Russia: Vilnius Cathedral

Russia issued this stamp (Scott 5919) in 1990 as part of a set of eight exploring Historic Architecture. The stamp features the Cathedral at Vilnius, Lithuania and the organ faced from the interior of the building. The right inscription notes the historical time span (presumably that covered by the architecture depicted on the eight stamps) to be the 13th through the 18 centuries. The center panel reads “Vilnius” in both Cyrillic and English. Worship took place at this location already from 1251. The current building dates from 1779-1783, with the interior completed in 1801. After abuse during the Soviet era, repairs were completed in the 1990’s. This site features a tremendous amount of material on organs and organists in Lithuania, here is information about the Schuke organ installed in 1969.