Global True Lithuania Encyclopedia of Lithuanian heritage worldwide

Paris

While Paris never had a large Lithuanian community, over the centuries, it has attracted some of the most important Lithuanians. Lithuanian artists, writers, politicians, and nobles made Paris their home, leaving numerous traces behind them.

Some of Paris‘s most important buildings thus are adorned by Lithuanian symbols and bas-reliefs, while some of its most fabled cemeteries have famous Lithuanian burials.

Lithuanian coat of arms in top Paris sites

Paris arguably has more Lithuanian coats of arms in bas-reliefs on its old buildings than almost any other city. These coats of arms (Vytis) were put there by the noble families that were either from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania or lived there.

Central Paris (Ile de la Cite) is claimed to have the oldest Lithuanian coat of arms outside Lithuania. That symbol adorns the massive clock on the facade of Tour l‘Horloge of the Palais de Justice. It was built there by Henry Valois (1551-1589) who first was elected a king of Poland and Lithuania (1573) only to abandon that dual crown once it became possible to become a king of his native France (1574). He never forgot his „first throne“, however, adding both Lithuanian and Polish symbols to this clock with the inscription „God gave two crowns, he will also give a third one“ (in heaven).

A historic clock in Paris with a Lithuanian coat of arms

While the French monarchy was hereditary at the time, the Polish-Lithuanian one was elective, with foreign persons often chosen as kings by the nobility, and then required to sign „pacta conventa“ that guaranteed the rights of the Polish-Lithuanian nobility at the expense of the king‘s power. Needless to say, such a „limited throne“ was not liked by Henry Valois who could have a greater power in a more powerful country (France). Before that became possible, though, he too signed the „pacta conventa“ with Polish-Lithuanian nobility, something commemorated by a plaque inside arguably the most famous historic place in Paris – the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Close-up of the French and Polish-Lithuanian coats of arms and the inscription on the clock

The Great Migration’s Lithuanian bas-reliefs

Most of the other Vytises of Paris, though, date to the later era, namely the 19th century. At the time, Lithuania was under Russian Imperial rule (1795-1915). Attempts by the local nobility to throw down the Russian yoke failed twice (1830-1831, 1863-1864), leading to even harsher persecutions. Avoiding such fate, many noble families fled westwards in what is known in Polish historiography as „The Great Migration“. Most of them settled in Paris, one of the world’s largest cities at the time.

Able to save some of their money and influence, these families acquired massive palaces, adding the Lithuanian symbol Vytis to many of them.

Lithuanian coat of arms on a building in Paris (Montparnasse)

The center of that Polish-Lithuanian diaspora was established at Hotel Lambert. This 17th-century building was acquired in 1843 by the Czartoryski (Čartoryskis) noble family, who built Lithuanian coat arms Vytis at the top of its courtyard façade (impossible to see from the street). Looking closely, Vytis here also includes a small building on its corner, as this is not the original Lithuanian coat of arms, but rather its little-altered version used by the Czartoryski family as their own symbol.

In 1849, Adam Czartoryski opened a school in the Montparnasse district, its building still adorned by both Polish and Lithuanian coats of arms.

Polish and Lithuanian coats of arms on the school in Montparnasse

Yet, the area of Paris with the most “Great Migration” heritage is the suburb of Montmorecy, as many of that diaspora followed their compatriots who settled down and died there. Its Collegiale Saint-Martin church alone has almost a dozen Vytis bas-reliefs on its interior, adorning various plaques for the notable people of Lithuanian origins; the plaque for Adam Czartoryski himself includes 5 Vytis symbols, the main one of them also including Columns of Gediminas, another Lithuanian patriotic symbol.

Vytis symbols at the memorial for Adam Czartoryski in the Montmorency church

Montmorecy’s Champeaux cemetery became known as the “Polish necropolis” due to many famous burials there, including the initial burial place of the writer Adomas Mickevičius (Adam Mickiewicz), himself part of the Great Migration, for whom there is also a large statue (built on 1928 by Antoine Bourdelle) and a museum in central Paris. Mickiewicz was later reburied from Paris yet the original gravestone remains as well.

Mickiewicz monument in central Paris

While many families of „The Great Migration“ had Lithuanian origins, they typically spoke Polish natively, as Polish, being a language of science, art, and faith in Lithuania at the time, had slowly displaced Lithuanian from the Lithuanian nobility families. As such, it is often disputed whether these people were Poles or Lithuanians as, indeed, at the time, this wasn‘t such a hard distinction and a person may have been considered to be both at the same time. There were no divisions within the “Great Migration” diaspora between those of Polish and Lithuanian origins, and Polish was used as the main language by them all, e.g., in Montparnasse school. While Adam Mickiewicz wrote in Polish, his literature is based on Lithuania, praising the country.

A grave of a person born in Vilnius in the "Polish necropolis" of Montmorency

Lithuanian Embassy in Paris

When Lithuania regained its statehood from Russia in 1918, France was a major European power, a role cemented by its victory in World War 1. France thus may have held the key in ensuring Lithuania’s ambitions of survival, defending against Russians and Poles in Lithuania’s wars of independence, and gaining the port of Klaipėda that was detached from Germany due to the region’s Lithuanian population and temporarily placed under the French rule.

Lithuanians thus acquired an opulent building in central Paris at 14 Place General Catroux to be used as the Lithuanian legation. Sadly, after Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940 and Nazi Germany (allied to the Soviets at the time) overran Paris, the legation building was taken away and given to the Soviet Union. To this day, it is used by Russia, despite Russia having no legal deed to it. Still, the Columns of Gediminas bas-relief continues to adorn the symbol, even though a larger Vytis bas-relief was removed by the Soviets ~1960.

The former Lithuanian legation

Columns of Gediminas above the entrance of the original Lithuanian legation in Paris

Lithuanian attempts to regain the building after the 1990 independence were futile. Not wishing to enrage Russians, the French decided to give Lithuania a compensation instead of returing the building. For that compensation, Lithuania acquired a building close to the former legation in 2002 (a commemorative plaque inside cites 2002 11 15 as an inauguration date). After reconstruction, this new Lithuanian embassy also includes columns of Gediminas symbols (on its gate), while inside one may find a flag from the original embassy, guarded by diplomat’s son Perkūnas Liutkus until Lithuania’s independence.

Current Lithuanian embassy in France

Courtyard gate with the columns of Gediminas at the new embassy

Next to the former embassy, a small park was renamed Jardin Lituanie in 2023 on the initiative of the Lithuanian ambassador.

Jardin Lituanie in Paris

Fontainebleau and Oskaras Milašius

Fontainebleau town near Paris famous for its palace has a total of 5 Lithuanian heritage sites, all of them related to a single person – Oskaras Milašius, the first leader of Lithuania’s legation to France.

In his beloved Fontainebleau one may find his grave, a monument to him, two commemorative plaques, and a square named after him.

Square named after Milašius

A plaque on l’Hotel de ‘Aigle Noir, where he used to stay in the years 1930-1939, describes him as a “French writer, poet, Lithuanian diplomat and bird lover”, which is an accurate description, as Milašius wrote exclusively in French and regarded French culture in high light – however, he was the official representative of Lithuania. Interestingly, in all the French sources his name is written as “Oscar Milosz”. This is a Polish version of his name. At the time, a name used to be translated as any other word, with him signing as Milosz in Polish and Milašius in Lithuanian. He chose the Polish version of his name when speaking French, as he arrived in France in 1889, at the time when Polish was still largely the literary language among the Lithuanian elite. As Lithuania became independent in 1918 and engulfed in conflict with Poland, though, Milašius clung to his Lithuanian roots, agreeing to represent the reborn nation of his ancestors.

Hotel where Milašius used to stay

Plaque on this hotel, dedicated to Milašius

In 1939, Milašius finally acquired his own house in beloved Fontainebleau, and this house is where a second commemorative plaque to him is erected, listing him as a “French poet of Lithuanian origins”. Sadly, Milašius died soon afterwards in 1939 03 02. At the time, Lithuania was still independent, so a gravestone for him was erected by Lithuania and is inscribed in both Lithuanian and French, claiming him to be a “Poet, writer, and Lithuania’s first representative in France”.

Oskaras Milašius house (1939)

Oskaras Milašius plaque adorning the house he owned in 1939

Oskaras Milašius grave

In 2019 a sculpture of Milašius was built at the courtyard of Fontainebleau mediateque. Milašius’s fan society that exists in France initiated the monument and the Lithuanian sculpture Klaudijus Pūdymas is its author, with many sponsors from Lithuania listed on a plaque. The sculpture represents Milašius with a hole where his heart should be and a bird – playing on a legend that Milašius had a heart attack while chasing one of his beloved birds. A book under Milašius armpit has these words in Lithuanian written on it – “Tos žemės vardas – Lietuva – užvaldė mano protą ir jausmus. Aš trokštu jums atskleisti ją. Ateikit…” (“The name of that land – Lithuania – came to rule my mind and feelings. I strive to open it up for you. Please come…”).

Oskaras Milašius statue in Fontainebleau

Displaced persons and famous Lithuanian burials

After World War 2, Paris attracted up to 500 Lithuanian displaced persons who settled there for good. These were the people who had fled Lithuania in 1944 when they understood that the Soviet re-occupation of Lithuania is imminent, and, having lived through the 1940-1941 and often barely escaped death at the time, they knew that remaining in Lithuania would have meant persecution or death to them.

While this Lithuanian DP community of Paris was too small to acquire a club or a church, they had their permanent hub at the grand St. Augustine Church (1860-1871), led by priest Jonas Petrošius between 1955 and 2004; after Petrošius died, a commemorative plaque in the basement chapel of the church was unveiled for him and the Lithuanian community spirit in 2017.

St. Augustine Church in Paris

Priest Petrošius plaque in St. Augustine Chruch of Paris

A disproportionate number of these post-WW2 Lithuanian-Parisians were artists, who chose Paris for its role in the world of art. Many such famous Lithuanians are now buried in the cemeteries of Paris.

One of the most famous Lithuanian painters Vytautas Kasiulis (1918-1995), known for his colorful paintings, was buried in Pantin cemetery (relocated to Lithuania later but the gravestone remains).

Vytautas Kasiulis gravestone

Diplomat of Lithuania Jurgis Baltrušaitis (1873-1944) and his art-loving son (1903-1988) are buried in Montrouge cemetery, under a gravestone with a traditional Lithuanian sun-cross.

Diplomat Jurgis Baltrušaitis gravestone

Lithuanian graphic designer Žibuntas Mikšys (1923-2013) has his final resting place at the Pere-Lachaise cemetery, arguably the most famous in Paris where the likes of Jim Morrison and Edith Piaf are also buried.

Graphic designer Žibuntas Mikšys grave in Père Lachaise Cemtery, Paris

Mstislav Dobuzhinsky (1875-1957), a Russian painter of Lithuanian descent who, having fled Russian communist revolution, became a citizen of Lithuania and created there during the interwar period, becoming its citizen, eventually died in New York yet requested his remains to be buried in the art capital of Paris, its Russian Orthodox cemetery of Sainte Genevieve des Bois.

Mstislav Dobuzhinsky grave

Kaunas-born Jewish philosopher Emanuel Levinas is buried in Pantin cemetery. He also has a small square named after him in Paris. He came earlier than the DPs, back in the 1920s.

Levinas Square