Travel to Kaunas potx

In the 20th century, Kaunas has mostly been in Lithuanian hands, and between World War I and II, it was the capital of the country.. By the 16th century, many large buildings and institu

Translation: Frances østerfelt

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A visit to Kaunas

www.kaunas.lt

www.travel.lt

The history of Lithuania has been dominated by the

two large cities, Vilnius and Kaunas, which, despite of

the short distance between them, sometimes have

been on opposite sides of a country border In the

20th century, Kaunas has mostly been in Lithuanian

hands, and between World War I and II, it was the

capital of the country Because of this, many consider

Kaunas the most Lithuanian of the two cities

Kauna’s Old Town is dominated by houses in

Gothic and Renaissance style Small cosy streets

radiate from the Town Hall Square, but not far to

the east, the newer parts of the city are located, with

modern boulevards and beautiful buildings from the

last couple of centuries

There are many beautiful and fascinating places in

the vicinity of Kaunas The Open Air Museum takes

visitors back to the historic Lithuania, and the city

of Elektrenai shows typical Soviet city planning at its

height On the way to Vilnius, one finds the unique

water castle in Trakai

Have a nice trip!

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Historical Outline

Kaunas is situated at the confluence of the rivers

Neris and Nemunas, and it was mentioned for the

first time in 1361 However, a settlement had already

been established in the 10th century due to the

strategic significance of the place In the 14th

century, Kaunas primarily functioned as a first-line

defence against the Teutonic Knights, who would

frequently attack the area The Teutonic Knights

conquered the town in 1361

When the Polish-Lithuanian forces, commanded by

Vytautas the Great, won the battle of Grunwald in

1410, Kaunas’ cultural and commercial heyday began

Kaunas had a large harbour on the river where

several trade routes met, and trade with Western

Europe increased throughout the 15th century In

1441, Kaunas became a member of the Hanseatic

League, which opened its offices in the city

By the 16th century, many large buildings and

institutions had been established in Kaunas and

made it one of the main cities in the Grand Duchy

of Lithuania

The architectural style of the Baroque period is

predominant in many Lithuanian cities, including

Kaunas, which is seen in the style of its many

church buildings The Baroque period was Kaunas’

golden age

In 1665, the Russians attacked Kaunas, and in 1701

Swedish armies invaded the area, including Kaunas

itself The plague ravaged the city in 1657 and in

1708, and fires destroyed parts of the city in 1731

and 1732

When the Polish-Lithuanian state was split in 1795,

Kaunas became part of the Russian empire In 1812,

Napoleon invaded Russia, and his armies came

through Kaunas twice, causing great destruction

During the 19th century, when Kaunas was still part

of Russia, there was steady cultural and industrial

development The building style was Russian inspired, an example being the Byzantine church built for the Russian garrison that was stationed in Kaunas in the mid-19th century

Between World War I and World War II, Vilnius became part of Poland and Kaunas became the new capital of Lithuania A number of new institutions and administrative buildings were established in the city, for example the Presidential Palace

In the 1920s, Kaunas expanded to more than double its former size Thousands of residential buildings, bridges, roads, sewer systems, transportation systems etc were constructed, and the city was thoroughly modernized

In the decades after World War II, Kaunas, along with the rest of Lithuania, was part of the Soviet Union This meant new growth as power plants and various industries were established in the area When Lithuania became independent in 1991, a new round of construction works began

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Tour 1 Kaunas

1 Kaunas Fortress/Kauno Pilis

Papilio gatvė

Kaunas Fortress was built in the 13th century as

Lithuania’s first real defence works The original

walls were 13 metres high and more than 2 metres

thick, but after a siege in 1362, the fortress was

conquered and the walls were torn down

Six years later, in 1368, the fortress was reinforced Kaunas Fortress originally had four towers, but they had been destroyed over the course of the centuries because of the proximity to the River Neris, which has also washed away the north wall

Following the Battle of Tannenberg in 1410, the threat from the Teutonic Order disappeared, and with it the military importance of the fortress For a period it was used as a prison, but in the 19th century it gradually fell into disrepair Today, the ruins have been restored and a historical museum has been created in the tower

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The Church of St John was built in Gothic style at

the end of the 15th century It was built in

connection with an old Bernadine monastery and

the complex has been destroyed several times by

fires and acts of war But the church has been

rebuilt on each occasion After having been used as

a storage facility for a period, Church of St John

came to serve its religious purpose again in 1993,

and restoration work was begun

3 Town Hall Square/Rotušŝs aikštŝ

Rotušės aikštė

www.maironiomuziejus.lt

Kaunas’ Town Hall Square is the centre of the Old

Part of Town The cosy Square was built in 1542,

and it is a popular meeting point among Kaunas’

citizens

There are a number of old German grocery stores

from the 16th and 17th centuries lining the square

One of them (Rotušės aikštė 13) functions as a

Museum of literature (Maironio lietuviŧ literatşros

muziejus), dedicated to the popular Lithuanian

author, Maironis, who lived there from 1910 to 1932

3a Kaunas Town Hall/Kauno rotušė www.muziejai.lt

The 53-metre-tall Town Hall is centrally situated at Kaunas’ City Hall Square The white building was built in the years 1542-1562 in a Late-Baroque style The building’s top floor and tower was added at the end of the 16th century Apart from housing the city’s Administration, the building also functioned as storehouse and prison

Today, the 16th century cellar houses a ceramics museum - Keramikos Muziejus (Rotušės aikštė 15)

3b The Jesuit Church/Jėzuitŧ bažnyÿia Rotušės aikštė 7

On the south side of the Town Hall Square stands the beautiful Jesuit Church, built in Baroque style in

1666 The Church burned down in 1732 but it was rebuilt and reopened in 1759 A monastery and a student hall of residence were added in 1761-1768

At the beginning of the 1770s, the Pope closed down the Jesuit order in this area, and in 1887 the monks converted to the Franciscan order to avoid closing the monastery

In 1825, the church became Russian Orthodox It

has since served various purposes, mainly as a

school, until in 1990 it became a Jesuit church once

more The Jesuits had returned to Lithuania after

World War I, but the church’s beautiful Baroque

interior had been preserved during their absence

4 Perkƈnas House/Perkƈno namas

Aleksoto gatvė 6

Perkşnas’ House is one of Lithuania’s most

beautiful secular houses It was built in Baroque

style by merchants from the Hanseatic League at the

end of the 15th century In the 16th century, it was

sold to Jesuit monks, who built a chapel there

In the 19th century, the building housed a school

and a theatre It was named after the Baltic God of

Thunder, Perkşnas, whose image was found on the

spot when preparing for construction

5 Church of Vytautas the Great /Vytauto Didžiojo BažnyĀia

Aleksoto gatvė 3 http://vytautine.lcn.lt

This Gothic-style church was built at the beginning

of the 15th century It got its name from its founder, Vytautas the Great, who built it in honour of the Virgin May, whom he believed had saved his life when he was defeated in the battle of Vorskla on 12 August 1399

In 1812, the church was burned down by French troops, but it was later rebuilt In 1845, the Catholic church was closed and the church reopened as Orthodox church At the beginning of the 20th century, the building served as a barracks, and for a period it was used as storehouse In 1919, it became

a Catholic church once more

The Lithuanian author, Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas, lies buried in the Crypt

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6 Aleksota’s funicular/Aleksoto funikulierius

Veiveriŧ gatvė/Amerikos lietuviŧ gatvė 6

Aleksota’s funicular is located just south of the old part of town, on the far side of the river Nemunas

The funicular was built in 1935, and from the top on Aleksota Hill there is a nice view of the Old Town

7 St Peter and Paul Cathedral Kaunas/Kauno Šv apaštalƌ Petro ir Povilo arkikatedra bazilika

Vilniaus gatvė 1

Kaunas Cathedral is the largest Gothic-style building

in Lithuania The precise year it was founded is not known, but it was mentioned for the first time in

1413 During the following centuries, the Cathedral was expanded until it stood finished in 1624

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The church was partly destroyed by acts of war in

1655, but it was rebuilt in 1671, including some new

Renaissance features In 1732, it was damaged by

fire, and only one of the towers was rebuilt The

interior of the Cathedral is primarily from the 1770s

The building measures 84 metres in length, 34

metres in width and the tower is 42 metres tall

8 Vilnius Street/Vilniaus gatvŝ

Vilniaus gatvė

This street is the old road leading east to Vilnius

from Kaunas Old Town It is lined by beautiful old

buildings, which give a harmonious and picturesque

impression

9 The Historical Presidential Palace/Istorinŝ Prezidentƈra

Vilniaus gatvė 33 www.muziejai.lt

This beautiful building was the presidential palace in Lithuania in the period between World War I and World War II It was constructed in 1846 by a local aristocrat, and in 1866 a garden was laid out in front

of the building In 1876, it was bought by the Russian government and used as residence for the Russian governor in Kaunas

When Lithuania declared its independence in 1918, the building became state property Since Vilnius was still under Polish rule, Kaunas became the new capital, and the building was chosen as Presidential Palace – a status it kept until 1940 At the beginning

of the 1990s, the statues of three Lithuanian presidents who had lived there were erected in the Palace Garden: Antanas Smetona, Aleksandras Stulginskis and Kazys Grinius

Today, the palace functions as part of the Art Museum, named in honour of the painter and author Mikalojus Konstantinas þiurlionis

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Tour 2 Kaunas

10 Kaunas Synagogue/Kauno

Sinagoga

E Ožeškienės gatvė 13

Kaunas Synagogue was built in 1871, and in the first

half of the 20th century it was one of no less than

36 synagogues in Kaunas, but most of them no

longer exist Kaunas Synagogue was partly destroyed

during World War II, but it has now been rebuilt

11 Tadas Ivanauskas Zoological Museum/Kauno Tado Ivanausko Zoologijos Muziejus

Laisvės alėja 106 www.zoomuziejus.lt

The zoological museum offers a roundtrip in the world of Zoology Mammals, birds, fish, insects are among the countless exhibits, and the many stuffed animals are especially popular

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12 Church of St Gertrude/Šv

Gertrƈdos bažnyĀia

Laisvės alėja 101a

The Church of St Gertrude was built in the 15th

century In 1503 it was converted into an ordinary

parish church by the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and in

the mid-16th century a church tower was added The

small, beautiful church building is situated just behind

the front row of houses on the street Laisvės alėja

13 Kaunas Musical Theatre/Kauno

muzikinis teatras

Laisvės alėja 91 www.muzikinisteatras.lt

Kaunas Musical Theatre was established in 1891 and the first performance took place the following year The theatre is built in an exquisite style, and when Kaunas was capital of Lithuania between World War

I and II, it became the country’s leading theatre for drama, ballet and opera In 1948, the Ballet and the Opera moved to Vilnius, and Kaunas Theatre became a musical theatre

14 Freedom Avenue/Laisvŝs alŝja

atmosphere with fountains, trees and benches

15 Vytautas den Stores

Krigsmuseum/Vytauto Didžiojo karo

muziejus

K Donelaiÿio gatvė 64

www.muziejai.lt

This museum is among Lithuania’s most famous

The history of the country is depicted, from the

earliest period to present-day Among the museum’s

many exhibits is the wreck of the plane Lituanica,

which crashed in Germany in 1933 en route from

New York to Kaunas

Outside the museum there are three monuments: the

Statue of Liberty/Laisvės Statula was erected in 1989,

and the Independence Monument/Nepriklauso

mybės Paminklas is from 1990 The third monument

is a re-creation of the bronze statue of Vytautas the

Great, who established Lithuanian power Vytautas is

resting on four fallen soldiers from the neighbouring

countries The monumental museum building was

constructed by the architect Dubeneckis

16 Mikalojus Konstantinas ÿiurlionis National Art Museum/Nacionalinis Mikalojaus Konstantino ÿiurlionio Dailŝs Muziejus

V Putvinskio gatvė 55 www.muziejai.lt

This branch of the National Art Museum focuses on the works by Mikalojus Konstantinas þiurlionis, whom many regard as the most famous Lithuanian artist þiurlionis painted

around 300 paintings and composed 250 pieces of music, most of which can be seen in this museum þiurlionis’ created his works around the year 1900, and he was inspired by traditions such as fin de siècle and art nouveau, as well as being a source of inspiration for other artists in these traditions

17 Devil Museum/Velniƌ Muziejus

V Putvinskio gatvė 64 www.muziejai.lt

The Devil Museum is, as the name suggests, a museum exhibiting devils as various artists have conceived of them The museum holds several thousand depictions

of devils from all over the world

18 Žaliakalnis funicular/Žaliakalnio funikulierius

V Putvinskio gatvė

This funicular is named after its top station, located

on the Green Hill/Žaliakalnis It was constructed by the German company AEG in 1931 as the first of