A Tour of Vilnius

"Vilnius is the modern European city with a remarkable old town and friendly people."

Friendly people. Just remember not to bare your teeth.

The Gates of Dawn, in Three Takes

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Vilnius, Lithuania, August 2011. I earlier mentioned the Aušros Vartai, or "Gates of Dawn," here and here. These are photos of the Vilnius landmark itself.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making these photos available to us.

A Visit to the Chapel

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė today visited the Lithuanian chapel that stands in the grottoes of St. Peter's Basilica.

Mr. Irene and I saw the chapel during our honeymoon.
 

Vatican City, June 1989. The "Virgine lituana" above the altar resembles the Madonna icon that hangs at the Aušros Vartai, or "Gates of Dawn," in Vilnius. I'll post a photo of the Vilnius site soon.

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Vatican City, June 1989. Mindaugas was the Lithuanian king who converted to Christianity in 1250 or 1251. Lithuania, however, remained a pagan nation until the fourteenth century. It was the last Western European country to adopt Christianity.

An Image of Hope

Seligenstadt, Germany, about 1946. Lithuanian Displaced Persons at the Seligenstadt camp erected an altar featuring an image similar to the icon from Vilnius's Aušros Vartai, or "Gates of Dawn."

Displaced Persons relied on symbols like this one to preserve national identity.