Subačius Gate was arguably one of the most important gates in the city of
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
, leading strategic way to
Vitebsk
Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...
,
Polock,
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow.
First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...
and
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. The gate was first mentioned in 1528 and reconstructed in the 17th century, forming a
seamless defensive line in the southeast of Vilnius. It was noted for tremendous fortification as it not only had upper firing shells but also
machicolation
In architecture, a machicolation () is an opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement through which defenders could target attackers who had reached the base of the defensive wall. A smaller related structure that only protects key ...
s. The gate was demolished on May 27, 1801 under Russian magistrate command. Some gate bricks were used for barracks furnaces and merchants palace reconstruction. Only small amount of gate foundations have remained until nowadays.
Subačiaus vartai (VSAA)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Subacius Gate
Former gates
Buildings and structures in Vilnius