Trakai, a town some 20 kilometres west of Vilnius that is one of the historic capitals of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, is celebrating its 700th anniversary this week.
While the exact timing of the founding of Trakai is unknown, it was decided last year to consider September 8, 1322, the official “birthday” of the town.
The date was proposed by Darius Baronas, a historian at the Lithuanian Historical Institute, and Alfredas Bumblauskas, head of the Department of Theory of History and Cultural History at the Faculty of History of Vilnius University.
According to them, the date of the foundation of Trakai should be linked to the symbolic date of the foundation of Vilnius in 1323.
The 16-century Bychowiec Chronicle describes how the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas moved his capital from Kernavė to Trakai and from Trakai to Vilnius.
According to Baronas and Bumblauskas, this dating is consistent with archaeological and historical findings. Recent archaeological research shows that, at the beginning of the 14th century, the castle of Old Trakai was built in a landscape previously untouched by human activity.
Lithuanian chronicles describe the same prehistory of the foundation of Trakai.
Events over the weekend
For the celebrations, Trakai will host theatre and music performances, sports competitions, an artisans’ fair, and other events.
According to the municipality, the events will bring together different parts of Trakai and will be aimed at people of all ages and needs.
A performance of Legends of Trakai will be staged in the inner courtyard of Trakai Island Castle, and a fair will take place in the part of the town between the castle and the observation deck.
A free concert is planned in the castle courtyard.
The historic capital of Lithuania is also hosting the international arts festival Transmissions, organised by the Trakai House of Culture and its partners.
Events to mark the town’s anniversary will run until Sunday.
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