Timeline of Vilnius

14th century

• 1323
  • Gediminas relocates Lithuanian capital to Vilnius from Trakai.^[1]
  • Castle on Gediminas Hill expanded.
• 1330 – Coat of arms of Vilnius granted.
• 1345 – Russian Orthodox Church of St. Paraskeva built.^[2]
• 1348 – Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Theotokos built.
• 1387
  • Magdeburg rights granted.
  • Roman Catholic Church of Saint Nicholas built.
• 1397 – Cathedral School active (approximate date).

15th century

• 1409 – Gediminas' Tower built.
• 1413 – City becomes capital of the newly formed Vilnius Voivodeship by the Union of Horodło.
• 1426 – Roman Catholic Church of St. Johns built.^[2]
• 1469 – Roman Catholic Church of St. Francis and St. Bernardino founded.^[2]

16th century

• 1500 – Roman Catholic Church of St. Anne consecrated.
• 1501 – First mentions of Armenians in the city.^[3]
• 1522
  • City walls and Gate of Dawn built.
  • Francysk Skaryna sets up printing press.
• 1555 – Evangelical Lutheran Church built on Vokiečių Street.^[2]
• 1557 – Roman Catholic Vilnius Cathedral rebuilt.
• 1560 – Russian Orthodox Church of St. Paraskeva rebuilt.

• 1570 – Jesuit library established.
• 1572 – Synagogue built.
• 1579 – Alma Academia et Universitas Vilnensis Societatis Iesu founded.
• 1588 – Plague.^[1]
• 1597 – Monastery of the Holy Ghost founded.^[2]

17th century

• 1610 – Fire.^[1]
• 1626 – Roman Catholic Church of St. Theresa founded.^[2]
• 1630 – Roman Catholic Church of All Saints built.
• 1633 – Great Synagogue built.
• 1644 – Biblioteca Sapehana willed to Vilnius University.^[4]
• 1653 – Radvila Palace built.
• 1655 – July: Battle of Vilnius; Russian occupation begins, lasting until 1661.^[1]
• 1656 – Tsardom of Muscovy declares that it annexed the city mid-war.^[1]
• 1658 – Battle of Verkiai.
• 1661 – Vilnius liberated from Muscovite occupation.
• 1697 – Sapieha Palace built.

18th century

• 1701 – Roman Catholic Church of St. Peter and St. Paul built.
• 1702 – Swedish occupation.^[1]
• 1710 – Plague.
• 1739 – Green Bridge constructed.
• 1749 – Roman Catholic Sanctuary of the Divine Mercy built.

1820s

• 1823 – Pop.: 20,900.^[11]
• 1825 – Tuskulėnai Manor built.
• 1828 – Jewish cemetery established in Užupis (approximate date).

1830s and 1840s

• 1831 – Uprising of 1831 across Lithuania, but Vilnius is not liberated due to the defeat of the rebels at the battle of Paneriai on June 19.^[1]
• 1832 – University closed.^[1]
• 1834 – Presidential Palace renovated.
• 1836 – St. George Avenue (now Gediminas Avenue) laid out.
• 1845 – Theatre opens.^[2]

1850s

• 1852 – Central Archive of Early Register Books established.^[12]
• 1855 – Museum of Antiquities established.
• 1856 – Public library established.^[13]

1860s

• 1861 – Demonstration against Russian Empire.
• 1863 – Uprising against Russian Empire.
• 1866 – Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas reconsecrated.
• 1867 – Pretchistenski Cathedral rebuilt.^[2]

1880s–1890s

• 1881 – Pop.: 89,560.^[14]
• 1883 – Pop.: 93,760.^[1]
• 1897 – General Jewish Labour Bund founded in Vilnius.^[15]
• 1898 – Russian Orthodox Church of St. Alexander Nevsky and District Court built.^[2]

1900s

• 1900 – Pop.: 162,633.^[1]

• 1901 – Kaziukas Fair relocates to Lūkiškės Square.
• 1903 – Power Plant, Choral Synagogue and the Russian Orthodox Church of Our Lady of the Sign built.
• 1904 – Lukiškės Prison built.
• 1905 – December: Great Seimas of Vilnius held.
• 1906
  • Society of Friends of Science organized.
  • Vileišis Palace built.
• 1907 – Lithuanian Art Society founded.^[16]

1910s

• 1911 – Catholic Church of St. Casimir, Naujoji Vilnia built.
• 1913
  • Russian Orthodox Church of St. Constantine and St. Michael built.
  • Pop.: 204,290.^[17]

Interwar

• 1919
  • April: Vilna offensive by Polish army.
  • Central Library of Lithuania organized.^[19]
  • Jabłkowski Brothers department store opens.
• 1920 – October 9: Vilnius occupied by Polish (so-called Central Lithuanian) troops during the Żeligowski's Mutiny.

• 1925
  • Darius Stadium opens.
  • Elektrit Radiotechnical Society, Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Vilnius, and Yiddish Scientific Institute established.
  • 6 May: School massacre.
• 1926 – City becomes capital of Wilno Voivodeship.
• 1928 – Northern Trade Fair begins.
• 1931 – Pop.: 195,000.
• 1933
  • City Museum established.
  • Śmigły Wilno soccer team formed.

World War II

• 1939
  • 18–19 September: Battle of Vilnius (1939) between the Poles and the invading Soviets at the start of World War II.
  • Soviet occupation of Vilnius.
  • 28 October: Vilnius returned to Lithuania as part of the terms of the Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty.
  • Vilnius Pedagogical Institute established.
• 1940
  • City becomes capital of Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic.
  • Vilnius State Theatre established.
• 1941
  • June: Germans occupation begins.
  • July: Ponary massacre begins.^[20]
  • 5 July: Dulag transit camp for prisoners of war deployed in the city.^[21]
  • August: Dulag transit camp for prisoners of war relocated to Lida.^[21]
  • August: Subcamp of the Stalag 336 POW camp established by the Germans.^[22]
  • 9 September: Subcamp of Stalag 336 converted into the Stalag 344 POW camp.^[22]
  • December: Wehrmacht military prison established.^[23]

    

• 1942 – Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye formed in Vilna Jewish Ghetto.
• 1943 – HKP 562 forced labor camp set up by Germans.

• 1944
  • Wehrmacht military prison relocated to Tarnów.^[23]
  • 6–15 July: Operation Ostra Brama; Soviet occupation begins.
  • Airport begins operating.

Soviet occupation

• 1945 – Music School founded.
• 1946 – Russian Drama Theatre re-established.^[24]

21st century

• 2001 – Sportima Arena opens.
• 2002
  • Vilnius Ice Palace opens.
  • Energy and Technology Museum established.
• 2003
  • Mindaugas Bridge opens.
  • 750th anniversary of the coronation of Mindaugas.
  • FK Vėtra relocates to Vilnius.
• 2004
  • Siemens Arena and Vetra Stadium open.
  • European Humanities University relocates to Vilnius.
  • Europa Tower built.
  • Mykolas Romeris University and Vilnius Academy of Business Law established.
  • Vilnius Marathon begins.
• 2005 – Lietuvos rytas Arena opens.
• 2006 – May: City hosts regional democracy conference.
• 2007
  • Juozas Imbrasas becomes mayor again.
  • Jonas Mekas Visual Arts Center opens.
• 2008
  • February: City hosts NATO meeting.
  • Vilnius Airport railway station opens.
  • Gariūnai Market pavilion built.
• 2009
  • Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania rebuilt.
  • City designated a European Capital of Culture.
• 2011
  • Vilniaus viešasis transportas (bus company) established.
  • Pop.: 554,060.
  • Artūras Zuokas becomes mayor again.^[29]
• 2015 – Remigijus Šimašius becomes mayor.
• 2025
• 2023
  • July: City hosts NATO summit.

• 2026
  • Pop.: 617,984 (city proper) and 747,864 (urban area)