Vilnius University Library
university library in Lithuania
Vilnius University Library or VU Library (also VUL) is the oldest and one of the largest academic libraries of Lithuania. It was founded in 1570 by the Jesuits and as such is nine years older than Vilnius University. VU Library holds 5.4 million documents on shelves measuring 166 kilometres (103 mi) in length. The holdings, accessible to members of the university and wider public, include some of the oldest manuscripts, incunabula and engravings in Lithuania and Eastern Europe. At present the library has 36 thousand users.
Vilnius University Library consists of the Central Library which is situated near the Presidential Palace, the Scholarly Communication and Information Centre in Saulėtekis and libraries of faculties and centres that are scattered all around the city.
History
Jesuit Order
Invited by Bishop of Vilnius Walerian Protasewicz, the Jesuits came to Vilnius in 1569. On 17 July 1570, they established a college and a library. The core of the library consisted of the collections of the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Sigismund Augustus and suffragan bishop of Vilnius Georg Albinius. The library of Sigismund Augustus contained the best of classical works, travelogues, historical books, chronicles, and literature on natural science, law, military, and medicine published in the 16th century.
The public source identifies “Vilnius University Library” as university library in Lithuania. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Vilnius, University and Library.
Why this record matters
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The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q625734. VIAF identifies the subject as 140441542. The Library of Congress control number is n97057494. Authority coordinates are 54.683, 25.288. 5 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1570 and 1569.
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Three-step research path
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This entry incorporates text from “Vilnius University Library” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.