Sculpture 'Gediminas' letter' front

Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas (born ca 1275, reigned 1316–1341), often referred to in sources as the “king of the Lithuanians and many of the Ruthenians”, was one of the most eminent rulers of Lithuania. Continuing the policy of adding Ruthenian lands and inviting people from Central and Western Europe to Lithuania, he became the founder of a European superstate – the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, an “unproclaimed empire”. Gediminas’ Lithuania became a home for people of various nationalities and faiths; both the Byzantine Eastern and the Latin Western cultural traditions could thrive here.

Gediminas was a talented politician, a clever diplomat and a successful commander in war, who managed to manoeuvre between the pope, the emperor, the Teutonic Order, Poland and Muscovy. In his times, Lithuania was a European political player. The ruler promised to accept baptism, in his letters he mentioned the Franciscan and Dominican churches built in Vilnius and Navahrudak, and he sought independence for the Lithuanian Orthodox Church.

The new ruling dynasty in Lithuania was named after him – the Gediminids. Its representatives (the Jagiellons) later came to rule Lithuania, as well as the kingdoms of Poland, Hungary and Bohemia. Vilnius became the place of origin of Gediminas and his dynasty, while the castle in the Lithuanian capital served as the most important residence of the Gediminid-Jagiellon dynasty from where its representatives ascended thrones as European monarchs.

In Vilnius, on the site of the later Palace of the Grand Dukes, on the western foothill of Castle Hill, atop a sandy cape along one of the meanders of the Vilnia River, at the end of the 13th century Gediminas’ progenitors built the first and at the time the only brick castle in Lithuania. Defensive structures on Castle Hill and part of the Crooked Castle were still built from wood for another 100 years. Gediminas had the enclosed, irregular trapezoid-plan brick castle that stood on the foothill reconstructed and fortified, building an imposing residential donjon at the north west corner, which is the real Gediminas’ tower. These foundations still exist and are preserved behind this granite wall. There were additional brick structures in the castle yard and along the walls that may have served a residential function. By the second quarter of the 14th century, this castle became too small and was thus extended to the west, where the Cathedral stands today. The ruler had councillors and scribes at his Vilnius Castle, and it was where he received foreign guests. Even though the concept of a permanent capital did not yet exist in these times of a mobile court, typical in Europe in this era, Vilnius and its brick castle became the centre of state policy and defence. The rule applied where he who rules Vilnius, rules Lithuania.

It was in this very castle, probably in the residential donjon in 1323–1324 that Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas dictated his famous letters to Pope John XXII, the cities of the Hanseatic League and Franciscan and Dominican fraternities, in which he invited merchants, craftspeople and artisans, peasants, knights and monks to come to Vilnius.

All through history, the state’s greatest treasure always was and is its people, everyone needed and still needs an astute and hard-working population, which is why Gediminas’ letters announced “we open up our land to every good-willed person”. People tend to head for places where they can find decent conditions, a familiar cultural environment, where legal guarantees hold, and where an adequate quality of life can be found. While seeking this well-being, let us defend our values and confidently propose new ideas.

The most important oaths in Gediminas’ letters stand for the freedom of movement – of both people and ideas. These letters were aimed at free individuals unbridled by constraints regarding travel or settlement, and who wished to contribute to the creation of a civil society. The same dilemma arises before all countries in all times in history – what constitutes a meaningful relationship between population and territory, and how can the natural desire to preserve that which is familiar and 'our own' be combined with unavoidable renewal and opening up to the outside world.

Vilnius, the ruler’s city, was first mentioned in Gediminas’ letter on January 25, 1323. This was the first known mention of the eternal capital of Lithuania in written sources, which is why Vilnius is celebrating its 700th anniversary in 2023. The Vilnius Club has taken the initiative to commemorate this anniversary and special historical fact accordingly by creating a memorial to be positioned near Gediminas’ castle tower, in the Grand Courtyard of the reconstructed Palace of the Grand Dukes.

The idea to memorialise the oaths given by Gediminas, which connect the past with the present, were dictated by the tradition fostered by the Vilnius Club to mark the city’s anniversary each year by reading a letter dedicated to the capital and its population by prominent figures.
The author of this memorial, titled The Oaths of Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas to Vilnius and Lithuania, is the sculptor Martynas Gaubas, patrons – Ina and Darius Zubas. The texts from Gediminas’ letters were selected by Professor Rimvydas Petrauskas. The memorial – the Vilnius Club’s gift to Vilnius to mark the occasion of its 700th anniversary – has been given over to the National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania to preserve for posterity.

“May there be no deed too small nor too great that I could not accomplish in the name of the capital of Lithuania”. (From the Vilnius Club’s membership oath)