Upaveldas.lt is an initiative of the National Commission for Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Lithuania and it is currently the only heritage map that presents all historical periods of Lithuania and types of cultural heritage abroad. This map is constantly being expanded – at the beginning of 2024, it was supplemented with more than 60 objects related to Lithuania in Ukraine. On the website upaveldas.lt, you can find the exact location of the object, read its history, and view photos – this allows you to discover places that are not recommended to visit during the war in Ukraine.
The fateful Battle of the Blue Waters and the impressive heritage of Karijotaičiai
The Battle of the Blue Waters in 1363 was a significant victory for the Lithuanians against the Golden Horde. After the victory, Algirdas appointed his son Vladimir to govern Kyiv, while the Podolia region was entrusted to the Karijotaičiai. The Karijotaičiai ruled Podolia with the rights of voivodes, defending it from attacks, building castles and towns, and protecting trade routes. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania also fought with Poland over control of Podolia.
The connections between Ukrainian cities and Lithuania: from the grave of Mindaugas’ son and the heart of Jogaila to Vilnius University
Kremenets has numerous connections with Lithuania. In 1320, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Gediminas, conquered the area and built a wooden fortress. In 1418, Vytautas the Great constructed a new stone fortress where Švitrigaila was imprisoned. In the 16th century, the castle was renovated in Renaissance style by Bona Sforza.When the city came under Polish control, a Franciscan church and monastery were built around 1631, supporting Vilnius University. In the 17th century, Jesuits established a college there, which later became a gymnasium under the authority of Vilnius University. Joachim Lelevelis, who was buried in Vilnius, worked at this institution.
Volodymyr, a city in Ukraine, is significant to Lithuanian history because it was the burial place of King Mindaugas’ son Vaišelga in 1267. The city was governed by Gediminas, Liubartas, and Švitrigaila, who bequeathed it to Lithuania in his will in 1452.
Horodok was named after Jogaila because he frequently lived and hunted there. During Jogaila’s time, a royal residence and castle were built in Horodok, and a defensive city system was established. In 1433, Jogaila passed away in Horodok, where his heart was buried. From 1906 to 1939, the city was known as Jogaila Horodok, but the monument to Jogaila, erected in 1903, was destroyed during World War II.
Lviv has significant connections with Lithuania. The city is home to a bell from 1341 in the bell tower of St. George’s Cathedral. This is the oldest known bell from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Lviv also reflects its Lithuanian connections through a fortress that they burned down in 1353 after Poland captured the city in 1349. The later constructed stone fortress was destroyed in 1868–1869 during the construction of the Lublin Union Monument.
Unfortunately, many of the castles built by Lithuanians have not survived to the present day.
On the facade of the Bernardine Church in Lviv, the heraldic symbols of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth are visible—the Polish Eagle and the Lithuanian Pahonia. The church also contains the grave of Jonas Frederikas Sapiega , a 17th-century noble of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The city is also home to a monument to Adamas Mickevičius, a prominent figure who lived in Lithuania.
Among the Lithuanian heritage sites in southern Ukraine is Vytautas Tower, located near the Kakhovka Dam
Lithuanians reached the Black Sea coast in Ukraine, between the present-day cities of Odesa and Kherson. Odesa was a Lithuanian-controlled port in the 15th century, although no remnants of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania’s heritage have survived there today. Ochakiv is also considered part of Lithuanian heritage, as Vytautas the Great built a wooden fortress there in the early 15th century. Additionally, in the village of Veselye in the Kherson region stands Vytautas Tower—a late 14th-century stone observation tower of national significance, though its current condition is unknown.
Information sources and the author of the article please find in Lithuanian language here
More information about Lithuania-related sites in Ukraine can be found on the website being developed by the National Commission for Cultural Heritage www.upaveldas.lt