Welcome to a shopper’s paradise! Advertisements, hustle and bustle, residents to-ing and fro-ing, huge shop windows – 19th-century Vilnius was as vibrant as it is today.
At the end of the 19th century, Vilnius was home to around 150,000 people from all walks of life, all in need of a wide range of everyday necessities or luxury items. From rags, kerosene, and salt to crayfish tails, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate, gilded ribbon bows, or a favourite staple even today – the stock cube.
There were thousands of shops on the streets of Vilnius, able to satisfy the strangest desires of shoppers. Just imagine you’re in Vilnius back then. Above all, don’t forget your wallet and get ready for discovery. Merchants, craftsmen, and industrialists fight for the attention of their customers, which is why 19th-century shops were concerned not only with their goods, but also with their distinctness. But be careful – you might find fake tea or come across sausages with rather strange stuffing. If you get indigestion after such surprises, the pharmacist will be happy to sell you the latest medicine – kefir. So, tether your horses at the hotel, pick up some Imperial Russian roubles, and head out to explore the streets and courtyards of Vilnius, where trade was on every corner in the 19th century. What souvenir would you like to take back from a 19th-century shop?
What will you see/learn along the route?
- What range of goods could be found in a 19th-century pharmacy?
- Where was one of the largest trading centres not only in Vilnius, but also in the whole of Russia’s North-Western Region in the 19th century?
- What kind of inscriptions could be seen on shop signs?
