The Legend of Vilnius, Lithuania

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania. Its Old Town is known for beautiful architecture with pastel color buildings covered in red-tile roofs, contrasting with the white Cathedral and its tower at one of the main squares, the Cathedral Square. But there is something else standing next to the Cathedral. It is a monument to the Grand Duke Gediminas, who was one of the first rulers of Lithuania and who found the capital city, taking us to a legend.

 A very long time ago, where two rivers of Vilnia and Neris met, there was a densely forested valley. It was so thick covered with trees that the crowns of the trees wouldn’t allow any sunrays to get through making a day look like a night. Wild animals roamed around freely unafraid of human beings. Both, the chirping birds and rocky streams filled the quiet forest with constant melody.

It didn’t take long, when the first human beings appeared in this corner of the world, hunting for boar, bear, bison, deer and other wild animals. Many hunters rambled here; some even had the courage to do it on their own; most of them did it in large groups, especially those led by a prince. Those who got lost used a horn to give a sign to their companion that they were looking for them to reunite.

It happened that this forest became the favorite one of Grand Duke Gediminas. On one of his hunting trips, he and his men spent hours looking for their hunt. The animals knew the forests well and hid deep in tall shrubs, ground openings, and behind the rocks. They jumped swiftly over the streams and swamps to avoid arrows. But the hunters were smart and experienced, settled on quick horses. None of them was giving up. So the chase of the hunters and hiding of the animals continued for hours. By the time the hunters reached the forest’s edge, which gave them a better view of the hiding animals, it was already getting dark. But not dark enough for some exposed animals to be caught and make it a successful hunt at the end.

It was decided that they would spend the night at the edge of the forest, camping under the twinkling stars. The Duke fell into a sleep in a blink of an eye, lulled by the calming murmur of the tree leaves and the stream water. While asleep, he dreamed of a wolf, who stood on a rock, where two rivers merged. The wolf was of iron and with his head raised toward the moon howled in such odd manner that it woke up the Duke. He tried to close the eyes and continue his sleep, but the loud howl of the wolf was ringing in his ears. And what bothered him even more was the fact that the wolf stood exactly where he had killed a bison that day.

Upon hearing the clatter of the first meal being prepared, the Duke didn’t force himself into the sleep anymore. He raised his face towards the rays of the first sun and continued to ponder on his strange dream.

“Is everything fine, my lord?” Asked a servant seeing the Duke’s puzzled face.

“Yes, we’d better continue with our return before they start thinking that we went missing.” The Duke responded evasively. 

Nevertheless, the dream wouldn’t leave his thoughts. Upon arrival at the castle, he consulted with a pagan priest about it.

The priest removed the hood covering his head, looked intently at the Duke and spoke, “The iron wolf was showing you exactly where to found a city.” He stopped for a moment as waiting for Duke’s reaction, and then explained further, “The howling of the wolf represents fame of a glorious city, a capital of the Lithuanian lands.”

The Duke, who was a smart ruler and whose vast territory at its highest time spanned between two seas, the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, had no doubt what to do next. He gathered his councilmen and announced his vision. Shortly, a fortification was built giving a birth to a city that was named Vilnius from the River Vilnia.