Šnipiškės (also known as ''New City Centre'') is a neighborhood in

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 urb ...

, the capital of Lithuania. Located on the north bank of the river

Neris The river Neris () or Viliya ( be, Ві́лія, pl, Wilia ) rises in northern Belarus. It flows westward, passing through Vilnius (Lithuania's capital) and in the south-centre of that country it flows into the Nemunas (Neman), at Kaunas, as ...

, it became the site of a modern business district with skyscrapers which, however, mix with some historical wooden architecture. Until recently, the area was a small historical suburban village north of the

Vilnius Old Town The Old Town of Vilnius ( lt, Vilniaus senamiestis, pl, Stare Miasto w Wilnie, be, Стары горад у Вільнюсе, russian: Старый город в Вильнюсe), one of the largest surviving medieval old towns in both Norther ...

. Several skyscrapers, including

Europa Tower The Europa Tower ( lt, Europos bokštas) is the tallest building in the Baltic states. It is located on Konstitucijos Avenue in Šnipiškės, a district of Lithuania's capital Vilnius. It rises 148 meters above the ground. It was designed by the V ...

business center, have been erected since the turn of the millennium. It continues to rapidly expanded with major projects for modern commercial and apartment complexes as well as recreational areas. Some of the late 19th and early 20th century wooden houses are now under cultural protection and preservation. Šnipiškės is also home to the Kalvarijos Market.

Etymology

''Šnipiškės'' was named after a rich merchant Povilas Šnipka (Šnipis), who lived in 16th century, and owned the land plots in the area. During the Interwar period various tourist guides in Vilnius used the ''Šnipiškis'' spelling. Its alternative names in other languages include: pl, Snipiszki; yi, שניפּישאָק, Shnipishok.

History

Šnipiškės was first mentioned in the historic documents of Vilnius in 16th century. In 1536, in order to improve connection with the Vilnius city (the Old Town), Sigismund I the Old, the

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Kingdom of Lithuania, Lithuania, which was established as an Absolute monarchy, absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three Duke, ducal D ...

, ordered Ulrich Hosius to build a bridge over

, today known as the Green Bridge. It was a wooden bridge with masonry pillars and gates as well as rooms for the bridge guards and customs officers. Šnipiškės developed near the bridge as a suburb of Vilnius. In the second half of the 17th century, Šnipiškės were governed by the

Astikai Astikai ( la, Astikus, pl, Ościk, ''Ościkowicze'' or ''Ostik'') was a Lithuanian noble family, that prospered in late 14th and early 17th centuries. Kristinas Astikas, a noble from Kernavė, was the founder of the family. There is some vague ...

family and later by Eustachijus Valavičius. Over the time, various plots of land in this area were owned by Valerijonas Protasevičius, the

bishop of Vilnius Bishops of Vilnius (Vilna, Wilna, Wilno) diocese from 1388 and archdiocese (archdiocese of Vilnius) from 1925:

, and the Oginskiai family. In 17th century, Šnipiškės were mostly owned by the Sapiega family and in 1697 a land plot near Neris was donated to the

Jesuit Order , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

by Kazimieras Sapiega.

Gallery

File:Vilnius 11.JPG File:Šnipiškės 2.jpg File:Šnipiškės 3.jpg File:Šnipiškės 4.jpg File:Raduszkiewicz House in Vilnius3.jpg File:Šnipiškės 1.jpg

References

Neighbourhoods of Vilnius {{VilniusCounty-geo-stub

Etymology

History

Gallery

See also

References