The Conservation History, Problems and the Rehabilitation of Lithuanian Medieval Castles

AbstractThe paper discusses the conservation practices and methods of the Lithuanian medieval castles. Since 19th century there was a lot of attention for the medieval castles in Lithuania, which later transformed into the search for the identity. As a result, in the middle of the 20th century, medieval castles and their parts began to be restored and rebuilt. But the Vilnius Upper Castle has escaped these trends, thanks to the difficult geological conditions in its area. The conservation works of the Vilnius Upper Castle were gradual and included small reconstructions of its walls and other architectural elements. Referring to the history of the Vilnius Upper Castle, this paper examines the evolution and challenges of the medieval heritage conservation and rehabilitation works, namely of the objects constructed from stone- and/or brick-walls’