Church of St. Johns’

Built in the late 14th century, the Church of St. Johns houses the tallest tower in the entire old town of Vilnius. In 1965, the church became part of the Vilnius University buildings, and in 1975, it was turned into a museum of science.

Next stop: Church of St. Nicholas, Šv. Mikalojaus g. 4, Vilnius, 01133

And while beautiful, I’m sure you’re wondering why did I want to stop here and show you the place? Because, the director of this museum, luckily, was quite liberal and allowed the church to be a safe place for some dissident activities, such as writing for distribution through the printing of underground press. Julius Sasnauskas also worked here as a guard, and in his free time, he’d use one of the rooms in this huge church to sit down and work with his typewriter.

Indeed, the church is so big that Julius once hid a newspaper he had printed under some wood planks in the attic then came back to pick them up 8 years later – and they were still there, untouched, never found by anyone. We'll talk more about Julius and his buddies soon, but before that, I recommend climbing the bell tower of the church to see the beautiful rooftops of Vilnius Old Town, which you can easily do during visiting hours with a ticket.

Once you’re done exploring this stop, please follow the directions to the next one and click “continue.”