"Narrow cobblestone streets and
an orgy of Baroque: almost like a
Jesuit city somewhere in the middle
of Latin America," wrote the
author Czeslcaw Milosz of prewar
VILNIUS
. Soviet-era satellite suburbs
aside, it's a description which
still rings true today, though the
city Milosz knew was, in many ways,
a different one to modern Vilnius.
Between the wars Vilnius, known as
Wilno
, belonged to Poland and was
inhabited mainly by Poles and Jews,
who played such a prominent role in
the city's life that it was known as
the "Northern Jerusalem".
Though now firmly part of Lithuania,
Vilnius is still a cosmopolitan
place - around twenty percent of its
population is Polish and another
twenty percent is Russian - though
with just 578,600 inhabitants it has
an almost village-like atmosphere,
making it an easy place to get to
know.
The City
At the centre of Vilnius, poised
between the medieval and
nineteenth-century parts of the city
is Cathedral Square (Katedros aikste).
To the south of here along Pilies
gatve and Didzioji gatve is the Old
Town , containing perhaps...
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