Description

Odor Vilnae Vetus – Scent of Old Vilnius – born from olfactory walks in historic Vilnius. Sweet, bitter, even acrid, and gentle smells of old wood, varnish, dust, walls and incense of the gothic Bernardinai Church are entangled with the scent of sweet earthly myrrh at the Orthodox Church of Holy Spirit, that lucid, almost transcendental fragrance of frankincense, lilies, pink and burning candles, together giving birth to the so-called “orthodox scent.”

Under this golden patina of dust of holiness of Vilnius lays the foundation of Odores Vilnensis – the “wild” scent of the banks of River Vilnele, woven after some sunny morning walks in Vilnius from aroma of Autumn-remembering, withering igneous marigold and bitter sweet fragrance of petunias, hanging from the balconies of the old town.

Another gale of scents is from the masonry of historic Vilnius undergrounds, their wet and sweet smell of clay, and scent from manuscript repository of Vilnius University, that of their folios and incunabula.

The scent of old Vilnius is framed by Snipiskes – in that old “borough” of wooden houses one may be greeted by the scents of ripening apples, burning leaves, timber walls in moss, and cobble streets – all from that other Vilnius, which used to carry such a variety of scents…