Gediminas Castle
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Gediminas’ Castle Tower is the remaining fortification tower of the Upper Castle. Legend has it that the Grand Duke Gediminas dreamt of an Iron Wolf howling at the top of this hill, which he took as a prophecy of the great city that would one day stand in this place. The hill is where he eventually built a wooden castle.
Grand Duke Vytautas completed the city’s first brick castle in 1409. Gediminas’ Tower has changed purposes since then, including being used as the city’s first telegraph building in 1838. The Lithuanian flag was first flown at the top of the tower a century ago. The Vilnius Castle Museum was opened in 1960, and in 1968 it became a subdivision of the Lithuanian National Museum.
Gediminas Castle Tower is the most frequently visited branch of the National Museum of Lithuania. Its exhibition invites visitors to learn about the history of Vilnius as the centre of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and also to take in the most spectacular panoramic view of the city.
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