Vilna Gaon Elijah Ben Solomon Zalman (1720-1797) was one of the most prominent Jewish wise men and a world-renowned Torah and Talmud researcher. Thanks to him, Vilnius became known as the Jerusalem of the North. Vilna Goan’s house was destroyed during the Second World War; a memorial plaque is mounted on the neighbouring house, and a monument by Kazimieras Valaitis stands nearby.