The Europa Tower () is a
high-rise located in
Vilnius CBD, Lithuania. It is the tallest
building
A building or edifice is an enclosed Structure#Load-bearing, structure with a roof, walls and window, windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, a ...
in the
Baltic states
The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...
.
It is located on
Konstitucijos Avenue
Konstitucijos Avenue (literally: ''Constitution Avenue''; ) is a major transport artery of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. It goes through Vilnius Central Business District where many corporation, corporates have their local or regional headqu ...
in
Šnipiškės, a district of
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
's capital
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
. It rises 148 meters above the ground. It was designed by the Vilnius-based ''Audrius Ambrasas Architects Company''. Dominating the skyline of the newly developing New City Center, the building was completed and officially opened on 1 May 2004, as part of Lithuania's celebrations upon entering the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
. The
building
A building or edifice is an enclosed Structure#Load-bearing, structure with a roof, walls and window, windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, a ...
caused some controversy among some of the public and some watchdog groups because of its interference with the historic skyline of the
Vilnius' Old Town. Despite varying opinions, the tower is now often regarded as a modern landmark of the Lithuanian capital. There is an observation deck on the open roof terrace at .
Project history
The first announcements concerning the building appeared on the Internet in 2002, when some computer-generated renderings were published on an architectural website. The initial design had thirty floors which were later updated, when three additional floors were added. This change in the original plan by the architect and developer, caused a confrontation with various heritage protection agencies. However, the project was approved by the municipality of Vilnius and was implemented according to the new plan. Construction started in late 2002, and was fully completed by April 2004. The tower is part of the Europa Square Complex, located in the New City Center, and is on the right bank of
River Neris.
On September 1, 2006,
Alain Robert, also known as the human
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
, climbed the Europa Tower along the eastern side facing Europa Square (left of a light
stripe seen in the photograph above).
Gallery
File:Le quartier des affaires (Vilnius) (7692991704).jpg, Europa complex from the Swedbank terrace
File:Europa Tower Vilnius in October 2017.png, During a rainy day
File:Europa tower and Vilnius muyncipality.jpg, Europa Tower behind municipality building
File:Vilnius New City Center from the White Bridge (2013).jpg, New City center
File:Europa_Square_in_Vilnius.JPG, Main entrance
File:Downtown of Vilnius in spring.jpg, Vilnius downtown with Europa Tower in the middle
See also
*
Vilnius Central Business District
The Vilnius Central Business District () is a rapidly developing business district in Šnipiškės eldership of Vilnius, Lithuania. It is Lithuania's most important business district and the largest of its kind in the Baltic States.
Bet ...
*
List of tallest buildings in Lithuania
*
List of tallest buildings in the Baltic states
References
{{Authority control
21st-century architecture in Lithuania
Office buildings completed in 2004
Buildings and structures in Vilnius
Skyscrapers in Lithuania
Skyscraper office buildings