Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square was constructed during the historic reign of the United Kingdom’s famed Queen Victoria, who sat on the British throne from 1837 to 1901.

Although it was originally created as a hotel in 1900, the building has fulfilled a variety of different functions over the years. The location actually spent many years as the Central Telegraph of Vilnius during the mid-20th century, before it was carefully renovated back into a prestigious hotel. Its owners took painstaking efforts to preserve its iconic Neoclassical façade, as well as its rich Baroque Revival cupolas that lined its roof and balconies.

Kempinksi Hotel Cathedral Square is also proud to share with its guests a unique historical treasure – the fragments of the Vilnius Defense Wall. At the beginning of the 16th century, Grand Duke Alexander of Lithuania ordered the construction of a grand series of fortifications that would protect Vilnius from the Tartars. The city was subsequently surrounded by an imposing ring of stone and brick walls that guarded the city for the better part of three centuries. Most of the walls are unfortunately gone today. Yet, a segment of the ancient fortification emerged during the most recent renovation of the Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square. The architects were stunned to find a portion of the wall on the grounds of this leading European hotel. Guests many view this fragment today near the entrance of the hotel’s restaurant.