Past exhibitions

Just as the age of children is measured by making scratches in the door frame, so in this tower we could pinpoint the timeline of what happened in Vilnius. We could consider the bell tower as a peer, a witness to all that has happened in Vilnius throughout it's 700 history.

Floods washed away the tower's foundations, fires burned the structures like a furnace, melted the stones and bricks, ammunition tore down the walls during wars; nobles and craftsmen, saints and traitors, enemies and lovers walked around. Architects, masons, carpenters, soldiers, bell-ringers and clockmakers zigzagged up and down the tower's wooden and brick steps. Since the 16th century, the bells have been heard by all the townspeople. For 350 years the clock bell cast by John Delamars and the the oldest clock in Vilnius has been counting and announcing time.

Children make a wish spin on the Miracle Tile located by the bell tower. The older ones still remember that not so long ago the Baltic Way, which surprised the whole world, stretched nearby, and after this event came the miracle of freedom and independence.

The exhibition was dedicated to recall the most important events and people of our city, state, and Church - all of which are points of reference for understanding the changes in Vilnius. We were inviting our visitors to explore the exhibition, the stories hidden in the drawers, the stories on the glass that span the entire height of the tower. On the table top you will read a timeline of events not only in Vilnius, but also in Europe. We hope that visitors to our city from other countries were able to recognise the events in Vilnius as inseparable from the processes of Western culture.

As visitors climbed up, they  admired the city, discovered the bell tower, and retraced the timeline of Vilnius as it unfolds here.