An Unusual Monument To Sigismund Augustus And Barbara Radziwill Was Unveiled In Vilnius

One of the most famous love stories in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania has been immortalized.

In Vilnius, the Vrublevskis Library community of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, together with distinguished guests, officially unveiled the new sculptural composition “Sigismund and Barbara”, which commemorates one of the most famous historical legends of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, according to the publication Made in Vilnius.

The author of the new work is the renowned Lithuanian sculptor Gediminas Pekuras, and the project was designed by architect Ausra Gvildene. Pekuras’s design won a creative competition in 2024. The opening ceremony began symbolically—with a performance of Icelandic singer Björk’s 2024 song “The Mother,” in which the singer describes a place where she communicates with the women of her lineage, saying: “My skull is my cathedral.”

Library Director Dr. Sigitas Narbutas noted that the sculptor had gifted the people of Vilnius a unique twin-towered cathedral, which houses not only the remarkable love of Sigismund Augustus and Barbara Radziwill, but also the memory of the Golden Age of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and its capital.

The ceremony was attended by the following, who congratulated the assembled guests: the Chair of the Commission on Historical Memory of the Vilnius City Council, Kamile Gogelenė, sculptor Pekuras, the Chair of the Seimas Commission on the Struggle for Freedom and National Historical Memory Darius Jakavičius, and patron Kristijonas Vizbaras.

The Vrublevskis Library is located next to the site where the Radziwill Palace in Puskarna stood in the 16th century, and not far from the Lower Castle. According to local legend, it was in this very neighborhood that Sigismund Augustus ordered a bridge to be built across the Vilnia River so he could pay secret visits to his beloved.

As a reminder, Barbara Radziwill was the second wife of Sigismund II Augustus, Grand Duke of Lithuania. They married in secret, against the wishes of the magnates and the nobility, who were dissatisfied with the Radziwills’ growing influence. Shortly after the coronation, Barbara died. Some historians believe she was poisoned.

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