Description of the attraction
The Presidential Palace is the officially recognized residence of the President of the Republic of Lithuania. The luxurious palace is located in the capital of Lithuania - the city of Vilnius. It was built on Simonas Daukantas Square, named after a graduate of Vilnius University, who was the first to write the history of Lithuania in Lithuanian. The square has a particularly solemn appearance thanks to the baroque decoration of the towers towering over the rooftops. Since the 16th century, the residence of the Vilnius bishops has been located in the building of the Presidential Palace.
As soon as Lithuania was baptized, the Lithuanian prince Jagailo decreed the establishment of the Vilna episcopate and presented him with the land on which the palace ensemble is now located. At this place, then the chambers of Gashtold were located, which were given over to the authority of Catholic bishops. In 1530 the bishop's house was destroyed by fire, then the bishops began to live where the presidential palace is now located.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the palace burned several times and was also plundered. For these reasons, the building has been restored more than once. The palace was rebuilt in 1792 by Laurynas Gucevičius.
As soon as the third partition of the Commonwealth was carried out, the Lithuanian principality became part of the Russian Empire, and in 1795 the palace became the recognized residence of the Governor-General of the North-Western Territory, his place of official activity. Over time, the palace became a temporary residence for influential and dignitaries, for example, the palace was visited by: Paul I, Constantine and Alexander - his sons, Stanislav August Poniatowski - the Polish king, Frederick William III - the Prussian king.
By 1804, the Presidential Palace was expanded under the leadership of the provincial architect Shilgauz K. A. By order of Alexander I, the architecture of the palace was also changed. To realize the intended goal, some university buildings had to be demolished in order not to block the street. The eastern part of the building was completely built up, and the western part was simply annexed. Construction work was completed only by 1827, but the arrangement of the interior lasted until 1832. Since that time, the building has acquired its present appearance.
Since 1819, in the courtyard of the Presidential Palace, there was a house church named after Prince Alexander Nevsky. It was rebuilt during the reconstruction in 1903. Oak icon cases were located near two kliros, which stood with icons of St. Alexander Nevsky and the Holy Mother of God. These icons were donated by officials in honor of the deliverance of Alexander I from a premeditated assassination attempt in Paris, as well as the salvation of the royal family in a train wreck in Borki.
From 1901 to 1905, the Museum of Count Muravyov M. N. was located in the building of the corpsdegaria.. The motive for its creation was the exhibition dedicated to him, held in the public Vilnius library, as well as timed to coincide with the opening of the monument to Ant on the square. The commission under the leadership of Beletsky was in charge of all the affairs of the museum. The head of the museum was V. G. Nikolsky, and an associate member - V. A. Greenmouth.
The museum has collected various items that belonged to the era of Muravyov: two armchairs, a desk, a cane, seals and much more that belonged to him. The museum opened only twice a week for tourists to visit.
As for the architecture of the Presidential Palace, it was built in the style of late classicism. The architecture of the building has clear volumetric forms, regularity of planning, as well as symmetrical axial compositions and monumental columns.
The building has the shape of a rectangle with three projections. The main facade of the building faces the square, but the facade overlooking the courtyard is also especially solemn. The risalits on the main façade are linked by Doric columns in a single row. The internal structure of the palace is the arrangement of rooms along the corridor system on the ground floor. The second floor contains the enfilade system of rooms typical for palaces of this kind. A guard is constantly posted at the palace, which changes at 6 pm.
