Vilnius University, established in 1579, is the oldest and the largest university in Lithuania. Nowadays it includes 19 academic subdivisions, almost 3000 employees and more than 23700 students in total. The Vilnius University is one of the most important educational institutions in Lithuania which has operated for more than 400 years already. As a part of Lithuanian history, it also distinguishes in owning some objects of heritage of historic architecture. The Old ensemble of Vilnius university occupies an entire quarter of the Vilnius Old Town. As an architectural masterpiece, the old campus includes 12 buildings of gothic, renaissance, baroque and classicism styles, the Church of St. John and a Bell tower.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.