The palace in which Lithuania’s presidents fulfil their duties was built by the first bishop of Vilnius in late 14th century. Passing ages and new owners changed the face of the building – decorated, expanded and rebuilt it. The last owner of the palace, a bishop and renowned patron of artists, Ignotas Jokūbas Masalskis, asked the best architect of that time, Laurynas Gucevičius, to reconstruct it. He turned the building into a perfect artwork of Classicist architecture. It was also recognised by foreign emperors: Russian Tsar Alexander and French Emperor Napoleon lived in the palace during the French-Russian war.
