Gediminas - Legacy

Legacy

He was a founder of a new Lithuanian dynasty; the Gediminids, and laid the foundations of the state's expansion while sometimes referred as the "true" state founder.

In modern belief, he is also regarded as founder of Vilnius, the modern capital of Lithuania. According to a legend, possibly set in 1322 while he was on a hunting trip, he dreamt of an iron clad wolf, who stood on a hill, howling in an odd manner. He consulted his vision with his priests and decided to build a fortification on the confluence of rivers Vilnia and Neris, where the place of his vision was pointed out. This event inspired the Romantic movement, particularly Adam Mickiewicz, who gave the story a poetic form.

Gediminas is depicted on a silver Litas commemorative coin, issued in 1996.