ENThe article discusses the results of a research on the history of documental heritage and moving of the manuscripts collections of the Vilnius University Library that has been conducted in recent years. After a brief outline of the research and sources, the Library I9th-century manuscripts collection and some key manuscripts that had left Vilnius described are described and some general issues concerning manuscripts delocation and recovery discussed. The examination of the natural and forced movement of cultural values, conducted on the basis of the categories such as dispersal, transposition and repartiation, showed that the relocation of the Vilnius University Library cultural heritage was caused by the Tzar’s willingness to punish the academic society and its patrons for active participation in the November Uprising. Divided and dispersed manuscripts collections help to get a better understanding of the function of cultural heritage, reveal the circumstances in which the collection was started and was moved, and join its parts into a more visible whole of the historic collection. keywords: heritage, manuscripts collections, Vilnius University Library, journeys, dispersal, transposition, repatriation. [From the publication]