Vilnius Versailles: Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

Abstract

The article discusses how an impressive seventeenth century baroque urban complex, ambitiously called the Antakalnis Versailles by art historians, came into being alongside Vilnius. Reviewing the historical particulars of the suburb's architecture and its baroque legacy, the author shows that its nickname is neither the creation of a nostalgic imagination nor an empty and provincial ambition. The unique ensemble of suburban residences really was built by magnates of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy in emulation of the traditions of the European baroque period. Although it experienced only a short period of glory, this impressive and artistically valuable architectural ensemble is an unequivocally meaningful expression of baroque culture's urbanization and artistic processes in Vilnius.