vilnius. old streets. dominikonu str. Dominikonu str

It is a part of the old highway of Trakai, one of the oldest and one

of the most magnificent streets in Vilnius. No doubt, Dominikon�

Street existed in the 14th century, but we come across its name only

in the document dated at the end of the 16th century, i.e. 26 April

1592, saying that some nobleman Jurgis Kamajevskis complains to have

been cheated and incurred significant losses here.

For many centuries Dominikon� Street had two churches: Church of Holy

Trinity � one of the oldest hospitals for the poor in Vilnius � and

the majestic Dominican Church of Holy Spirit with its mysterious and

legendary vaults. There the Dominican Monastery was established for a

couple of centuries.

It used to be called Senators Street because a number of

representatives from the Seimas and state officials � senators

resided at Dominikon� Street.

Among the most famous residents of this street were, of course, the

Sapiegos. They had two palaces at the western wing of Dominikon�

Street.

In the 16th century, Dominikon� Street was almost completely built

with masonry buildings and some of them already had drinking water

supplied from Vingriai springs through a wooden water supply system.

Although the majority of buildings in Dominikon� Street were made

from brickwork, they were severely devastated by all fires of the

city, especially in the northern side of the street. At the end of

World War II, the magistrate building standing at the crossing of

Vilnius Street and Dominikon� Street suffered from the Soviet

bombings. The building was not repaired and was pulled down. The 20th

century was not favourable for the buildings on the southern side of

the street. Hotel Europe burnt down. In 1960, it was pulled down

together with the neighbouring building, former Pijor college, which

suffered only minor damage during the war.