Catherine the Great

Catherine the Great, the new Sky and HBO’s TV series depicting the latter years of the Empress of Russia debuted this October. The four-part 18th-century epic with the Academy Award winner Helen Mirren as its star depicts the latter stage of the 34-year-long reign of the famous Russian ruler.

Even though the events in the series are set in the Russian Empire, most of the series was shot in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.

As the city was part of the Russian Empire prior to WWI, the filmmakers managed to use the multi-layered architectural and historical nature of Vilnius to portray Saint Petersburg, a burning city in the Russian Empire, and a traditional Russian village, among other backdrops. Apart from the cityscape of Vilnius providing the perfect backdrop for various scenes, several buildings in the city were used to portray the luxurious lifestyle of the 18th-century Empress. The Trakų Vokė manor doubled as Catherine’s quarters, while Vilnius University was made into the Council Chamber of Russian Empire, and the inside of the Writers’ Union took up the role of Empress’s private staircase.

The Lithuanian capital appears to be confident in not just providing the needed backgrounds, but in meeting other requirements the producers might have, too.

“One of the bigger challenges withCatherine the Greatwas building a real size private ship of the ruler,” commented Jūratė Pazikaitė, the director ofVilnius Film Office. “Built in the Lithuanian Film studio, the ship was as authentic as it needed to be.”

Another challenge met by the filmmakers was to film a burning city. After making a prop of wooden gates, the art department burned it and placed it in one of the streets in the city. The accessory looked so real that the residents started inquiring about how such a beautiful and old gate was allowed to burn.

“The burned gate caused a stir among the Vilnius locals,” added Pazikaitė. “The residents and journalists, after seeing the pictures of it, started posting news that we lost a cultural heritage object to fire, when it really was just a masterfully-made prop. I take that as a compliment to the mastery of the art department.”