The Days of Vilnius —, perhaps, the most motley and varied holiday in Lithuania, are taking place on the first weekend of September. Ensembles of ancient and modern music and dance participate in it, international exhibitions, events, beer, theater performances, tours of foreign cultural figures, sports competitions and many other wonderful events are held within its framework. The abundance of events is so great that every citizen or tourist visiting Vilnius will find something that can intrigue him.
An important emphasis of the holiday — is the Prancishkus Fair, which is being held on Town Hall Square, which becomes a kind of town of ancient crafts and folklore ensembles.
On the final, third, day of the holiday, a carnival procession is held along Gediminas Avenue, and then huge straw sculptures with fireworks embedded in them are burned in Kalnu Park. Folklore and theater performances turn the holiday into a bewitching sight.
The history of many ancient cities begins with legends. Vilnius, which is recorded in the Lithuanian annals of the 16th century ( Khronika Bykhovtsa ), has been retolded many times in fiction and is among the people today. The legend tells that in the place where Vilnius stands, at the beginning of the 14th century, dense forests rustling with beasts and birds rustled. These deaf forests were a favorite place of hunting for Prince Gediminas, who ruled the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1316 — 1341.
Once on a hunt, the prince killed a mighty and fierce beast, a thunderstorm of forests — tour. The day was clinging to evening, it was too late to return to Trakai, and Gediminas decided to spend the night in the forest. On one of the hills near the place where the fun little river Vilnius flows into the calm Njaris, Gediminas ordered to camp and cook dinner. Until late at night, bonfires burned on the hill, the prince and his retinue had fun. And when the fatally tired hunters dispersed their tents and fell asleep, Gediminas had a dream:
On a high hill, which is at the very mouth of Vilnius, there is a huge wolf and howls as much as if there are a hundred wolves inside it. The prince grabbed the bow, aimed and began to shoot arrows at the terrible beast. But, hitting the wolf, the arrows, the link, bounced off him, broke down and, without causing any harm, fell to the ground: a fierce wolf was dressed in iron armor...
From futile efforts to kill the wolf, the prince woke up and, under the impression of sleep, ordered the pagan priest Lizdeyk to be called, who guarded the sacred fire in the river valley.
— Push me, old Lizdeika, the meaning of sleep! — said Gediminas.
Lizdeika thought for a long time and finally answered: — Oh Grand Duke! Your dream is the will of our gods. An iron wolf means a castle that you must build on a mountain at the mouth of the Vilnius River. And he will be impregnable and formidable, like that iron wolf that you saw in a dream. And next to the castle, a large city will soon grow, a rumor about the power and beauty of which will spread throughout the world. And this glory, the prince, will be so loud as the howl of a hundred wolves in the womb of the iron wolf...
Gediminas liked the words of an old priest. He generously endowed Lizdeik and shortly after returning to Trakai ordered the castle to be erected on a mountain at the mouth of Vilnius, and to build a city in the valley.
So, according to legend, Gediminas founded Vilnius and made it the capital of Lithuania.