

Today, Vilnius is a modern, cosmopolitan city reminiscent of Copenhagen or Paris. Restaurants, hotels and museums have sprouted since Lithuania declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

During the Second World War, the center of Vilnius was converted into a ghetto for the Jewish population. Most of the ghetto's inhabitants were liquidated by Nazis and their Lithuanian collaborators at Panerai?, a mass grave on the outskirts of the city.