NARUTIS hotel - 5+ star family owned hotel located in 15th-16th century buildings in Vilnius Pilies street. In the past, the buildings used to be mansions, which belonged to the noble dynasties during the different eras. Hotel buildings are nationally preserved architectural monuments located in the heart of VilniusOldTown – UNESCO World Heritage Site. NARUTIS hotel is the oldest in Vilnius and one of the oldest in Eastern Europe. The name of the hotel was first mentioned in 1581 in the „Album of World Cities“ printed in Koln, in which it was presented as an overnight stay house for travelers.
Hotel buildings reflect the different architectural styles – gothic, baroque and classicism and were closely related to accommodation services for the guests in Vilnius at all times. At the beginning of the 20th century, the hotel „Versalis“ was here. In 1939 the hotel „Narocz“ was opened (name was based on Adomas Mickevicius song about the lake in Belarus, Narutis in Lithuanian). That was when the history of modern day NARUTIS started.
NARUTIS hotel and its buildings history is closely related to the history of it’s neighbor – VilniusUniversity. At the beginning of 18th century, NoblesCollege (Collegium Nobilium) was established here. After the closure of the College, VilniusUniversityMedicineCollege was situated in these buildings, later it was renamed to Academy of Medical Surgery. The restored beautiful hall of the hotel (now called Columns Hall) used to be the cafeteria of the professors. Walls and ceilings in this hall are covered in frescoes featuring mythological themes, painted in the middle of 18th century.
In the buildings of Vilnius University (now NARUTIS hotel), many famous scientists and artists, who are tightly related to Vilnius, Lithuanian and its neighbors, especially Polish history, were working and living. Writer and historian Juzefas Ignacas Krasevskis lived here, he wrote the famous four–volume historical book „Vilnius nuo pradžios iki 1750 metų“ (Vilnius from the beginning till 1750). Poet Julijus Slovackis spent his childhood at the apartment of his stepfather, who was a professor of the university. Slovackis was a friend of Adomas Mickevicius, who also visited the apartment. French origin professor Jean-Emmanuel Gilibert established a Botanical Garden and first orangery of the University in the yard surrounded by hotel buildings in 1782. To remember these historical individuals, memorial plaques are placed on hotel‘s facade.