Gate of Dawn

Aušros vartai

The last survivor of the walled city's nine gates, various called Medininkai Gate as the street led south to that village, Sharp Gate, and now Gate of Dawn. It's straddled by a chapel with a large icon of the Virgin Mary, painted in the 1620s, which has become a pilgrimage destination. Mass is held daily in Lithuanian and Polish. Enter the chapel via the Church of St Theresa, just follow the head-scarves. When the chapel windows are opened, you see the icon from the street below, and she can see you and your sins. The alley through the gate is pedestrianised and open 24 hours: south you emerge blinking into a modern world of traffic.

Hours

Chapel daily 07:00-19:00