Lithuania · 15th century
The Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės valdovų rūmai Vilniaus žemutinėje pilyje; Polish: Zamek Dolny w Wilnie) is a palace in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was originally constructed in the 15th century for the rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the future Kings of Poland. The palace, located in the lower castle of Vilnius, evolved over the years and prospered during the 16th and mid-17th centuries. For four centuries the palace was one of the political, administrative and cultural centres of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was demolished in 1801.
Work on a new palace started in 2002 on the site of the original building and it took 16 years to complete it in 2018. The palace was rebuilt in a Renaissance style. According to the testimony of one of the couriers of Bona Sforza such initial reconstruction from 1520 to 1530 cost 100,000 gold ducats and was ordered by Sigismund I the Old. It is believed that the 16th century reconstruction was made for the proclamation ceremony of Sigismund II Augustus, son of Sigismund I the Old, as the Grand Duke of Lithuania.
Text adapted from “Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania ranks #881 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #6 of the 32 mapped in Lithuania. Founded c. 1450, it is older than 47% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 554 atlas entries founded in the 15th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 5,055 times in the last 60 days, more than 87% of the atlas. 16 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Vilnius, 1 km away. See how Lithuania compares in the castle statistics.
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