Rasa Čepaitienė (Lithuanian Institute of History, European Humanities University)
The researchers have noted that the “right to rule Vilnius” has often been supported by the mythologised narratives of various nations living in the area over the centuries and especially in more recent times, and that, when possible, the practical politics of history has been used to support them. Drawing on the identified narratives, such as the myths of founding / beginning, unity / liberation, golden age and progress, the presentation analyses in more detail the material forms they have taken and the communicative messages they have sent to the residents and visitors of Vilnius. It also discusses how and why this legacy of the politics of history of different political regimes in the 19th and 21st centuries creates a distinctive palimpsest of the city today and continues to provoke inter-ethnic and inter-religious conflicts or dissonances.