IRON WOLF - CALLIGRAPHY / T-SHIRTS

IRON WOLF - CALLIGRAPHY.
VILNIUS LITVANIAE METROPOLIS 1323-2023.
Short sleeve T-shirts.
Unisex style. Medium fit.
For adult and kids.

Created and produced by TYPOART. © 2023 TYPOART.
© 2023 Illustration:
Bronius Leonavičius / concept & design: Jūratė Rutkauskaitė. All rights reserved. www.typoart.world

Shipping worldwide.
Orders are expected to arrive within 7-15-30 business days, depending on delivery point and COVID-19 restrictions, which may affect delivery time.

100% organic ring-spun combed cotton.
Weight: 180 g/m².
Washable at 30°C. 
Fabric washed.
Care instructions: do not iron printed decoration.

The legend of how VILNIUS was founded

Where today the Vilnius palace thumps, as far back as the 13th century, dense forests were rustling. The huge auroch (taurus) – the king of Lithuanian forests – used his strong voice to wake up the sleeping hundred-year-old oaks, the nightly echo of howling wolves reflected off the great waters of the Neris River and disappeared into the distance, as the waters were carried all over Lithuania, the predatory lynx, hiding in its thicket, and the voices of various birds sounded like music of indescribable beauty.

Therefore, it is not surprising that this area attracted many hunters. It was so magnificent that when Prince Šventaragis (Holy Horn) went hunting there, he ordered the construction for the biggest sanctuary of the mightiest god Perkūnas (god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, fire, war, law, order, fertility, mountains, and oak trees), having appointed the senior priest Lizdeika (name meaning “the baby was found in the nest”) in the valley of the huge mountains. Since then, this place has been called the Šventaragis (Holy Horn) valley.

King Gediminas was also a big fan of hunting. Back then he lived in his new capital Trakai, where a indestructible castle was built. King Gediminas with his courtiers and military companions often went hunting in the distant areas. One time, probably around the year 1322, King Gediminas was chasing a huge auroch ended up wounding it up on the mountain where Vilnia River gives its waters to Neris River, and fought it there. The great beast, struck in the heart, fell, and the king blowed a song of victory on his golden horn.

The sun had long been hidden beyond the Neris in the thicket of leaves, and the pale moon showed its bare face, casting a silvery light on the top of the oaks and lindens, shimmering. Only in the valley, in the Perkūnas sanctuary, the red flame of the holy fire glowed, and the songs of the ghosts could be heard in the silence of the night. Tired of hunting, the participants of the hunt decided not to return to Trakai that evening and chose a place to rest between Neris and the temple, where Prince Šventaragis was burned earlier. After setting up their tents, fortifying themselves with game and mead, the hunters fell asleep.

The king couldn’t fall asleep; however, fatigue overcame him, and the slumber closed his eyelids. And here the ruler dreams that on the top of the hill, where he killed the auroch, stands a wolf, wearing iron armor, looking as if he had been cast from iron. The wolf, raising its head to the moon, began to howl and howled so loudly that it seemed as if hundreds of other wolves were also howling along. When the rays of the rising sun covered the mountains and rivers, and penetrated through the veil of leaves, King Gediminas also woke up. Remembering the dream, he told it to his hunting friends.

Like all ancient Lithuanians, Gediminas believed in sorcery and magic – he thought they could tell about the future; believed that the gods send dreams to advise or warn. However, no one has ever warned him what such dream could mean. Then someone from the courtiers advised to invite senior priest Lizdeika. Lizdeika, who came to the ruler, stood before him, listened to the story and thought deeply. Surrounding the senior priest in a circle, the king's courtiers followed every expression on his face and eagerly awaited the interpretation of the dream.

Finally, Lizdeika, leaning with one hand on the staff, which was a sign of his greatness, and raising the other hand to the sky, solemnly spoke: – Oh, my mighty lord! Through this dream, the gods revealed their will to you, and if you fulfill it, honor and power awaits you. The iron wolf means that a strong castle and a city – the capital – must be built, and the hundred howling wolves mean the inhabitants will make you and the city famous throughout the whole world. So you must be obedient to the will of the gods and build a castle and a city here, and its name will shine for many centuries in Lithuania – our homeland!

Gediminas liked this interpretation of the dream very much, and soon the lord built a castle on the mountain, surrounded by a strong masonry wall, and named it Auroch (Taurus) mountain (Lithuanian: Taurakalnis). In the valley, between the mountains, another, wooden, lower, or Krivių, castle was built. Hundred-year-old oak trees were cut down and residential houses were built.

This is how the city was founded, which was nicknamed Vilnius after the name of the Vilnia (name meaning "wave, billow") River. Later, Gediminas moved from Trakai, and Vilnius became the new capital of Lithuania.

The colours displayed on your screen are the guide only and may not perfectly reflect the true colours on the product. Buying items on TYPOART store you can be sure that you will receive a limited edition piece crafted with a passion and touched by the artists' own hands. TYPOART's production comes with high quality and perfection. Thank you very much for understanding and respecting the copyright of TYPOART. Thank you for being with us.


Collections: CALLIGRAPHY, VILNIUS 700

Type: T-Shirts


Related Items