Polit­i­cal cen­tre of the Grand Duchy of Lithua­nia from the 13th to the end of the 18th cen­tu­ry, Vil­nius has had a pro­found influ­ence on the cul­tur­al and archi­tec­tur­al devel­op­ment of much of east­ern Europe. Despite inva­sions and par­tial destruc­tion, it has pre­served an impres­sive com­plex of Goth­ic, Renais­sance, Baroque and clas­si­cal build­ings as well as its medieval lay­out and nat­ur­al set­ting.