Vilnius Attractions Near Vilnius Tours
A guide to touring around Vilnius. Find out more about the best Vilnius attractions, local sights, and much more.
Trakai is the former capital of Lithuania, and is around 20 miles to the west of Vilnius. This now quiet town in beautiful countryside is now mainly of interest to tourists principally for the presence of the enigmatic Karaites people who originate from Baghdad and were brought to the country in around 1400AD by then king Vytautas the Great, who had heard of their fearsome reputation and employed them as body guards.
There are only around 150 of the Karaites left in the country, but you can visit a museum of their fascinating history and also see a traditional prayer house, as well as the ancient Trakai castle on the outskirts of town that the Karaites were originally brought to the country to defend.
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