The tallest building in Lithuania, the 326m Television Tower was built from reinforced concrete and steel between 1974 and 1980 to a design by V. Obydovas and K. Balėnas. On January 13, 1991 as the disintegration of the USSR reached a frenzied pace and Moscow attempted to retake control of the Lithuanian media, Soviet tanks surrounded it in an assault that killed 13 unarmed civilians. The tower has since become a potent Lithuanian symbol. Around it are a few monuments and photographs of those who lost their lives and whose names the nearby streets are now called in honour of. Inside at ground level is the small Sausio 13-osios Ekspozicija (January 13th Exhibition) exhibition commemorating the brutal events including a copy of the original Soviet military attack plan, weapons used to beat protesters and some disturbing photographs. The exhibition is free, although the 40-second ride in the lift to visit the combined 270m restaurant and viewing station isn’t. The ticket office also sells several Television Tower souvenirs. A taxi from Old Town costs somewhere in the region of 20Lt. Alternatively, take trolleybus Nº1, 3, 7 or 16 to the Televizijos Bokštas stop.

Television Tower comments

• 21
  October
  2008
  Kristian - Kristiansand
  At ground level there is an exhibition and some paintings describing the events that occured in 1991. This is ok, but there is not much information in english. You can walk in there without any entrance fee, but if you insist on beeing "led down the garden path" feel free to pay the 21 litas for a trip up the tower. You have a good view of the city and surrounding countryside, but you can get almost the same view in the Skybar for free and with the extra bonus of tasty cocktails. We made the fatal mistake of ordering food in the TV tower restaurant. We were served by a grumpy, rude young man with a face like granite and made to wait for a whole hour for our food which reached us in a semi-cold state.