Along the banks and across the bridges of the Neris

This bridge connects both the banks of the Neris River and Vilnius with Riga. Steel cables ensure the strength of this cable-stayed bridge. The cables were brought by bridge builders from Riga, who constructed the same type of bridge (formerly known as ‘Gorky Bridge’ and now called ‘Vanšu Bridge’ crossing Krišjānis Valdemārs Street) over the Daugava in the Latvian capital.

The bridge enabled Vingis Park to become a place of active entertainment within walking distance of the centre; concerts by cult artists, Song Festivals, and hot-air balloon competitions have all been held here. Vingis Park has been the venue for the most numerous events in the history of Vilnius: on 23 August 1988, more than 250,000 people attended a protest gathering organised by the Lithuanian Reform Movement (Sąjūdis) on the anniversary of when the secret Molotov-Ribbentrop protocols were signed, and on 5 September 1993, around 200,000 people attended the Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II.

You can also start this route at another great place – at the Grand Duke of Lithuania’s land boundary marker on the banks of the Neris (54.68615, 25.2573). It is a grey granite stone with the heraldic Columns of Gediminas. It overlooks the two bridges linking Žvėrynas and the city centre.

This bridge was constructed in 1987 to relieve the traffic burden of the old Žvėrynas Bridge. Together with Geležinio Vilko Bridge (240 m), popularly known as the ‘Pedagogical Bridge’ (because of its proximity the former Institute) and the only road tunnel in the city, it encircles the Seimas with a diverging diamond interchange. It has long served as a bypass of the city centre for those travelling from the north of Lithuania and turning west towards Trakai and Kaunas.

In response to the brutal attack on Ukraine, during the first week of the war, Lithuanian street artists had already used the concrete piers of the ‘Pedagogical Bridge’ to display pro-Ukraine artworks. The longest piece across the entire width of the bridge is a 30-metre blue and yellow ship. According to one of the artists, Antanas Dubra, they were expressing their anger at the attackers and paying tribute to the fallen soldiers. It is best seen when passing along the quayside path.

Second in age only to the Green Bridge, this is the only structure in Vilnius that has remained unchanged since it was built in 1907, with two ‘legs’ in the middle of the river. The bridge connected the city to the hunting grounds once owned by the noble House of Radziwiłł, which, according to the idea of the then owner, Vasily Martinson, a real estate magnate from St. Petersburg, were transformed into a place of summer relaxation by the water and among pine trees, and a picturesque area of wooden architecture reminiscent of ‘dachas’ (summerhouses).

V. Martinson himself proposed to the City Duma (municipality) to finance part of the construction of the bridge and to allocate several plots of land for the city’s use in order to include Žvėrynas within the city limits. Like now, this secured funds for the maintenance and infrastructure of the district’s common spaces.

Under the bridge is a silver crescent ship, one of the three ‘Vilnius Signs’ by Kunotas Vildžiūnas, created in 2010 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Lithuania’s independence. The ship resembles an ark as a symbol of victory over evil and a new beginning.

It has become a monument to the foresight of the architectural legend of Vilnius, Algimantas Nasvytis. The bridge brought Vilnius residents committed to an active lifestyle to the right bank back in 1995 when there was no smell of glass-and-steel high-rises, sports facilities in the green river valley, or sakura trees in Sugihara Park. 

At that time, the signs of the city’s development left behind by the Soviet era stood by the river – the hotel ‘Lietuva’ (now ‘Radisson Blue Lietuva’) built for foreign visitors, the Central Department Store (now ‘CUP’), which operated according to the principle of market trading, and the now-closed Museum of the Revolution (now the ‘National Art Gallery’). Ukmergės Street, which only became Konstitucijos Avenue in 2002, wound past these buildings. Beyond it lay Šnipiškės (Skansenas), nicknamed Shanghai, a rather uninviting, densely populated village untouched by modern infrastructure. Could it be the bridge that led to the breakthrough of modernity and the emergence of Vilnius ‘City’?

Since 2010, the bridge has been decorated with another of Kunotas Vildžiūnas’ ‘Signs of Vilnius’ – the almost 20-metre-high stainless-steel sculpture ‘The Ray-Spear’, symbolising the bravery of all of us in the struggle for light and freedom.

It was the first connection of the banks of the Neris towards Ukmergė and Riga, known since the 16th century. This is confirmed by the Church of the Archangel Raphael and the Jesuit, later Piarist, monastery and the school they ran next to it. It is remarkable that the church was open during the Soviet era and that Monsignor Kazimieras Vasiliauskas, only remembered with warm feelings, worked and lived there for 20 years. In his honour, a brass flower-encrusted outdoor stone was unveiled at the gate in 2010 (by Jonas Gencevičius). The year 2022 was designated by the Seimas to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Monsignor K. Vasiliauskas’ birth – a wonderful opportunity to fulfil his wish that love, fraternity, fidelity and all other great values should remain. 

The name of the bridge dates back to the reconstruction of the 18th century when its wooden parts were painted green. The bridge’s current construction dates back to the reconstruction of Vilnius after the Second World War; it evokes Soviet monumentalism and the ‘taming’ of the banks of the Neris with its granite stairs.

This bridge connected the banks in 2003 on the occasion of the 650th anniversary of the coronation of King Mindaugas and gave the whole of Lithuania a statehood day, celebrated on 6 July. For so long, the development of the right bank along this stretch had been limited to the Green Bridge, ferries and seasonal floating pontoon bridges. The bridge was already much needed during the construction of the first power plant in the early 20th century and ‘Žalgiris Stadium’ after the Second World War. It also provided pedestrian access to the Concert and Sports Palace, which hosted competitions, concerts, the ‘Sąjūdis Congress’ (the ‘Reform Movement of Lithuania’), and the ‘Rock Marches’, and enabled residents to reach their training sessions in the open and indoor swimming pools, the ‘Žalgiris’ and ‘Dinamo’ rowing facilities, and the basketball arena. During the Soviet era, Lithuania’s talented sportspeople blossomed on this riverbank towards their various sporting victories.

The remains of the rowing base can be found at the Olympic Committee building. This is where the ‘Žalgiris’ club’s sweep rowers and scullers used to gather for training and challenge the Neris with their blades. Between the Mindaugas and Žirmūnai bridges, a plethora of nice spots to catch your breath and admire the view of the Gediminas Tower can be found.

In 1966, it connected the first residential districts of Soviet Vilnius – Antakalnis and Žirmūnai and facilitated access to the sports facilities by the river. At that time, the second wave of development in Žirmūnai was underway; it was the first planned housing district to be developed in a systematic way, and tens of thousands of Vilnius residents were already living in standard blocks of flats. 

The bridge facilitated their daily trips and brought the emergency services closer, such as the fire brigade, which from 1940 to 2012, rushed to help from the old yellow brick building located just off the bridge on the left bank (T. Kosciuškos g. 34). Modern vehicles eventually began to run out of space in the old garages, so the entire service was moved to the Emergency Response Centre on the approach to the Šilo Bridge (P. Vileišio g. 20A).

The bridge itself is like the coffee table of a typical Soviet furniture set, with graceful supports. It accurately reflects the style of the ‘salons’ of the time. Since 2010, it has been decorated with the third of the ‘Signs of Vilnius’ by Kunotas Vildžiūnas – the ‘Royal Apple’ – this symbol of the statehood of Lithuania, the Christianisation of Lithuania, and the first links to Western culture provides continuity with King Mindaugas Bridge.

Since 1999, Šilo Bridge has provided another link between Antakalnis and Žirmūnai and was constructed on the site of a former narrow-gauge special-purpose railway. This was part of the Vilnius Defence Ring built in 1922, back when the Polish authorities decided that the geopolitical situation made it necessary to be prepared for the threat of attack from the East. The complex consisted of four underground and four above-ground armouries located around the city, connected by a narrow-gauge railway that crossed the river Neris on two specially built bridges – from Vilkpėde towards Vingis Park near the current Lazdynai Bridge and from Sapieginė to Šnipiškės (or, to be more precise, Šeškinė Hill) on the site of Šilo Bridge.

Before the Second World War, ammunition was stockpiled in warehouses for 3-5 weeks of defence. Still, the sudden attack of Nazi Germany in June 1941 came from a different direction than had been anticipated or prepared for.

Upstream from Šilo Bridge, the banks of the Neris are dense and uncontrollably green, teeming with birds and the city’s beaver colony. They can be found in the Neris winter harbour, dug by the Polish government in 1925 to shelter ships and ferries from the Neris current and the hardships of winter. On the bank, a former ship repair workshop hides behind a wall painted by street artists.

This is the longest bridge in Vilnius. Since 1972, it once again has connected the expanses of Antakalnis and Žirmūnai and accompanies travellers in the direction of Nemenčinė. The beach beneath it becomes the introduction to the recreational activities of the Neris, which are echoed upriver by the sandy banks and pine forests of Valakampiai.

In 2021, Žirmūnai Beach earned the Blue Flag – the highest beach quality label – for its disabled-friendly recreation and bathing infrastructure, as well as the cleanliness of the sand and water. Only seven water recreation areas in Lithuania have been awarded this honour – in addition to Žirmūnai, only Nida and Juodkrantė have received this honour, along with Birutė Park in Palanga, Smiltynė I and Melnragė II in Klaipėda, and Balsys (Žalieji Lakes) in Vilnius. The right to fly the Blue Flag is granted for one season only.

After crossing the longest bridge to the left bank, there are two choices – to dive under the bridge along the forest and riverside paths, to walk up the river and explore the beaches of Valakampiai, or to cycle along the paths winding between the pines in the tree-top adventure park, through the meadows of Antakalnis, and along P. Vileišio Street, and back towards the centre.