Presentation

The Lithuanian Embassy in Paris, housed in the former residence of the French romantic composer Ernest Chausson just a few steps from the Parc Monceau, will open its doors for the third time as part of the European Heritage Days.
It will be an opportunity to discover the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, one of the greenest European capitals, multicultural city, formerly North Jerusalem, famous for its preserved UNESCO-listed old city, which will celebrate, in 2023, the 700th anniversary of its foundation by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas.

On the programme in particular:

• Discovery of Vilnius through the photo exhibition of Lithuanian photographer Ramūnas Danisevičius.
• Immersive discovery of the most emblematic architectural and heritage jewels of the Lithuanian capital through virtual reality films.
• Discovery of the premises of the Lithuanian Embassy, former residence of the French composer Ernest Chausson, and informal meetings with members of the Embassy team.
• Tasting of Lithuanian specialities.

Practical information:

Open house. Registration required via the https://bit.ly/3AKtkDI form or by email rsvp.lithanie@urm.lt before September 15, 2022 (please indicate the first and last names of everyone present during the visit).

Address:

Embassy of Lithuania in France
22 bd de Courcelles, 75017 Paris
M2 and 3, Villiers stop

Schedules:

Saturday, September 17, 2022 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm

To learn more:

Vilnius 700th Anniversary Program
www.700vilnius.lt/en
Photographer Ramūnas Danisevičius
Photographer Ramūnas Danisevičius was born in 1973. He studied photography at the Vilnius University of Technology and has been a press photographer since 1993. Member of the Press Photographers Club and the Lithuanian Union of Photographers. He has been an artist-author since 2005, with 15 solo exhibitions and more than 100 group exhibitions in total. He participated in the Lithuanian Press Photographers Competition. He is the winner of 26 «Golden Photos». In 2011, the photographer received the prize from the Lithuanian Union of Photographers Artists, in 2018 he received a grant from the Ministry of Culture and in 2019 he received the Government Prize for Art and Culture.
The legend of the foundation of Vilnius
Long ago, the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas hunted in the sacred forests on the slopes of Šventaragis. Tired after a long hunt, the Grand Duke decided to stop and spend the night. As soon as he closed his eyes, he had an extraordinary dream. Gediminas dreamed that on the top of the hill, where he had been that day and where he had killed an aurochs, there stood a huge iron wolf who, with his mouth raised towards the moon, was howling as loudly as a pack of a hundred wolves.
Awakened by the rays of the rising sun, the Grand Duke remembered this strange dream and asked the wise pagan priest Lizdeika to reveal to him the secret of this dream. He explained this annunciating dream as follows: What the gods foretell our leader and Lithuania, so be it! The Iron Wolf symbolizes a non-existent city and castle that our leader in this place will build! This city will be the future capital of Lithuanian lands, and the howling of this wolf marks the glory of this city that will reach all the countries of this world».
Then the Lithuanian Grand Duke, bowing to the will of the gods, immediately began to build this future capital, and his name, Vilnius, was given to him because of the small river Vilnia which flows there.
The Lithuanian Embassy in Paris
The Lithuanian Embassy is housed in a mansion that was the residence of the French romantic composer Ernest Chausson (1855–1899) in the 19th century. Over the years, the Chausson family mansion had acquired a reputation as a veritable Parisian cultural salon. It was frequented by composers Henri Duparc, Gabriel Fauré, Claude Debussy and Isaac Albéniz, the poet Mallarmé, painters Claude Monnet, Maurice Denis and many other famous artists of the time. The residence of the former secretary of the Société Nationale de Musique is mentioned by Stéphane Mallarmé in one of his “Loisirs de la Poste”: «Stop, carrier, at the sound/ Gémi by the cellos, / It’s at Monsieur Ernest Chausson, / 22 Boulevard de Courcelles.».
The main role of the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in France is to strengthen Franco-Lithuanian relations in the political, economic, commercial, military, scientific and cultural fields and to contribute to the influence of Lithuania in France.
Since August 2, 2019, the Ambassador of Lithuania to France is H.E. Mr. Nerijus Aleksiejūnas.
This year, Lithuania and France celebrate the centenary of their diplomatic relations (on December 20, 1922, France recognized Lithuania de jure).
Info+:
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