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Gediminas and his Iron Wolf

Gediminas and his Iron Wolf

Šventaragio g. 2, Vilnius 01122, Lithuania

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No ordinary Vilnius
#Urban legends
Nik Frost Nik Frost
Grand Duke Gediminas was the founder of Vilnius and Trakai and one of the most famous rules of Lithuania. There is a statue of him in the Cathedral Square, and if you look closely enough you will notice a small figure of a howling wolf at the base of the monument.

The legend says that Grand Duke Gediminas and his men were on a hunting trip in the Valley of Šventaragis where Vilnia river flows into Neris river. After a long day they set up a camp there. In his dream that night  Gediminas saw a huge iron wolf standing on top a hill and howling as strong and loud as a hundred wolves. Upon awakening, the Duke asked a pagan priest to interpret the dream. And the priest told him that the wolf represented a castle and a city which would be established by the Grand Duke on this site. “This city will be the capital of the Lithuania and the dwelling of their rulers, and the glory of their deeds shall echo throughout the world", he said. Gediminas obeyed the will of gods, built the city, and named it Vilnius after the stream of the Vilnia River.

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Written by Nik Frost

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