Vilnius

Vilnius ( VIL-nee-əs, Lithuanian: [ˈvʲɪlʲnʲʊs] ) is the capital of and largest city in Lithuania and the most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2026 population was 617,984, and the Vilnius urban area (which extends beyond the city limits) has an estimated population of 767,907. Vilnius is notable for the architecture of its Old Town, considered one of Europe's largest and best-preserved old towns. The city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The architectural style known as Vilnian Baroque is named after the city, which is the easternmost Baroque city and the largest such city north of the Alps. The city has been the capital of Lithuania since at least 1323, when it was first mentioned as such in a letter of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas. Since the 13th century until the mid-17th century the Vilnius Castle Complex had served as the residence of the Lithuanian monarchs, however the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania was greatly damaged and plundered during the Russian occupation of Vilnius in 1655–1661 and following this it was not used anymore as a monarchial residence. Furthermore, the city was noted for its multicultural population during the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, with contemporary sources comparing it to Babylon. Before World War II and the Holocaust, Vilnius was one of Europe's most important Jewish centres, leading Napoleon to dub it "the Jerusalem of the North" when he passed through in 1812. The city's current demographics are additionally marked by repatriations of Poles, who made up the majority of inhabitants before the war. Vilnius was a 2009 European Capital of Culture with Linz in Austria. In 2021, the city was named one of fDi's 25 Global Cities of the Future. Vilnius is a financial centre, ranked 76th globally and 29th in Europe on the Global Financial Centres Index. The city is an important center for the global fintech industry. It hosted the 2023 NATO Summit. In 2025 Vilnius was the European Green Capital. Vilnius is a member of Eurocities and the Union of Capitals of the European Union (UCEU).