Military Vilnius

A monument commemorating the Lithuanians who died in the 1979-1989 Soviet-Afghan War is located in the square at the intersection of Silvestro Žukausko and Žygio Streets (named after a Lithuanian General and marchers/crusaders – the street names in this district have military associations). 

The choice of the place for the monument is not accidental: most of the Lithuanian young men sent off to a war that was alien to them were taken from the Soviet troops stationed in Šiaurės Miestis, the Northern Town – at that time, was a closed military zone with barracks. Almost 5,000 young Lithuanians ended up in Afghanistan between 1979 and 1989, of whom 96 were killed, and about 100 returned physically maimed. 

The monument was designed by the architect Virginija Bakšienė and the sculptor Antanas Kmieliauskas. It was erected in December 2006 on the initiative of the Vilnius Union of Veterans of the Afghanistan War. It was financed by various Lithuanian institutions, parents and relatives of the fallen, participants in the war, and associated organisations. 

The granite monument consists of two parts. The lower part has the names, surnames, dates of birth and death of the 96 people who died in Afghanistan carved on eight panels, while the upper part depicts a mother holding her dead son in her arms. The black tulip, the symbol of the Afghan war, is carved between them.

When we hear about the 1944-1953 Lithuanian partisan war against the USSR, we usually think of forests and bunkers. But the extraordinary partisan Juozas Lukša-Daumantas, after whom this square is named, was also connected to Vilnius. The story of the events that took place in 1946 is as good as the best thrillers. 

The headquarters for partisan activities were set up in a building near the square at the initiative of Juozas Markulis-Erelis, a doctor. Juozas Lukša was staying in a larger apartment on the first floor, and during the few months he lived in Vilnius, he was in contact with the liaison officers, made contacts with the partisan commanders, and travelled extensively around Lithuania. However, Markulis, who had only pretended to be a supporter of the Resistance, was, in fact, gathering all the information and passing it on to the Soviets. Their secret services were intent on liquidating the partisan leadership during a planned meeting in January 1947. 

 Juozas Lukša began to notice the strange behaviour of his so-called ally more and more often, and on 28 December, it became clear that Markulis was a traitor! It was necessary to act coldly and urgently in order to save the leaders of the Resistance, whose lives were in danger, and to spare the movement from collapse and destruction. In the end, Markulis was fed misinformation, and due to these false facts, the partisans were able to withdraw from Vilnius. The operation between the Soviet Ministry of State Security and Markulis had failed, but casualties were not avoided – this was one of the greatest betrayals of the entire period of partisan resistance.

In 1992, the National Defence School was established on the site and later transformed into the Lithuanian Military Academy. 16 June 1992 is considered the official founding date of the Academy, but the entire history of officer training is much older. 

In the 18th century, the first professional military schools were established in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Their graduates became distinguished officers and leaders of the 1794 uprising. After the restoration of Lithuania in 1918, the War of Independence broke out, and the young state was in dire need of competent officers, so in 1919 it was decided to establish a military school in Kaunas. In 1929, celebrating the tenth anniversary of its foundation, the Military School was renamed after the Military School of the First President of Lithuania.

The General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy now trains Lithuanian officers and continues the interwar traditions. Today, as then, when the first officer’s rank is conferred, and the sword touches the graduate’s shoulder, the following words are uttered: “You shall not draw the sword without a cause, not shall you sheathe it without honour!” This centuries-old precept is the motto of the Lithuanian Military Academy. However, unlike in the interwar period, the Academy is now open to girls. The name of the Partisan Commander, General Jonas Žemaitis, was given to the institution in 1998. 

The building can be visited from the outside, but there is no access to the military territory inside. 

Pavilniai Regional Park is a harmonious combination of forest, steep slopes, ravines and… five abandoned concrete bunkers with a history of almost a hundred years. When Vilnius was annexed to Poland in 1920, plans were soon put in place to protect the city from possible invasion: if Soviet Russia attacked Warsaw via Polotsk, Vilnius would be right in the path of the Red Army. 

The fortification of the city was delayed by a lack of competent specialists, a shortage of funds and no consensus reached on the effectiveness of the fortifications. However, in the 1930s, the first planned structures appeared in the city – the military warehouse complexes of the Polish army – and the fortification of Vilnius continued. 

 The Antakalnis bunkers, one two-storey and four one-storey constructions, consist of rectangular chambers and corridors. Inside, there are preserved narrow-gauge railway tracks. However, when the Nazis and the Soviets invaded Poland in 1939, the fortification system never fulfilled its intended defensive function. The bunkers were subsequently used as warehouses or hiding places and were eventually abandoned. They are now cleaned up, and the entrances are kept open as long as visitors do not interfere with their only function, which is now to provide the habitat for rare hibernating bats.

The now-defunct Orphans’ Cemetery was established in the mid-19th century. By the mid-20th century, the cemetery was larger, covering part of the area now belonging to Antakalnis Cemetery. For some time, the cemetery belonged to the Antakalnis Military Hospital, but eventually, the city’s beggars, the sick who died in hospitals, and the poor inhabitants of the neighbourhood began to be buried here. Presumably, prisoners who died in prisons were also buried. The deceased were buried haphazardly; many graves here had no headstones, and some were without crosses. 

After the Second World War, the place where you are standing now was separated from the rest of the cemetery by a fence. It is likely that this was the resting place of those who had died unidentified or the deceased without relatives were buried here. It was thought that prisoners who had been sentenced to death, as well as Lithuanian partisans, may have been buried here too. 

After receiving evidence to support these assumptions and after thorough historical research, archaeological investigations began in 2017. The remains of Lithuanian partisans Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas, Albinas Ivanauskas-Topolis, Juozapas Streikus-Stumbras, Antanas Kraujelis-Siaubūnas and others were found. The remains of the Lithuanian soldiers were duly honoured and solemnly buried.

Antakalnis Cemetery was formed in the 19th century as a soldiers’ cemetery, where you can see the complexes of graves of soldiers from the Polish, Imperial German, Napoleon’s Grande Armée, and other armies. However, over time, civilians, relatives of soldiers, and people of culture, science, and art began to be buried here as well.

The intention was to bury the victims of 13 January 1991 in the Rasos Cemetery, but in the end, Antakalnis Cemetery was chosen. On 16 January 1991, nine freedom fighters were buried on this hill. At the request of their relatives, four defenders were laid to eternal rest in their birthplace. Alvydas Matulka was buried in Rokiškis, Titas Masiulis in Kaunas, Rimantas Juknevičius in Marijampolė, and Alvydas Kanapinskas in Kėdainiai. Lithuanian border guards, policemen and customs officers from the Medininkai border post who were killed by the Soviets on 31 July 1991 are also buried here.

In 1995, the burial place of the defenders of freedom was cleaned up, and a memorial was built, in the centre of which stands the monument ‘Pieta’ by Stanislovas Kuzma. Loreta Asanavičiūtė’s grave is marked by a white marble cross, while those of the men who died are black. It is now one of the most important memorials in Lithuania, testifying to the bravery of the country’s citizens and their victory over Soviet aggression.

At the end of the 17th century, the construction of a new palace in Antakalnis began. It was built by the Governor of Vilnius and commander of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Kazimierz Jan Paweł Sapieha. However, in 1700, Sapieha lost a battle at Valkininkai against the nobility rallying against Sapieha’s domination, and he had to flee to Poland. In addition, the family’s estates were confiscated, and the nobles who invaded Antakalnis Palace even destroyed the portraits of the Sapieha family that were there. 

After this event, Antakalnis Palace became poorly maintained, with a constant change of owners. Finally, at the beginning of the 19th century, the palace was sold to the city of Vilnius, and in 1809, by order of the Governor-General of Vilnius, Alexander Rimsky-Korsakov, a military hospital was established in the buildings. The official opening of the hospital occurred twenty years later (not counting the military hospital set up in 1812 during Napoleon’s reign to serve the Grande Armée). 

In the 19th century, the palace and the hospital underwent several renovations, reconstructions and changes to their original baroque appearance. During the period of Lithuanian independence, the palace slowly regained its new life and regained the honourable name of the noble Sapieha family.

This beautiful Baroque church is seemingly unrelated to the war, but in the 17th century, when wars were fought with both the Ottoman Empire and Russia, the church was founded to commemorate the conquests of the 17th century. 

It is also likely that the trophies won at the Battle of Khotyn (1673), which the Grand Duke of Lithuania’s Hetman – Michał Kazimierz Pac – took part in, may have been given to the Church of Saints Peter and Paul for safekeeping. The drums were occasionally used for their intended purpose in memory of the victory over the Turks, and eventually, this became an interesting tradition. On Easter morning, these instruments were played in every church that had such trophies. The tradition of beating drums probably spread after 1683, when, after the victory over the Turks at the Battle of Vienna, Jan Sobieski, ruler of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, ordered that drums captured on the campaign should be kept in churches as a symbol of victory (ten years later than Pac had done this). It is no longer possible to say how true the legend is, but these trophies – the drums – can still be seen today.

The church is not lacking in militaristic images commemorating Pac’s victories in the East. If you want to see them, look for them on the platforms of the Great Nave and in the Chapel of St Casimir.

On the present-day Hill of Three Crosses, during the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, there was a castle called by two different names – Kreivoji (Crooked) or Aukščiausioji (the Highest). The castle was first mentioned in the sources in 1390 during the Teutonic Order’s campaign against Lithuania. The large Crusader army was joined by the knights of Western Europe (the most famous of whom was Henry Bolingbroke, Earl of Derby, who went on to become King Henry IV of England) and Duke Vytautas, who, with the Order’s help, aspired to take the throne of Grand Duchy of Lithuania. 

The Crooked Castle was not a masonry structure like the castles of Gediminas or Žemutinė (which stood on the site of the current Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania), so, as the chronicler Wigand of Marburg wrote, the Crusaders “quickly took the wooden castle in their storming”. During the attack, Karigaila (Korygiełło), the real brother of Jogaila (Jagiełło), was killed under unclear circumstances. According to a contemporaneous letter from the Grand Commander of the Order to King Wenceslas of Holy Rome and Bohemia, nearly two thousand prisoners, young and old, were taken from the castle. 

No attempt was made to rebuild the castle after these events because, during the next siege of Vilnius (1394), the attackers chose “the site of the old castle, on the hill” for their camp. It was a strategic location then, but now it is the perfect place for citizens and visitors to admire the Vilnius skyline.

Walking along the Vilnelė River, next to the stairs to the Hill of Three Crosses (also Bekešo Hill), you can see a wooden obelisk by R. Zinkevičius with the inscription “In memory of Kasparas Bekes” (Gáspár Békés). The monument is dedicated to an extraordinary personality who fought for the throne of Transylvania in the 1570s against the future ruler of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Stefan Batory (István Báthory in Hungarian). On 8 July 1575, Békés lost the battle. As Stefan Batory had no enemies left, he was elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. He then invited Békés to serve him.

Both Transylvanians were instrumental during the victory in the Livonian War against the Grand Duchy of Moscow. In 1579, Békés led the Hungarian and Hajduk troops that helped capture Polotsk. These feats earned Békés fame and the respect of the Lithuanian nobility, who recognised Békés as their own.

Unfortunately, Békés died shortly afterwards in Grodno. Stephen Bathory made sure his friend’s last wish to be buried in Vilnius was fulfilled. An octagonal tower was erected on Plikasis (‘Bald’) Hill; it stood there until the 19th century when the flood waters of the Vilna River washed away the hill. Nevertheless, the place’s connection with the name of the warlord Gáspár Békés has survived to this day.

At the beginning of January 1919, Antoni Wiwulski (Antanas Vivulskis), a prominent architect and volunteer of the Vilnius Self-Defence Squad, who was on guard at this building, took pity on his friend who was absolutely freezing. Although he was feeling unwell himself, he gave his friend his own long military woollen overcoat, called a greatcoat or watchcoat (‘milinė’ in Lithuanian). 

Vilnius was then preparing to repel the Bolshevik attack. It was cold, and the wind was blowing fiercely. The volunteers lacked warmer clothes, weapons, and food. It was also cold in the rooms where the defenders of the city rested after their service. 

After a few days, Wiwulski started to run a high fever. Medicines helped for a short time, but the illness could not be overcome. He died of pneumonia on 10 January at the age of just 41. In the newspaper ‘Laisvoji Lietuva’, the painter Antoni Żmujdzinowicz (Antanas Žmuidzinavičius) mourned the loss: “It’s such a terrible blow. A real tragedy for our country. First Čiurlionis passes away, now Wiwulski. Where to find hope? Our country is unfortunate. Our art is unfortunate.”

In 2019, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the death of Antoni Wiwulski, a commemorative sign was unveiled to the ‘Vivulskio Milinė’ (sculptor Vytautas Nalivaika). The Greatcoat of this great man has symbolically returned to the architect who kindly loaned it to his friend in need. Wiwulski designed the Three Crosses that stand on the hill of that name, Šiluva Chapel, and the monument in Krakow to the Žalgiris Battle (also known as the Battle of Grunwald or Tannenberg).

The exact time when the Bastion Fort was built is still unknown; researchers believe it was probably at the end of the 16th or the beginning of the 17th century. The Vilnius Bastion consists of three parts: a tower, an underground former gun room, and a tunnel connecting the two rooms. The grandeur of the Bastion is best seen from the northern valley.

In keeping with the Renaissance style of defensive architecture, the Bastion was an antidote to the rapidly developing artillery. Such fortifications were originally developed in Italy in the 16th century (and were nicknamed trace italienne – ‘Italian contours’ or ‘star fort’) to counter the French army, which was dominated by artillery. The Vilnius Bastion differed from this model (V-shaped) by having a horseshoe-shaped wall to protect the city’s defensive wall. However, no clear evidence of the ‘proper’ use of the Bastion has survived, and it may have been used in the mid-17th century to defend against the Muscovites. Between the Flood and the beginning of the 20th century, the structure deteriorated. The ditches were filled in, all sorts of extraneous buildings appeared on the territory, and the townspeople were even allowed to sow crops or plant vegetables. It was only at the end of the last century that the Bastion was resurrected, but now it no longer needs to protect Vilnius. The Bastion houses a museum with military artefacts. It is one of the city’s most magnificent fortifications.

In the first half of September 1943, as the Nazis prepared to liquidate the Vilnius Ghetto, several Jewish labour camps were established in the city, where skilled workers were to continue working. A workshop for the repair of military equipment was set up in the area. Workers and their families were relocated to the area after it was fenced with barbed wire. The workers were mainly mechanics, tinsmiths, locksmiths, and other tradespeople. Women also worked by sewing and repairing military clothing.  

At the beginning of 1944, over 1,000 people were imprisoned in the camp. As the front approached, the prisoners were exterminated. On 27 March 1944, a so-called “children’s operation” was carried out in the camp in which more than 200 children and women were taken away and massacred; they were shot in Paneriai. With the help of good people, Samuel Bak, a child who was imprisoned there, managed to sneak out and survive. The boy, who drew beautifully, grew up to become a famous artist. 

In the summer of 1944, as the front was approaching, the labour camp was to be liquidated. The prisoners were warned by Karl Plagge, the German army officer in charge of the workshop, and some of the people managed to hide. Many of the prisoners were murdered in Paneriai; some were shot and buried in pits in the yard. Karl Plagge was later recognised as one of the Righteous Among the Nations.

In the first half of the 20th century, both Lithuania and Poland successfully realised their statehood aspirations and joined the ranks of independent countries. However, centuries of shared history have led not to friendship but to war over the mutually important Vilnius.

In April 1919, the Polish army invaded Vilnius. Fighting and the redrawing of demarcation lines, negotiations, and even the Treaty of Suwałki, signed on 7 October 1920, did not bring about a peaceful settlement. Soon after, in October, Lucjan Żeligowski’s army captured Vilnius. The city of Vilnius and the Vilnius region remained part of Poland until 1939. 

In the northern part of the New Rasos Cemetery, we can see two memorials standing side by side. Lithuanian and Polish soldiers fought on opposite sides, but they were laid to rest in the same cemetery, in close proximity to each other. On the left are the Polish dead, and on the right are 22 Lithuanian volunteers. They are commemorated by the monument “Eternal honour to those who died for the freedom of Lithuania in 1920-21” and the white granite sculpture ‘Pieta’ (sculptor Nijolė Gaigalaitė). Concrete crosses are placed on the graves. Each cross is engraved with the Gloria symbol and a sun carved on the front of the plinth – the Lithuanian version of the monuments erected to honour soldiers who died for their country. 

Historical photo: the first Volunteers of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. 1919-1921 – The Central State Archive of Lithuania.

On 22 November 2019, the Lithuanian and Polish Guards of Honour solemnly escorted the remains of Zygmunt Sierakowski and Konstanty Kalinowski, to their eternal resting place. These leaders of the 1863-1864 uprising were interred, as well as the remains of 18 other rebels found during archaeological research on Gedimino Hill in 2017. The Lithuanian and Polish Presidents, political figures, ordinary Lithuanians, Poles and Belarusian opposition members attended the day-long ceremony and paid their respects to the heroes of the Uprising. The enduring slogan of the Uprising, “For our freedom and yours!” was heard in three languages, reverberating throughout the city.

The eternal resting place of the remains of the leaders and participants of the Uprising is the Rasos Cemetery, or rather the central chapel of Rasos Cemetery, built during the neo-Gothic Romantic period. In preparation for the ceremony, it was renovated.

Established in 1796, the Rasos Cemetery can be considered a witness to the many twists and turns of Lithuanian history, where eminent political, scientific, cultural and public figures of various nationalities are laid to rest. Since 2019, the largest pantheon of the rebels of 1863-1864 in Lithuania has been located here.