Birth of the City: The Rulers’ Privileges to Vilnius

Exhibition is open till 10 April

Exhibition Birth of the City: The Rulers’ Privileges to Vilnius at the Vilnius Picture Gallery is the fourth exhibition from the series The Most Important Signs of Vilnius City dedicated to the 700-year jubilee of Vilnius city displaying 11 privileges granted by the Lithuanian sovereigns to Vilnius in the 15-17th century that confirm the Magdeburg rights. These invaluable historical sources are kept at The Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania storage facilities.

 

The decision to display the documents that define the city was intentional – this year marks the 635-year anniversary since March 22, 1387, when Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania and the King of Poland, granted the Magdeburg rights to the city. These rights allowed the citizens to have the city council (the magistrate, own court) and to self-govern the aspects of trade and crafts; in other words, the city gained autonomy. Unfortunately, Jogaila’s privilege granting document mysteriously disappeared in the early 20th century, therefore the exhibition displays its transcript.

 

The space of the exhibition is semantically divided into four thematic areas that define Vilnius as the capital city: (1) the urban space is exposed through the 16th–20th century’s Vilnius plans; (2) the city council is illustrated by the portraits of Vilnius government officials and Vilnius City Hall images as well as drawings; (3) the political power center of the country is represented by  the Vilnius castle paintings; (4) the spiritual center of the country is represented by Vilnius Cathedral.

 

The format of the exhibition was changed this year. Up to now, the expositions dedicated to the anniversary of Vilnius City used to single out one artefact for its distinguished significance to the capital. This year, however, there are eleven prerogatives displayed. The reasons behind it are several. Firstly, the 1387 Jogaila’s privilege document was not preserved and, therefore, it is important to show the ones that were. Secondly, the prerogatives, as a set of legal documents, reveal the care and dedication of the Vilnius citizens in order to preserve their urban rights and freedom which form the city’s identity.

 

The exhibition was prepared by the Lithuanian National Museum of Art in collaboration with The Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania.

 

 

 

Exhibition curators: Remigijus Černius, Aistė Bimbirytė-Mackevičienė

 

Architect: Darius Baliukevičius.

 

Partners: The Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

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