Vilnius’ Hidden Waterways

In October 2022, Vingrių Springs Square opened in Vilnius, linking the Old Town and the New Town. This site symbolically commemorates the old Vilnius waterworks, which supplied water to the townspeople via wooden pipes from the natural Vingrių Springs here from 1501 until 1914. The stream that emerged from the slope of Vingrių Street flowed through the entire Old Town before joining the Vilnia River near the Lower Castle.
Today, the square serves not only as a pedestrian transit path but also as a recreational area. It features a viewing platform with excellent views of Vilnius Old Town, walking paths, benches, and lighting – making it another public leisure space for residents and visitors alike.
The square also hosts modern sculptures united by the theme of water, such as Mykolas Sauka’s Eels and Severija Inčirauskaitė-Kriaunevičienė’s Water Lilies – created from an industrial water tank and symbolically ‘embroidered’ with freshwater plant motifs.
In 2023, Vingrių Springs Square was awarded Best Public Space at the national architecture awards.

At the intersection of Kėdainių and Lydos Streets stands the sculpture Water Carrier by renowned sculptor Romualdas Kvintas. Inspired by the work of Jewish poet Moyshe Kulbak, who lived in Vilnius, this was one of the last works completed by Kvintas before he died in 2018. The sculpture was unveiled in 2020 on the second anniversary of his passing. Kvintas entrusted the completion of this and five other final works to sculptor and painter Martynas Gaubas, while craftsman Rimantas Keturka did the bronze casting.
Water Carrier depicts one of the poorest professions – water carriers were often encountered in Vilnius Old Town. This work was done by the poorest inhabitants, who carried heavy buckets of water to shops and workshops that did not have running water.

Vilnius’s Church of the Holy Cross (Bonifratres) is famous for the image of Our Lady of the Snows, venerated in the main altar. A copy of this image was later painted on the church façade. Equally famous is the miraculous spring in the former Bonifratres monastery cellar, whose water has refreshed visitors for centuries. It is believed to have healing properties, especially for eye diseases.
Today, the spring is cared for by the Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Visitors wishing to access the well to collect the spring water should arrange a visit with the sisters.

In the early 16th century, as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania faced strong attacks from Moscow and Crimean Tatars, Vilnius citizens requested Grand Duke Alexander Jagiellon’s permission to build a city wall. The Duke ordered the construction of five gates leading to other important cities. However, the situation required adjustments, leading to more gates than initially planned.
The Wet Gate was built where the Vilnia River, flowing along the Lower Castle walls (near where Šventaragis Street is today), met the Vingrė stream, which ran by the city’s defensive wall (approximately along L. Stuoka-Gucevičius Street). The name ‘Wet Gate’ comes from the fact that this place was always damp. At the confluence of the streams lay a large swampy pond where tanners soaked and washed hides.
This gate had no defensive function but was built to facilitate access to the western suburbs of Vilnius. The history of the gate is relatively short. In the late 17th century, the Vilnius magistrate was concerned for city security and decided to reinforce the weakest sections of the defensive walls, so in 1677 the Wet Gate was bricked up.
Today, the trickling fountains embedded in the pavement symbolically recall the swampy place that once existed here.

The Vilnia River, affectionately called Vilnelė, was significantly altered near Gediminas Hill by the construction of Vilnius castle defence systems, mills, and workshops. In ancient times, the Vilnia River surrounded Gediminas Hill and Vilnius Cathedral from the south and west (roughly where Šventaragis and T. Vrublevskis Streets are today) and flowed into the Neris near the current Mindaugas Bridge. The present course of the Vilnia River between Gediminas Avenue and the Hill of Three Crosses is actually a canal excavated for defensive purposes at the end of the 14th century. Gediminas Hill was a safe ‘island’ for centuries, surrounded by water on all sides. The original natural course of the Vilnia River near Vilnius Cathedral and the southern foot of Gediminas Hill lost its significance and was filled in during the 18th century.
The model standing between Šventaragis Street and the Gediminas Monument best shows the course of the Vilnia River in the 16th century.

Did you know that Gediminas Castle Hill almost became a water reservoir in the early 20th century?
In 1907, the city council approved a project by Swiss engineer Oskar Smreker to supply the city with water from artesian wells. A pumping station was planned in Bernardine Garden, with a reservoir on Stalas Hill. In 1911, works began under Warsaw engineer Edward Szenfeld, who expanded the project by increasing the number of wells and reservoirs. When the Roman Catholic consistory, owners of Stalas (Table) Hill, demanded an enormous sum, the engineer turned his attention to Gediminas Hill.
A massive scandal erupted when the public learned that an engineer unfamiliar with local traditions and history intended to turn Gediminas Hill into a reservoir. Although E. Szenfeld swore the reservoir would be 40 m away from the castle, underground, and occupy only one-fifteenth of the hill, the project was halted. After a lengthy debate, three reservoirs were built instead of the planned four – in Bernardine Garden, Liepkalnis, and Pamėnkalnis.

In the 16th century, the idea of water flowing directly into homes was a mere pipe dream! Water from springs reached the first public water reservoirs via wooden pipes, variously known as ‘rurmus’, wells, or boxes. The term ‘rurmus’ comes from the Polish word rura, meaning pipe. It is often referred to as a type of reservoir from which water would flow through pipes – the predecessor of the modern-day standpipe.
By the second half of the 16th century, Vilnius had three rurmuses: in the territory of the Lower Castle, in Town Hall Square, and Vokiečių Street. Occasionally, rurmuses or wells were also installed in private courtyards. Mounted against the wall of the building, a decorative rurmus can be found in the courtyard of Pilies g. 6. Water would flow into the rurmus from the cellar. According to an early 19th-century inventory act, there was a well in the basement, later described as ‘a spring flowing from a small barrel’. It is likely the only surviving rurmus of its kind in Vilnius.
You can still find the rurmus in the courtyard of Pilies g. 6 today. Over the decades, the moustached man from whose mouth the water once flowed was replaced by a floral motif.

The earliest prototype of a sewer was a simple ditch, allowing water to flow from higher ground to lower. Because the streets in Vilnius Old Town slope gently towards the Neris and Vilnia rivers, draining water from the city was not a major problem. The sandy, absorbent soil helped as well. For these reasons, Vilnius did not initially require a sewerage system, but as the city became more densely built-up and the streets were paved with stones, which made them less permeable, the need for drainage increased.

In 1642, trenches were dug on both sides of Pilies Street, from St Johns’ Church to the Vilnia River (which at the time, flowed near today’s Šventaragis Street). Their purpose was to divert water away from frequently flooded basements. Wooden bridges were installed across the channels, enabling access to homes and shops.

These trenches are considered the beginning of the sewage system in Vilnius.

Vilnius’ first water pumping station with water tanks was located in the present-day Bernardine Garden. The Sereikiškės water site marks the beginning of the centralised water supply in the city. The pumping station was designed by E. Szenfeld, and its architecture echoed the adjacent Bernardine Church. 

Although the building looked grand, Architecture Professor Juljusz Kłos called its romanticised design ‘a disgraceful parody of valuable heritage’. Completed in 1914, the pumping station operated until 1944, when the retreating Nazi forces blew up the water tanks and the pumping facility. Today, the only reminder of the former architecture is the gatekeeper’s hut on Šv. Brunono Bonifaco Street, near the entrance to the Bernardine Garden. In 1945, the pumping station was rebuilt using prisoner-of-war labour, and although the layout retained its original form, the simple new design was much more modest.  

This is the longest-operating pumping station in the city, still supplying the residents of Vilnius city centre and the Old Town with delicious, pure underground water. The Sereikiškės site also houses the Water Supply History Museum, established by the pumping station employees themselves in 1976.

Jonas Mekas Alley is a narrow street named after the Lithuanian-born filmmaker and pioneer of American avant-garde cinema, Jonas Mekas. This small thoroughfare also has its very own mythical resident – Naminukas (a small, endearing invisible house spirit from Lithuanian folklore that is kind but mischievous like a brownie). According to legend, the Naminukas spent many lonely years huddled up within dark ruins, longing for a cosy home. And his dream came true – the crosswind draught sprang to life, bringing the alley into being, and the Naminukas began to care for it, keeping the flame of cosiness burning. Out of sheer happiness, a miraculous spring burst forth; its waters are said to bring peace, joy, and love – all who drink from the spring will experience the favourable winds of change in their home. Are you travelling with a four-legged friend? Let them have a sip, too – a designated drinking spot has been provided especially for your pooch. 

This square was known for many years for its market; the only building here is the water tower built in 1872 to serve the market and the surrounding buildings. The octagonal tower, built in the historicist style, had a water reservoir at the top. Water flowed into it from the Misionierių (Žiupronių) Springs, and pipes were laid along the bottom of the Vilnia River. Today, the building no longer serves its original purpose, and in 2005, it was included in the Register of Cultural Values as an object of architectural and engineering value. The tower was restored in 2022.

In the second half of the 19th century, water was brought from the Žiuproniai (Missionary) Spring to the oldest suburb of Vilnius – Užupis. At the intersection of Užupio and Malūnų streets (now the site of the ‘Angel of Užupis‘ sculpture), there used to be a wayside shrine, and two public standpipe fountains were installed next to it. One of them still stands in this square today. Did you know that on 1 April every year, Užupis Independence Day, beer flows from it? If you don’t believe it, be sure to check it out!

Like a real republic, the Republic of Užupis has not only its own president, prime minister, ministers, ambassadors, and holidays, but also a constitution. The Constitution, displayed on the wall of Paupio Street, has been translated into 44 languages (and more are added every year). On the right of the Constitution is the flag of the Republic of Užupis – an open palm with a hole in it. The palm symbolises openness and tolerance, while the hole symbolises that in Užupis, you can live, love, and work, but you cannot own anything.

The authors of the Užupis Constitution are Romas Lileikis and Tomas Čepaitis. It was drafted in just three hours and announced on the first day of April 1998 on a board at the beginning of Paupio Street. And what does Article 41 of the Constitution say? It has a lot to say about freedom, love, and faith, even considering cats and dogs. The first two articles are dedicated to water:

1. Everyone has the right to live by the River Vilnelė, and the River Vilnelė has the right to flow by everyone.
2. Everyone has the right to hot water, heating in winter, and a tiled roof.

Missionary Gardens, or Kūdrų Ponds Park, is a historical garden with several ponds; the park can be found in Vilnius’ Old Town, between Paupio and Subačiaus Streets. 

The area had hydrotechnical facilities and a pond overflow system. The missionaries controlled the water sources, which they adapted for their own use and leased for the city’s needs.

Previously, the entire green area was one large area, but in 1952, the newly built Maironio Street split the park into two parts. Today, the Missionary Garden is divided into the slope of the Saviour’s Hill and the area behind the road, called Kūdrų Ponds Park. The park has three ponds that are connected into a single system. Bridges have been built over the passages. This is among the favourite places for city residents to relax.