Pilies Street (literally, "Castle Street"; lt, Pilies gatvė) is one of the main streets in the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urba ...

, the capital of

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. It is a rather short street, running from Cathedral Square to the Town Hall Square. Out of several locations across Vilnius used by market traders to sell the wares of folk artists, Pilies Street is the most popular. It has a natural advantage over the Town Hall Square as the street is generally busy and less likely to be interrupted by the political or cultural events commonly held at the Town Hall. Many people visit the street to buy gifts at

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

or before going abroad to visit friends. The market is also popular with souvenir hunters. Souvenir shops offer amberware and

amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In M ...

jewelry as well as

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

clothes. The street is also known for the

Kaziukas Fair Kazimieras is a Lithuanian form of the masculine name Casimir. Its female form is Kazimiera. Its diminutive forms are Kazys and Kaziukas. Notable people with this name include: *Eugenijus Kazimieras Jovaiša (born 1940), Lithuanian painter *Kazim ...

, when folk artists from all four corners of Lithuania gather here to display and sell their latest merchandise. Festivals in Vilnius frequently take place on Pilies Street – most processions will make their way through here at some point. This is true whatever the festival – be it

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

, the day of Restoration of Independence, or just a spontaneous celebration following a major win for the Lithuanian basketball team. The headquarters of

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...

are located between Pilies Street and University Street, ( lt, Universiteto gatvė). The House of the Signatories where the Declaration of Independence was signed on February 16, 1918 is also located on this street.

References

{{Authority control Streets in Vilnius