Swedish royal couple to visit Vilnius University during Lithuania visit

Sweden’s royal couple is coming back to VU after 23 years and will participate in the opening of a photo exhibition, will meet professor Artūras Žukauskas, the VU Rector, attend a festive concert at the Church of St. Johns.

“We are pleased and honoured by the fact that the Royal Couple of Sweden will visit VU for the second time. The attention to our Alma Mater attests to its essential role both in Lithuania as well as in the region. We are proud of our strong and competent Centre for Scandinavian Studies, which received the award of the Swedish Institute, as the pioneer in Scandinavian studies in Lithuania,” Prof. Žukauskas said.

On the first day of the visit, the royal couple will participate in the opening of the photo exhibition „AccessAbility“ at VU National Open Access Scholarly Communication and Information Centre.

The Swedish Institute and the Lithuanian Disability Forum will present 14 Swedish and 7 Lithuanian portraits of people with different disabilities. All the portraits manifest the trait of human dignity.

At 11.30 a.m. on 8 October, Queen Silvia will meet with Prof. Žukauskas, the VU Rector, representatives of the VU Centre for Scandinavian Studies, will join students for the informal discussion at Smuglevičius Hall at VU Library. At 12.00, Her Majesty Queen Silvia will attend a concert at the Church of St. Johns, where musicians will perform “The Last Pagan Rites” composed by Bronius Kutavičius.

The first visit of the Royal Couple to Vilnius University took place soon after Lithuania regained independence, in mid-October 1992. King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden were introduced to “Catechism” of Martynas Mažvydas, other antique books, they visited the chair of Scandinavian Studies, Queen Silvia signed the guestbook.