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Vilnius

Vilnius
City
Clockwise from top right: Gediminas' Tower, Vilnius business district, Presidential Palace, Pilies Street, Gate of Dawn, St. Anne's Church.
Flag of Vilnius
Flag
Coat of arms of Vilnius
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): Jerusalem of Lithuania, Athens of the North
Motto: Unitas, Justitia, Spes
(Latin: Unity, Justice, Hope)
Location of Vilnius
Location of Vilnius
Coordinates: 54°41′N 25°17′E / 54.683°N 25.283°E / 54.683; 25.283Coordinates: 54°41′N 25°17′E / 54.683°N 25.283°E / 54.683; 25.283
Country  Lithuania
Ethnographic region Dainava
County Vilnius County
Municipality Vilnius City Municipality
Capital of Lithuania
First mentioned 1323
Granted city rights 1387
Elderships
Government
 • Type City council
 • Mayor Remigijus Šimašius
Area
 • City 401 km2 (155 sq mi)
 • Metro 9,731 km2 (3,757 sq mi)
Elevation 112 m (367 ft)
Population (2015)
 • City 542,664
 • Rank (52nd in EU)
 • Density 1,392/km2 (3,610/sq mi)
 • Urban 692,528
 • Metro 805,142
 • Metro density 83/km2 (210/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Vilnian
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code 01001-14191
Area code(s) (+370) 5
GDP (nominal)
Vilnius county
2015
 - Total €15.1 billion/ USD 17 billion
 - Per capita €18,700/ USD 21,000
Website www.vilnius.lt

Vilnius (Lithuanian pronunciation: [ˈvʲɪlʲnʲʊs]; Polish: Wilno, see also other names) is the capital of Lithuania and its largest city, with a population of 542,664 as of 2015. Vilnius is located in the southeast part of Lithuania and is the second largest city in the Baltic states. Vilnius is the seat of the main government institutions of Lithuania as well as of the Vilnius District Municipality. Vilnius is classified as a Gamma global city according to GaWC studies, and is known for the architecture in its Old Town, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Its Jewish influence until the 20th century has led to it being described as the "Jerusalem of Lithuania" and Napoleon named it "the Jerusalem of the North" as he was passing through in 1812. In 2009, Vilnius was the European Capital of Culture, together with the Austrian city of Linz.

The name of the city originates from the Vilnia River. The city has also been known by many derivate spellings in various languages throughout its history: Vilna was common in English. The most notable non-Lithuanian names for the city include: Polish: Wilno, Belarusian: Вiльня, German: Wilna, Latvian: Viļņa, Russian: Вильнюс, Yiddish: ווילנע (Vilne)‎, Czech: Vilnius. An older Russian name was Вильна/Вильно (Vilna/Vilno), although Вильнюс (Vilnius) is now used. The names Wilno, Wilna and Vilna have also been used in older English, German, French and Italian language publications when the city was one of the capitals of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and later of Second Polish Republic. The name Vilna is still used in Finnish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Hebrew. Wilna is still used in German, along with Vilnius.


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