French Vilnius

The Bell Tower is decorated with a town clock dating from 1672. At certain times or occasions, the sound of bells ringing reaches the ears of the townspeople from this tower. Most of the old bells have been destroyed by wars and other calamities; however, two of them have survived. One of the bells was made by Johannes Delamars, the most famous bell and cannon moulder in Vilnius and a master of French origin. Johannes Delamars cast the bells in the so-called Pushkarnia, now Belmontas. He lived and worked in Lithuania from 1662 to 1690, and it is said that he bought a house in Pilies Street. There are 32 known Delamars bells that were cast in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, some of which have disappeared, while some were taken to Russia in 1915. There are 11 of Delemars’ bells left in Lithuania, four of which are in Vilnius. One of them is here in the Cathedral Bell Tower; two of Delemars’ brass bells have survived in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, and the final one can be found in the Bell Tower of St. John’s Church. In 1662, the Frenchman also cast the bell for the newly rebuilt tower of Vilnius Town Hall. The bells made by Delamars were characterised by their extraordinary sound, melody, splendour, and solidity; each bell contains the date it was cast and decorations of floral or geometric ornaments, figures of saints, or coats of arms. 

The palace, which now houses the Presidency of the Republic of Lithuania, has seen a number of historical personalities in its history. In 1812, the Russian Tsar Alexander I and Napoleon himself stayed here. On 24 June that year, Napoleon’s army crossed the Nemunas River in Kaunas and moved towards Vilnius without encountering any resistance; this surprised the military leader, who had expected Vilnius to be fiercely defended by the Russians. When the French army arrived, there was a lot of commotion as everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of the Emperor. He entered the city through the Gates of Dawn, followed by a large entourage. Napoleon’s engineers began building a new pontoon bridge to replace the Green Bridge, which had been burnt by the retreating Russians. Having arrived on horseback, the Emperor waited for the construction to be completed and was the first to test the new bridge. After ordering his troops to pursue the fleeing Russian army, the Emperor himself remained in Vilnius for 19 days. Rumours circulated that the Russians had booby-trapped the Governor-General’s palace before they left. A search turned up no explosives, and the Emperor was safely ensconced there. In Vilnius, Napoleon spent much of his time dealing with the administration of the occupied land. Napoleon also held celebrations in the city, which remained in the memories of the inhabitants for a long time. Napoleon’s birthday was celebrated, and victories over the Russians were commemorated. The town was illuminated, plays were staged, and holy masses were celebrated.

Vilnius University Observatory was founded in 1753. In 1765, the Rector of the University, the astronomer Marcin Odlanicki Poczobutt (Martynas Počiobutas), took charge of the observatory. His achievements and work earned him the position of Corresponding Member of the French Academy of Sciences, as well as a member of the Royal Astronomical Society of London. Poczobutt’s work ‘On the Antiquity of the Celestial Zodiac at Dendera’ was translated into French. He corresponded with French scientists, one of whom was Jérôme de Lalande. He had published Poczobutt’s work on observing Mercury in French scientific journals. Significantly, among his other discoveries, Poczobutt also discovered a constellation which he named after King Stanislaw Poniatowski, giving it the name of ‘Poniatowski’s Taurus’. To the right of the library courtyard is the Astronomical Observatory building, the oldest part of the university complex. The main decoration of the building is the pilasters with mathematical and astronomical instruments.

The Bell Tower of St. Johns’ Church at Vilnius University is home to the Foucault Pendulum, which proves that the Earth rotates on its axis. The first Foucault pendulum was built in 1851 and named after the French scientist Léon Foucault. Although people already knew that the Earth rotates, it was the pendulum that proved that it really does. Léon Foucault built the pendulum at home by experimenting with a pendulum two metres in length. A few weeks later, a 67-metre-long pendulum was constructed in the Paris Panthéon. The pendulum consists of a long steel wire suspended from a large weight at the bottom. As part of the restoration project of the Bell Tower of St. Johns’ Church, a science museum was installed in the tower, including a Foucault pendulum to commemorate scientific achievements. The Foucault pendulum had already been placed in one of the university halls. The Foucault Pendulum is based on the theory that every object tries to maintain its motion. A suspended pendulum swings in one direction, and the plane beneath it also slowly rotates as the Earth rotates. The restored Bell Tower and its pendulum were opened to visitors in 2012; it is the only Foucault pendulum in the Baltic States.

Trees are growing in the yard of the house at Pilies g. 22. This is a historical place that evokes the ethos of French naturalist Professor Emmanuel Gilibert who founded a botanical garden with 600 plant species in this very courtyard at the end of the eighteenth century. After graduating from Lyon, he studied medicine, biology, and nature at the University of Montpellier. He became a professor at the College of Lyon, and in 1775, he came to work in Grodno at the invitation of the nobleman Tyzenhaus. When the funding for his work dried up, the Rector of Vilnius University, Marcin Poczobutt, invited Gilibert to move to Vilnius to teach natural sciences. He brought a collection of plants, herbaria, and other rare plant collections from Grodno in 76 carts. In 1782, he set up a botanical garden and a conservatory in the courtyard of the medical college. The garden covered an area of 3,000 square metres and contained about 2,000 plants. It is said that Emmanuel Gilibert taught in an interesting way and was well-liked by his students, who used to collect plants along with the professor around Vilnius. Gilibert’s activities were continued in Vilnius by another botanist, Georg Forster. In 1799, the botanical garden of the University was moved to the Bernardine Garden.

On Literatų Street, among all the dedications to writers, you’ll also find the names of French authors. 

Oscar Milosz 

After Lithuania’s independence in 1918, when volunteers defended the country’s independence with arms, Lithuanian diplomats represented the country at the Paris Peace Conference. One of the key figures in the diplomacy of the time was the writer Oscar Milosz who lived in France and wrote in French but chose Lithuania as his homeland. Oscar’s father, Vladislas de Lubicz Milosz, a Lithuanian-Polish nobleman and military officer, always reminded his son about his Lithuanian origins.

France expressed sympathy for Poland, whose diplomats did not regard Lithuanians as equals as

negotiators. It was very difficult for the Lithuanian representatives to get their independence recognised; therefore, every intellectual who supported Lithuania’s recovery was vital to the country. The respected writer strengthened the position of the Lithuanian delegation by poetically presenting Lithuania in flawless French. In 1923, the Klaipėda Uprising took place.

Lithuanian diplomats and Oscar Milosz argued strongly and forcefully in the face of Polish protests to

defend Lithuania’s interests. The pro-Polish Allies had no choice but to recognise the Klaipėda region as Lithuanian property. Oscar Milosz was deemed a mystic and known as a prophet who foretold prosperity for Lithuania. The writer predicted that on the way to a bright future, Lithuania would face a major disaster. Obviously, this writer’s prophecy came true.

Jean-Paul Sartre

In 1965, the world-famous French writer Jean-Paul Sartre visited Lithuania together with Simone de Beauvoir. They were accompanied by Eduardas Mieželaitis, Mykolas Sluckis, and the photographer Antanas Sutkus. One of the most famous existentialists of the 20th century didn’t only visit Vilnius; he went to Kaunas, Palanga, and Neringa as well. During his trip, Sutkus took photographs of the writer. In 2018, the sculptor Klaudijaus Pūdymas created a sculpture of Jean-Paul Sartre based on one of these photographs; the sculpture was erected on the Parnidžio Dunes. A sculpture was also created in France based on a photograph of the Lithuanian one; it stands in the courtyard of the National Library of Paris. Antanas Sutkus is a renowned photographer whose work is owned by many famous galleries around the world. His photography during the Soviet era saw him move away from the socialist realism style that was dominant at the time and towards more humanist photography.

Frank’s house on Didžioji Street has been home to many famous figures; it is known as Frank’s House because of Josef Frank, a professor at Vilnius University who lived here in the early 19th century. Frank’s famous memoirs were written in French. He raised the level of medicine in Vilnius, setting up a vaccination institute where smallpox vaccines were produced and the population was vaccinated. French culture buffs also call this house the Stendhal House after the pseudonym of one of the most famous French writers, who stayed in this complex of buildings. Marie-Henri Beyle (his real name) was in Vilnius while serving in Napoleon’s army during his march to Moscow. The exact location of Vilnius, where he stayed during the summer on his way to Moscow, is not known. However, on his return journey in December, Stendhal spent a few days here, in one of the buildings in the complex on Švarco Street. A memorial plaque in French and Lithuanian was unveiled on the wall of this building in the Old Town of Vilnius in Stendhal’s honour.

The building is now home to the French Institute in Lithuania and the Embassy of the French Republic. Every year in March, the International Francophonie Days are held, during which various events are organised for lovers of French culture and language.

The site has been home to noble blood since the 15th century. Since 1667, the palace has belonged to the Lithuanian noble Pac family, who were the owners for more than a century. The last member of the Pac family to own the palace, Ludwik Pac, lost his mother at an early age. When his father fell ill, he was taken care of by his uncle Ignatius Tyzenhauz, who also had an apartment in the palace. One of Ignatius Tyzenhauz’s daughters, Zofia Tyzenhauz, became the first woman writer in historical Lithuania to write in French. She was also famous for knowing the most powerful men of the first half of the 19th century, such as Alexander I and Napoleon, as well as for being in contact with the writers Alexandre Dumas and Alfred de Mises. Zofia Tyzenhauz wrote and published novels in French based on the history of Lithuania; she wrote about Barbara Radziwiłł (Barbora Radvilaitė), Grand Duke Jagiełło (Jogaila) and his wife Jadwiga (or Hedwig), Halina Oginskytė, and other historical figures.

Zofia Tyzenhauz wrote eleven works in total. Her most famous book, ‘Memories of Emperor Alexander’, was published in 1829 and reprinted in 1864 under the title ‘Reminiscences’. She met Tsar Alexander I, who came to Lithuania in 1812, in Taujėnai Manor. The Tsar noticed the charming 22-year-old girl and asked her to dance, which they did all evening – this episode is also mentioned in Alexander Tolstoy’s novel ‘War and Peace’. The friendship between Sophia and Alexander I lasted until the Tsar’s death, and it is said that the relationship was not only platonic. In 1818, Sophie married the Frenchman Antoine Louis Octave de Choiseul-Gouffier. After her marriage, she spent a lot of time at Platelių Manor. She baptised her only son Alexander, and the godfather was… none other than Emperor Alexander I himself. Rumours circulated that the Tsar was the child’s real father. In 1812, the year of the march to Russia, another Emperor – Napoleon Bonaparte – stayed in Lithuania. Zofia Tyzenhauz also caught the attention of this man. Rumour has it that Napoleon exclaimed, “What I found pleasant in that march to Russia was the acquaintance with Zofia”.

French companies have shot several feature films in Vilnius. In 2007, ‘L’affaire Farewell, L’espion de la Vengeance’ was filmed here, and in 2016 – ‘Walden’. The BBC mini-series ‘War and Peace’ was shot in Vilnius. Based on the famous novel by Leo Tolstoy, the series is linked to France as it is set during Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, and a French film crew contributed to the series. During the filming, the entire film crew and the actors dressed in historical costumes could be seen in the streets of Vilnius Old Town.  

In 2003, the French also filmed the TV series ‘Colette’ in Vilnius. However, filming was interrupted by a tragedy that reverberated throughout France and made many French people aware of Vilnius for the first time. The story dominated both the French and Lithuanian press. The leader of the French rock band ‘Noir Desir’, Bertrand Cantat, had fatally beaten Marie Trintignant – a French actress who was shooting ‘Colette’ in Vilnius at the Domina Plaza Hotel. The musician and the actress were a couple at the time. The conflict was caused by extreme jealousy when the actress received a text message from her ex-husband. Marie Trintignant, 41, was the mother of 4 children, and Bertrand Cantat was her fifth partner. After the crime, the musician was detained for some time in Lukiškių Remand Prison before being sentenced to eight years in prison after his extradition to France. Following the tragedy, the filming of the series was cancelled, and the financial losses were paid by Bertrand Cantat. In 2007, the musician was released on parole from prison in Toulouse.

A sculpture of a boy with a rubber galosh in his hands delights passers-by on Vilnius Basanavičiaus Street. This sculpture by Romualdas Kvintas is dedicated to the world-famous Litvak writer Romain Gary, who was born and spent his childhood years in Vilnius. His real name is Roman Kacew. The boy with the rubber overshoe represents Romain Gary himself as a child. This scene is taken from his autobiographical novel ‘The Promise of Dawn’. In the novel, the author tells of his mother’s indiscriminate care and protection, which, as the writer later implied, became a sentence against any relationship with women. However, this maternal care and belief in Romain’s future paved the way for him to become a renowned diplomat and writer in France and throughout the world. Romain Gary was a recipient of the French’ Prix Goncourt’ on two occasions for his work, even though such a prize can only be awarded once in a lifetime. The writer used several pseudonyms, and no one realised it was the same person, so he received one prize as Romain Gary and another as Emile Azhar. The sculpture of a nine-year-old boy with a rubber galosh illustrates the love story from the autobiographical novel ‘The Promise of Dawn’. In order to prove his love for the insatiable Valentina, a girl of eight, Romain ate worms and butterflies and was even prepared to eat a rubber galosh.