Basilian Mon astery
The Holy Trinity Church and Basilian Monastery in Vilnius is a complex of buildings standing on Ostrobramska Street, accessed by the richly decorated, three-storey Basilian Gate, with a pediment topped by a metal cross. Behind it is another, less imposing one, with an adjoining not very tall square bell tower. On the monastery grounds stands the aforementioned Uniate church of the Holy Trinity.

The first Orthodox church was founded here in the 14th century by Princess Juliana, wife of Duke Olgierd. At the end of the 15th century, a wooden monastery was built next to it. A new brick church was erected by Konstantin Ostrogski as a votive offering for his victory over Russia at the Battle of Orsha. In 1608, by order of King Sigismund III Vasa, it was handed over to Greek Catholics. In the mid-18th century, it was enlarged by Johann Christopher Glaubitz, who added four turrets and the aforementioned Gate. The monastery was also converted to brick.

In 1827, the Uniate clergy was expelled and the church was handed over to the Orthodox, who held office there until the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1867, the building was thoroughly rebuilt. After 1945, the church was closed and gradually fell into disrepair, only to be returned to the Uniates in the early 1990s. During Soviet times, the former monastery housed the Institute of Civil Engineers and a school. Eventually, the premises of the former monastery were made available to entrepreneurs, who turned the building into a hotel.

Konrad's cell
The south wing of the monastery housed the Tsarist prison in 1823, where the Filarets were held, including Adam Mickiewicz, who spent six months there. Influenced by these events, the third part of 'Dziady' was written. The original cell has not survived. The rooms in which the prisoners were housed were joined together by demolishing the partition walls, and then rebuilt again. Nowadays you can only see the place, on the first floor, where the room in question was located. The location of this place posed many difficulties and it was not until the interwar period that Prof. Juliusz Kłos established its exact location.

As mentioned above, Konrad's former cell became hotel rooms, and in the corridor there was a copy of the pre-war marble plaque with the famous inscription from the prologue of the third part of Mickiewicz's "Dziady" (Forefathers' Eve):

D.O.M. Gustavus obit M.D. CCC. XXIII Calendis Novembris. Hic natus est Conradus M.D. CCC. XXIII Calendis Novembris.

A plaque in two languages, Lithuanian and Polish, commemorating the author of 'Dziady' was placed above the entrance to the former monastery:

IN THIS BUILDING FROM 23 X 1823 TO 21 IV 1824
HE WAS IMPRISONED TOGETHER WITH OTHER PHILOMATHS
ADAM MICKIEWICZ
PART III OF "GRANDFATHERS" IS SET HERE

"Literary Wednesdays "
On 23 February 1927, on the initiative of Witold Hulewicz, then president of the Vilnius branch of the Polish Writers' Union, "Literary Wednesdays" began to be held weekly in Konrad's cell. Contributors to making the idea a reality included Juliusz Kłos and Stanisław Lorentz. The event was attended by well-known authors, including: Kazimiera Iłłakowiczówna, Melchior Wańkowicz, Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński, Jerzy Orda, Teodor Bujnicki and the young Czesław Miłosz. Their premise was to invite eminent people and speakers; they included poets as well as musicians, actors or travellers. The first meetings were held in the library of the Faculty of Fine Arts of Stefan Batory University. They were later moved to the famous Cell.

Miłosz became interested in the 'Literary Wednesdays' organised in the Basilian monastery. Aleksander Maliszewski recalled that the poet was present at the 94th 'Wednesday', held on 3 March 1930. At that time he was a first-year law student and had already written poems, he also took part in subsequent meetings, and the one on 21 March 1934 was already his author's evening.

Participating in the "Wednesdays", Miłosz recalled that he also happened to sleep in the place where young Poles were imprisoned, next to the famous Cell there was a guest room. He wrote that when he had nowhere to stay or when he got drunk, that's where he slept.

Stanislaw Lorentz, in his Vilnius memoirs 'Album of Vilnius', preserved the text of the original invitation to the opening of the Union's headquarters in that historic and symbolic place. Here is its beginning:

"The Trade Union of Polish Writers in Vilnius has the honour of inviting you most kindly to its LXXVth L i t e r a c k e y S e r v i c e , which will include the opening of Konrad's Cell and the consecration of the Union's new headquarters in the former Philaret prison within the walls of the former Basilian Friars' Monastery.

The ceremony will take place on Wednesday, 9 October 1929 at 5.30 in the afternoon in Vilnius, at 9 Ostrobramska Street (entrance through the monastery gate) in the courtyard on the first floor".

It is worth mentioning that the subject of the meetings was not only literary issues, theatrical performances were also sometimes discussed, but also the conservation of monuments. "Wednesdays" ended with the outbreak of the Second World War.

The return of Polish culture and literature to Konrad's Cell, which during the decades of Soviet occupation served as the reading room and library of the Faculty of Electronics of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, took place on 23 December 1988, on the 190th anniversary of Adam Mickiewicz's birth, the combined ensembles of the Medical Workers' Club and the Railwaymen's Palace of Culture performed the third part of "Dziady". Unfortunately, the meetings did not take place regularly.

In 1992, the tradition of "Literary Wednesdays" was revived for a short time. This was done on the occasion of Czesław Miłosz's first visit to Vilnius after 1945. On 3 June, the Polish poet and the country's later president, Vytautas Landsbergis, officially inaugurated the event. The poet was then awarded honorary citizenship of Lithuania. The event was held under the patronage of Jerzy Giedroyć, editor of Parisian Culture. However, the whole thing turned out to be more of a political than a literary event. Attempts were made to continue the tradition of meetings at the Basilians, but after a while the idea fell through.

The new Konrad Cell
Since 2009, the cell in which Adam Mickiewicz was imprisoned has been recreated in the building added to the Holy Trinity Church. This small museum is located in the connector between the reconstructed wing of the Basilian monastery and the Uniate church. The museum is small, consisting of two rooms, and its exhibition is divided into two parts. One contains an arranged cell (a bunk with straw, a table, a candlestick with a burning candle), and a portrait of Adam Mickiewicz on the wall. The second part houses an exhibition on the life and work of the poet, prepared by the Adam Mickiewicz Museum of Literature in Warsaw. The exhibition also tells the story of the trial of the Philomaths and Philarets, which took place in August 1824, and of the professors of Vilnius University.