Spas (Saviour) Gate

In 1503 King Alexander Jagiellon granted a privilege to the residents of Vilnius to fortify the city with a defensive wall to repel the potential attackers, as at the beginning of the 16th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was facing a growing military threat from Muscovites and Crimean Tatars. According to the privilege, the wall should feature five gates – all leading to the most important cities. However, in the middle of the 17th century, the city of Vilnius had 10 gates.

The Spas gate was mentioned in the 1503 privilege. However, the exact date when the gate was built is unknown, just as we do not know how the gate looked like. According to the various sources of the 17th century, the gate was characterized as magnificent and gorgeous. The Spas gate was demolished in 1801.