Vilnius

Vilnius, Lithuania Vilna, Wilno Located at the point where the Vilnya River from vilnis ‘wave’, from which it is named, flows into the Viliya River (called by the Lithuanians the Neris). According to legend, while hunting in the area, the Lithuanian ruler Gediminas (c.1275–1341) had a dream about an iron wolf which howled loudly and continuously. The next morning Gediminas asked a mystic in his entourage the meaning of his dream. It was that Gediminas should build an impregnable city here. He did so and the city became the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1323. However, there is little doubt that the site had been occupied at least 400 years earlier. The city came under Russian rule with the name Vilna in 1655–60 and 1795–1918, under Polish rule as Wilno in 1920–39, and under German rule in 1941–4, it was subject to Soviet rule in 1944–91. It was restored as the capital of Lithuania in 1940.