The Gediminas Tower, the only remaining part of the Vilnius Upper Castle, is one of the most recognisable symbols of the city and Lithuania. But the entire castle instead of a single tower should be a source of pride for Lithuanians, according to architect Algirdas Kaušpėdas. Could the historic castle be rebuilt?
“Vilnius deserves a cityscape dominated by the Gediminas Castle. Currently, this castle looks too modest, and the ruins above the city do not seem to represent it very well,” Kaušpėdas told LRT TV.
According to him, the coat of arms, the flag, and the Gediminas Castle Tower are seen by Lithuanians as the most important nationals symbols. But the tower is only a small remnant of a much more magnificent structure that used to stand on top of the hill in central Vilnius.
The first wooden fortifications were built by Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas and completed by Grand Duke Vytautas in 1409. The three-storey tower was rebuilt in 1933 by the Polish architect Jan Borowski.
“There is almost no authenticity here […]. If we look at the Gediminas Tower, only three storeys were rebuilt, although we know that there were four. And this building, which is not even finished, has become a symbol of Vilnius. This is a misunderstanding,” Kaušpėdas said.
Beautiful idea but…
According to archaeologists and historians, the idea to rebuild the entire Upper Castle is “beautiful”, but more factors need to be taken into account.
“Beautiful idea. Except that it needs to be very well calculated and thought out. This should be done by professional engineers, architects, and restorers, because the hill is in poor condition,” Albinas Kuncevičius, head of Vilnius University's Archaeology Department, told LRT.lt.
According to Vydas Dolinskas, a historian and head of the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, the idea would also be difficult to implement, because there is very little information about how the castle looked in the past.
“Theoretically, analogies are possible, but there is very little hope of finding authentic material about this castle. Especially bearing in mind that the castle had not been used as a residence since the turn of the 15th century,” Dolinskas said.
Experts also stress that the Gediminas Castle Hill is very unstable. It had to be fortified several times after it started to disintegrate, threatening the structural integrity of the tower.
According to Dolinskas, piles would have to be installed dozens of metres underground or else the slopes of the hill would collapse from the weight of the rebuilt castle. The hill would likely be damaged by the heavy machinery needed for construction works as well.
Rebuilding the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania – or Vilnius Lower Castle – cost 106 million euros. In the words of Dolinskas, construction works of the Upper Castle could be even more expensive because “the hill fortification would require advanced engineering solutions”.
Jonas Vaičenonis, a history professor at Vytautas Magnus University, added that there should be a public discussion about whether there is a need to rebuild the castle.
“We have examples such as the Trakai Island Castle, which was restored and is probably one of the most visited tourist attractions in Lithuania today. In my opinion, we should weigh all the options, answer the question of why this should be done, and then try to make a decision,” Vaičenonis said.
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