Užupis (, , , ) is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

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 ...

, the capital of

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, largely located in Vilnius's old town, a

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World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. Užupis means "beyond the river" or "the other side of the river" in the

Lithuanian language Lithuanian (, ) is an East Baltic languages, East Baltic language belonging to the Baltic languages, Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the language of Lithuanians and the official language of Lithuania as well as one of t ...

and refers to the Vilnia River; the name Vilnius was derived from the Vilnia. The district has been popular with artists for some time, and has been compared to

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

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and to Freetown Christiania in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, due to its bohemian and laissez-faire atmosphere. On April 1, 1997, the district declared itself an independent republic (the Republic of Užupis), with its own constitution.

Geography

Užupis is quite small and isolated, being only about in size; it has around 7,000 inhabitants, nearly 1,000 of which are artists. On one side it is separated from the Old Town by the Vilnia River, on the second there are steep hills, and on the third side, it borders on an industrial area built under

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

rule. The first bridges across the river were built in the 16th century, when the district's inhabitants were mostly

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

History

The district contains the Bernardine Cemetery, one of the oldest cemeteries in the city. Most of the district's Jewish population were killed during

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, and later the old Jewish Cemetery uphill would be destroyed by the

s. The houses left abandoned were later occupied by marginal elements of society, mainly the

homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

prostitutes Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-p ...

and

squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there wer ...

. Until Lithuania's declaration of

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

in 1990, it was one of the most neglected areas in the city, containing many run-down houses, many without utilities. The district has been a common haunt of artists and bohemians since Soviet times, and even today many young artists are

squatting Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there wer ...

in abandoned buildings near the Vilnia River.

The Republic of Užupis

On 1 April 1997, a group of local artists declared the Republic of Užupis, along with its own flag, unofficial currency, president, cabinet of ministers, a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

written by

Romas Lileikis Romas Lileikis is a Lithuanian poet, musician, film director, and the president of self-recognized Republic of Užupis. Career Lileikis is a director of five movies: ''Aš esu'' (I Am) (1990), ''Olandų gatvė'' (Dutch Street), ''Anapus'' (Bey ...

and Tomas Čepaitis, an anthem, and an army of approximately 11 men. The army has since been retired. The residents of the self-declared republic celebrate this independence annually on Užupis Day, which falls on

April 1 Events Pre-1600 * 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne. * 1081 – Alexios I Komnenos overthrows the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros III Botaneiates, and, after his tro ...

. Artistic endeavours are the main preoccupation of the Republic; the President of the Republic of Užupis,

, is himself a poet, a musician, and a film director. Tomas Čepaitis, the micronation's foreign minister, is himself a translator and artist. The Republic has granted

honorary citizenship Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honor usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

to several notable individuals, including the

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (born 6 July 1935; full spiritual name: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, shortened as Tenzin Gyatso; ) is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served a ...

, who first visited the Republic in 2013. He later returned in 2018 to plant a tree in the Republic's "Tibet Square" to mark 100 years since the

Council of Lithuania In the history of Lithuania, the Council of Lithuania (; ; ), after July 11, 1918, the State Council of Lithuania () was convened at the Vilnius Conference that took place between 18 and 23 September 1917. The twenty men who composed the c ...

proclaimed the restoration of an independent state of Lithuania.

Artūras Zuokas Artūras Zuokas (born 21 February 1968) is a Lithuanian journalist, businessman and politician who served as the mayor of the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, from 2000 to 2007 and again from 2011 to 2015, and as member of Lithuania's unicameral pa ...

, a former mayor of Vilnius, lives in Užupis. Užupis does not house internet-cafes, markets, shopping malls, or governmental institutions (except Užupian), and there is no

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...

to Lithuania. It is unclear whether the statehood of the Republic, recognised by no government, is intended to be serious,

tongue-in-cheek Tongue-in-cheek is an idiom that describes a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walte ...

, or a combination of both. The decision to place Užupis Day on April 1 (

April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. ...

) may not be coincidental, emphasising the importance of humor over "serious" political decisions. The flag of the Republic features the palm of a hand on a white background. The colour of the palm emblem changes seasonally, in the sequence blue (Winter), green (Spring), yellow (Summer), and red (Autumn).

Ambassadors of Užupis

The Užupis Ministry of Foreign Affairs has appointed more than 500 ambassadors worldwide. The ambassadors have the task to build bridges between people. Some ambassadors represent the republic and its

in a certain state or geographic region while others share the republic's spirit in various realms of life like the ambassador among humming birds, the ambassador of knowledge for humanity or the ambassador for whistling in the streets. The Embassy of the Republic of Užupis to Munich builds bridges between arts and AI technology to make artificial intelligence more ethical and more accessible to society. Well-known ambassadors include the experimental filmmaker

Jonas Mekas Jonas Mekas (; ; December 24, 1922 – January 23, 2019) was a Lithuanian-American filmmaker, poet, and artist who has been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema". Mekas's work has been exhibited in museums and at festivals world ...

, the art critic Konstyantyn Doroshenko, and the designer Dr. Nelly Ben Hayoun. Every year the ambassadors meet for their world conference in Užupis on the day before national day celebrations on April 1. Representatives of the Republic of Užupis have met with the President and Foreign Minister of Liberland to discuss mutual recognition.

Constitution of Užupis

Copies of the 38 articles of the Republic's constitution and 3 mottos - "Don't Fight", "Don't Win", "Don't Surrender" - in 23 languages, can be found affixed to a wall in Paupio street in the area. Sanskrit and Hindi versions of the constitution were added on 25 May 2017. Some of these articles would be unremarkable in a constitution; for instance, Article 5 simply reads ''"Man has the right to individuality."''. Others are more idiosyncratic; a typical example can be found in Article 1 (''"People have the right to live by the River Vilnelė, while the River Vilnelė has the right to flow past people."''), 12 (''"A dog has the right to be a dog."'') and 37 (''"People have the right to have no rights."''), which can be seen as unusual compared to fundamental rights set out by the EU. There are a number of paired articles, such as Articles 16 (''"People have the right to be happy."'') and 17 (''"People have the right to be unhappy."'') which declare people's right to either do or not do something, according to their desire. Minister of Foreign Affairs Thomas Chepaitis, Ambassador H. E. Max Haarich, AI-Expert Alex Waldmann and humanoid Roboy formulated an additional article for the Munich Embassy: "Any artificial intelligence has the right to believe in a good will of humanity." This makes the Užupian constitution the world's first constitution to mention

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

. In September 2018 the constitution was blessed by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

during his visit to Vilnius.

Angel of Užupis

On April 1, 2002, a statue of an angel blowing a trumpet was unveiled in the main square. The idea was developed from a desire to erect an angel in memory of animator and caricaturist Zenonas Šteinys. It became a symbol of the revival of Užupis. The funds were raised by selling miniature copies of the sculpture. The sculptor, Romas Vilčiauskas, is also the creator of the ''Užupis Mermaid''. Previously, a temporary sculpture of an egg stood in its place. After being replaced by the larger statue of Gabriel, the egg was sold at an

auction An auction is usually a process of Trade, buying and selling Good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services by offering them up for Bidding, bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from th ...

for 10,200 litas and now stands on Pylimo street.

Notable residents

Notable people who have resided in Užupis include: *

Felix Dzerzhinsky Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky (; ; – 20 July 1926), nicknamed Iron Felix (), was a Soviet revolutionary and politician of Polish origin. From 1917 until his death in 1926, he led the first two Soviet secret police organizations, the Cheka a ...

, also known as ''Iron Felix''— Soviet Bolshevik revolutionary and secret police founder * The painter and composer Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis * Polish romantic-comic poet Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński lived in Užupis in 1934-36 * Jurgis Kunčinas, author of 2 novels about Užupis, and translator from German *

, former

mayor

In creative works

''The Republic of Užupis'', a 2009 novel by the South Korean author Hailji, chronicles the journey of an Asian man named Hal visiting Užupis to inter the ashes of his father, believing the "Republic" to be his ancestral homeland. Užupis was the topic of a 2015 piece of music by Matt Howden's The Mighty Sieben, featuring the three mottos, "Don't Fight", "Don't Win", "Don't Surrender". The track was written in celebration of, and first performed at, the Mėnuo Juodaragis Festival held in Lithuania.

References

External links

Official Website of the Republic of UžupisVideo report about Vilnius, featuring a lot of scenes filmed in Užupis : Locks on bridges, the Republic and the Constitution1 April is Užupis’ Independence Day!
VilNews e-magazine 5 February 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Uzupis Artist colonies Neighbourhoods of Vilnius Micronations in Europe Holocaust locations in Lithuania Tourist attractions in Vilnius