Glass Quarter

The Glass Quarter community was formed in October 2018 in the area of Stiklių, M. Antokolskio, Gaono and Žydų streets. The aim of the Glass Quarter community is to create cultural routes, tell the hidden stories of various places in Vilnius Old Town, build traditions, improve the quarter's infrastructure and attract investors, as well as encourage city residents and visitors to spend their leisure time here in a cultured way. The community association's work is voluntary. The quarter, which goes back more than 600 years and once took up most of today's Old Town, was where Jews lived – a town of goldsmiths, glassblowers, craftsmen and financiers. In 1495 a goldsmiths' guild was founded here, and in 1547 the first glass manufactory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The name "Glass Quarter" was born in 2018, when a strong community came together, recalling the times when as many as three streets here bore the name "Glass": 1st Glass Street, 2nd Glass Street and 3rd Glass Street. Hidden as if between the city's main streets, the quarter is still home to jewellers, the shops and workshops of local artists and craftspeople, cosy restaurants, a chamber orchestra, art galleries and one of the oldest hotels still operating – the Stikliai Hotel.