Lithuania · Restored
Gediminas' Tower
Gediminas's Tower is the surviving part of the Upper Castle on Gediminas Hill overlooking Vilnius and the Vilnia river. The brick tower dates to the early 15th century and today houses a museum; remnants of the adjoining castle and the hilltop terrace remain visible. It is a national historic symbol of Lithuania.
First raised
1301
Its prime
1409
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1409
The shape it held in its prime.
A three-storey red-brick tower with a broad stone boulder foundation stands atop a steep grassy hill, connected to low stone curtain walls and a wide cobbled hilltop terrace. The tower has narrow arched windows on each level and a flat parapet/battlemented top used as a lookout; adjacent are the exposed brick vaulted ruins of a larger hall and lower white buildings with red-tiled roofs on the slope. The hilltop overlooks the Vilnia river and the spread of the town below.
Its story
The story of Gediminas' Tower.
Gediminas, Grand Duke of Lithuania (c. 1275–1341), built the first wooden fortifications on the hill above Vilnius. Legend has the Duke hunting in the woods of Šventaragis Valley, bringing down a wild bull on the hilltop, spending the night there, and asking the court magician Lizdeika to explain his dream. The first brick castle was completed in 1409 by Grand Duke Vytautas.
The three-floor brick tower is all that remains of the Upper Castle; it was rebuilt in 1933 by the Polish architect Jan Borowski, and remnants of the old castle have been restored under the guidance of archaeological research. The flag of Lithuania was re-hoisted atop the tower on 7 October 1988 during the independence restoration movement — the tower appears on the former litas currency and in patriotic songs — and it now houses a museum with models of the Vilnius castles of the 14th–17th centuries.
Step inside
7 places to explore in 1409.
The record describes 7 distinct spots at Gediminas' Tower — including 1 interior: interior of the vaulted hall. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Gediminas' Tower with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1409 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →
