Map: Real Geography and Artistic Fantasy

Užupis is easy to outline and easy to love: on three sides it is encircled by the Vilnelė, and on the fourth it is bordered by hills that belong to Kalnų Park. Because of these natural borders, the suburb remained relatively enclosed for centuries and kept its particular character. You feel it immediately when walking: you cross a bridge - and the rhythm changes.

The main streets of Užupis are Užupio, Filaretų, Polocko, Krivių, Žvirgždyno, Malūnų and Paupio. The built fabric is denser near the Old Town and becomes looser farther from the centre, turning into hills and greenery. The Vilnelė is not background here but the main actor: the cafe terrace stands beside it, the mermaid sits on its embankment and nine bridges cross it.

The Republic has its own map - front and back, prepared for print. It is available as PDF and will be added for viewing and download. The map marks not only streets, but also places important to the Republic: the Angel, the Constitution Wall, bridges and border posts.

Užupis deserves not only an accurate map but an artistic one. Over the years, artists' maps of the Republic have accumulated, where geography freely mixes with mythology - the metro line to Žvėrynas, the "centre of the province of the universe", border markers that cannot be found on any official plan. These maps will be gathered into a separate gallery: they are works of Užupis in themselves.

Further work: add an interactive map with marked places to visit and border posts; digitise and describe artistic maps with authors and years; add a walking route with an estimated duration.