Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, has been recognized by UNESCO as a City of Literature. Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimašius commented that its literary tradition began a s far back as the letters of Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas. Then it was home to great names such as Adam Mickiewicz, Czesław Miłosz, Romain Gary, Ričardas Gavelis, Jurgis Kunčinas, and Kristina Sabaliauskaitė.
Vilnius is also a city of readers, the mayor said, noting that the Lithuanian capital hosts the annual Vilnius Book Fair, literary festivals, and has an open reading room in Lukiškių Square.
Vilnius was granted the City of Literature status, which is permanent, along with Gothenburg in Sweden and Jakarta in Indonesia. The Lithuanian capital has joined about 40 cities across the globe designated as Creative Cities of Literature, including Krakow and Wroclaw (Poland), Utrecht (the Netherlands), Lviv (Ukraine), Tartu (Estonia) and Ljubljana (Slovenia).
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