An important crossing point over the Nemunas for centuries, miscellaneous contraptions have existed where the current Vytautas the Great Bridge, known locally as the Aleksotas Bridge  (Aleksoto Tiltas) stands, although it wasn’t until 1914 that a permanent structure was finally put in place. The current bridge dates from 1948, as can be witnessed by the rare examples of hammers and sickles placed on it, although much of its Soviet charm was removed after a 2005 reconstruction. The 256m-long, 16m-wide beauty was at one time known among local wags as the longest bridge in the world thanks to the observation of different calendars by the different empires living at either end of it. Between the Third Partition of 1795 and the region’s absolute incorporation into the Russian Empire in 1815, when the southern side of the river was part of Prussia (1795-1807) and the short-lived Duchy of Warsaw (1807-1815), the river marked the boundary between the Julian and Gregorian calendars, in effect making the short trip across it take 12 days.