Residents and guests of Vilnius city are invited from 12:00 to watch, and schoolchildren to participate in the parade organized by the Lithuanian Armed Forces Honor Guard Company soldiers, the Lithuanian Armed Forces orchestra, and representatives of the “Medieval Messengers” club with historical costumes and horses, from the Gate of Dawn to the Palace of the Grand Dukes, symbolically reenacting the triumphal procession of the winner of the Battle of Orsha, the Grand Hetman of Lithuania Konstantinas Ostrogiškis.
At the Gediminas monument, Cathedral Square, the course of the battle will be staged, Honor Guard Company soldiers will raise the historical Lithuanian flag above the Palace of the Grand Dukes, and military historian Karolis Zikaras, comedian and influencer Kristoforas Vaidutis will discuss the significance and curiosities of the Battle of Orsha.
According to historical sources, to mark the Battle of Orsha on September 8, 1514, a triumphal procession was held in Vilnius, during which prisoners of war and trophies, weapons, gold were shown to the residents, and captured enemy flags were hung in Vilnius Cathedral. In the triumphal procession, which was greeted by foreign diplomats, state officials, and the Vilnius community, the first to march was the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Sigismund the Old, and the procession stretched through the Lithuanian capital from the city walls to the Grand Dukes’ Palace in the Lower Castle of Vilnius.
The famous Gate of Dawn (Medininkai Gate), through which the parade participants marched, was originally called “Ostrožskije varota” (Lith. – Ostrogiškis Gate), to glorify the winner of the Battle of Orsha, one of the most famous military leaders in Lithuanian history, the Grand Hetman of Lithuania Konstantinas Ostrogiškis, called by contemporaries the Second Hannibal and the Scipio of Rus’.
Read more Minister of Transport criticizes Vilnius street repairs: lack of consistent planning
Program for the 512th anniversary celebration of the Battle of Orsha victory, September 8:
11:00 – 11:45 “Gathering of forces” at the Gate of Dawn.
12:00 – 12:30 Parade from the Gate of Dawn to the Palace of the Grand Dukes.
12:30 – 13:30 Staging of the Battle of Orsha near the Gediminas monument.
13:30 Historical flag raising on the roof of the Palace of the Grand Dukes.
13:35 “A different history lesson”: military historian Karolis Zikaras, comedian and influencer Kristoforas Vaidutis will discuss the significance and curiosities of the Battle of Orsha.
Representatives of Lithuanian schools whose classes would like to participate in the parade are asked to register by clicking the link.
Read more Akobundu-Ehiogu – about top-level conditions in Kaunas and working with Masiulis
