Gate of Dawn

The Gate of Dawn, in Lithuanian Aušros Vartai, stands on Aušros Vartų Street at the southern end of the Old Town in Vilnius, Lithuania. It is the only one of the original city gates that survives from the defensive wall built between 1503 and 1522 to protect Vilnius from Crimean Tatar raids. The wall had nine gates, and this one, facing the road south towards Medininkai, was also known by its Polish name Ostra Brama, meaning sharp gate. The Gate of Dawn combines a Renaissance and Gothic defensive structure with a Baroque chapel added above the gate in the 17th century. In that chapel hangs the painting known as Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn, a Marian image, painted on oak panels in the early 17th century and covered by a silver-gilt dress, which is venerated as miraculous. The chapel opens through large windows onto the street, so worshippers can pray from the pavement below, and many people kneel in the street beneath the gate, a notable sight. The image has attracted pilgrims from Lithuania, Poland, Belarus and beyond, and it is important to both Catholic and Orthodox communities, with a nearby Orthodox church dedicated to the Holy Spirit and the Carmelite Church of St. Theresa adjoining the gate. The gate survived the fires of the 17th and 18th centuries, and the chapel was rebuilt and restored on several occasions, including in the 19th century after a fire and in the later 20th century. It was a site of devotion even during the Soviet period. The gate forms the entrance to the Old Town, and a short climb of a staircase leads to the chapel, where photography is discouraged during prayer. A visit takes only about 15 to 30 minutes, and it fits naturally in a walk down Aušros Vartų and Didžioji streets.