Publications

This book describes the birth of the opera as an art form in the first half of the 17th century and the first operas staged in Vilnius at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, earlier than in Paris or London  – the Abduction of Helen, Andromeda, and Disappointed Circe. Facsimiles of the original librettos in Italian are published together with their translations into Lithuanian. The book is introduced by a lengthy article on the history of opera in early 17 th century Vilnius by the musicologist Dr. Jūratė Trilupaitienė and on court values in Virgilio Puccitelli’s librettos by the philologist Dr. Dainius Būrė.

Letters written during 1561-1562 by the diplomat of the Holy Roman Empire, Valentin Saurman [Valentinus Saurman de Jelcze, Sauermann, Zaurman], to Emperor Ferdinand I from the Vilnius court of the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Sigismund Augustus reveal the broad spectrum of foreign policy issues concerning the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland, which were being discussed and resolved in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. They disclose the complex course of dynastic, territorial, and ideological conflicts as well as the nature and practice of Western diplomacy. These published letters are an important source of information not only for questions relating to Lithuanian and Polish foreign policy, but also for a better understanding of the problems of international relations in the region of Central and Eastern Europe during the mid-16th century.

This book contains the proceedings of an international conference held in Vilnius in 2006. There are 23 presentations by scholars (museologists, historians, architects, archaeologists, art historians and others) from Lithuania, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Russia and the United States on the history of the palace of the grand dukes of Lithuania, on the results of research undertaken to help in its reconstruction and future use, on analogous reconstruction projects in other countries, and current issues regarding its reconstruction and use. These articles help us evaluate in a broader historical and geographic context the results of the research that has been done to date relating to the reconstruction of the palace and plans for its future use.

This diary is an account of the impressions and experiences of the journey from Warsaw and stay in Vilnius in 1786 of Ludwika Byszewska, a well known noble lady of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the latter half of the 18th century and wife of the chamberlain of the last King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski. In this original document we find an authentic and lively account of Vilnius during the Age of Enlightenment – its tourist attractions, buildings, entertainments, and inhabitants. The diary, which consists of letters written by Byszewska to her brother, was first published in an early 19th century periodical. This edition, with commentaries, was prepared by Piotr Jacek Jamski and the introduction was written by Ewa Manikowska.