Vilnius TV Tower

The Vilnius TV Tower stands on Sausio 13-osios Street in the Karoliniškės district of Vilnius, Lithuania, on Karoliniškės hill west of the Old Town. It was built between 1974 and 1980 and is about 326.5 metres tall, making it the tallest structure in Lithuania. Its design, by a group of architects and engineers, uses a reinforced-concrete shaft with a steel antenna on top, and an observation deck and rotating restaurant at about 165 metres. The tower is best known for events of 13 January 1991, when Soviet armed forces attacked the broadcasting centre in an attempt to take control of Lithuanian media and undermine the independence movement. Unarmed civilians gathered to defend the tower, and 14 people were killed, with hundreds injured, at and near the site. The defenders did not give up the tower, and the events became known as Bloody Sunday or the January Events. In the months that followed, the Soviet Union lost its hold over Lithuania, which had declared independence on 11 March 1990. A memorial at the base of the tower lists the victims, and crosses, candles and plaques commemorate those killed. Inside the tower, a small exhibition describes the events of January 1991 and the tower's construction, with photographs, documents and display panels. Lifts take visitors to the observation deck, which offers views over Vilnius, the Neris river, and on clear days to the forests beyond the city, and the revolving restaurant allows diners to see a full panorama over about an hour. The tower remains an active broadcasting facility. Visitors normally allow one to two hours, including the memorial and the viewing deck. The site lies away from the Old Town, so a bus or taxi is the usual way to reach it.