Vilnius history of unknown objects: how the abandoned sports palace or Tuskulėnai columbarium looks from inside You know?

A festival route – “Unlike Districts”, which included Žirmūnai and Antakalnis – traveled and 15 minutes journalist.

Following this route, it was possible to see what the Vilnius Palace of Concerts and Sports, the Ministry of the Interior, the Tuskulėnai Peace Park Columbarium, St. Peter and Paul Church, in addition to hearing the stories of volunteer guides about these and other places.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with what you can see on the tour; You may be interested in visiting somewhere yourself.

S t. Peter and Paul church

The tour started at St. Peter and Paul Church at the beginning of Antakalnis. The guides briefly presented the history of the Antakalnis district and the history and architecture of the church.

“The entire architectural landscape of the Antakalnis district was formed in the 17th century. in the second half, when Vilnius began to recover after the wars with Moscow. (…) XVIII-XVIII a. Parts of Antakalnis belonged to nobles like Radvila, Pacai and Sapiega. They built palaces, they developed parks, ”said the guide.

Later in the 19th century, he said, Antakalnis became an area surrounded by pine forests, where townspeople built wooden vacation villas. And now it is one of the greenest districts in Vilnius.

“It is interesting that this district was formed not on a central point, but around the territories of the noble manor houses,” the guide said.

Among the palaces that have survived since ancient times, he mentioned the Sapieha Palace, the Sluškės Palace, St. Peter and Paul Church. In addition, he said, there are works of Soviet urban planning in Antakalnis, such as the construction of the M.K. Čiurlionis.

Speaking about the history of the church, the guide mentioned that the current brick church was built in the 17th century. In the second half of the 19th century, Mykolas Kazimieras Pacas, the great hetman of Lithuania, decided to build the church. The church was built by foreign architects.

The inscription “Regina pacis funda nos irt pace” on the facade of the church means “Queen of peace, strengthen us in peace”. The words “pacis” and “rhythm” are mentioned by chance: they are a reference to the name of the church builder. The double lily, visible above the entrance to the church, was counted by a guide, also the Pac family coat of arms.

This is only part of the story: it was possible to learn more about the church and Antakalnis. After the guide told the story, everyone was able to take a brief visit to the church and see what it looked like from the inside.

Vileišiai Palace Complex

The tour continued towards the Vileišiai Palace complex, located a little further on in Antakalnio street. The Institute of Literature and Folklore now operates here.

It was not possible to visit the building itself, but a tour visited the courtyard of the building. Here, the guides briefly told the history of the building and presented their architectural curiosities.

The Vileišiai Neo-Baroque Palace was built in 1904-1906. The palace complex consists of the palace itself, a dwelling house, a farm building and a fence, the guide said.

In the construction of the palace, the guide said, cement and concrete were used, then materials were not very common in Lithuania.

Petras Vileišis, a famous Lithuanian public and cultural figure, writer and engineer, resigned from the palace. He was the editor of the first Lithuanian newspaper in Vilnius language, Vilniaus žinios, and the editorial office of this publication was located in an adjacent building. Also in the palace in 1907. An exhibition of the works of M.K.Čiurlionis took place in

P.Vileišis lived in the palace for only two years, until 1908. – but managed to make his mark here.

The palace was the first place in Vilnius with a sewer, because P.Vileišis did not want the palace waste to be poured directly into the Neris, as was still customary at the time.

There were also electric chandeliers in the palace, which received electricity from a generator. It is true that the electricity they produced was sufficient for only two hours.

interior minister

The excursion then traveled to the other bank of the Neris, where a third object was waiting in the Žirmūnai ring: the Vilnius Palace of Culture, Entertainment and Sports, which many Vilnius residents call the MIA Palace an ancient custom.

The guides said that this sculptural composition palace was built in 1980. in the 1990s for the employees of the then Interior Ministry.

The building was designed by Algimantas Mačiulis, the main artist from Vilnius. The volume of this building is so large, not accidentally, it’s like a response to St. Peter and Paul Church on the other bank of the Neris.

The guide noted that the building’s exterior and interior architecture is perfect – if it weren’t for the glass walls, there would be no difference between the exterior and interior.

After a brief history, we were able to see its interior decorations: a chandelier created by artist Kazimieras Simanonis, a ballroom with a metal composition by Algimantas Mizgiris, a triptych by Kornelijus Stoškus, reflecting the Soviet spirit and adorning the high wall of the third building. Progress. Sport “.

The guides of this object briefly told the story of Žirmūnai. It was the first Vilnius district built during the Soviet era.

It started only in the 20th century. in the seventies. Until the 20th century. Žirmūnai was a sparsely populated area in the mid-19th century, there were only isolated huts, mostly fishermen.

Until the 20th century. Žirmūnai was a sparsely populated area in the mid-19th century, there were only isolated huts, mostly fishermen.

Žirmūnai was a project of exceptional scope, divided into three parts. This remains the largest district in Vilnius. Žirmūnai’s designers attempted to implement Scandinavian principles: They planned not only apartment buildings, but also parks, and they deliberately used Žirmūnū Street to separate recreational space from apartment buildings.

Tuskulėnai Peace Park chapel-columbarium

The fourth object visited by the tour was the columbarium of the Tuskulėnai Peace Park.

The guides briefly told the sad story of this place: that in 1944-1947. The remains of the victims killed in the execution of the death penalty in the NKGB (MGB) prisons were secretly buried here. Later in Soviet times, this place was closed, not marked on maps.

It was only after the collapse of the USSR that the sad history of this place became evident. In total, the remains of more than 700 people have been found here.

A mound-shaped chapel-columbarium designed here opened its doors in 2004. Five years later, in 2009, its upper part was decorated with a crown designed by sculptor Gediminas King. The guides said that this was done because vandals sometimes desecrated the top of the hill.

After hearing this story, the tour crawled into the columbarium. Here, coffins arranged in a circle with the remains of victims of Soviet terrorism surround the central hall.

Currently, you can see Ina Skardžiūtė-Kozel’s unique installation “War Bride – Widow” from the United States.

It is the figure of a widow, wrapped in cloth, on which are printed photos of murdered men taken after the executions. And the upper part of the columbarium vault is decorated from the inside with the “Trinity” mosaic by Gitenis Umbrass.

Vilnius Concert and Sports Hall

The last place visited during this tour was in 1971. Vilnius Concert and Sports Hall, which has opened its doors in the style of brutalism. First, they were built like a hockey field.

They are especially exceptional due to the unique wave-shaped cable-stayed roof construction designed by Henrikas Vytautas Karvelis.

This palace has not been in operation for more than a decade and is currently in a state of emergency, so before entering the tour, participants had to wear not only masks but also helmets.

On the first floor of the palace it was possible to see the palace hall, the old wardrobe. Now the place is deserted, many of the walls are stained with graffiti.

When we went up to the second floor of the palace, we saw an exclusive work by Regimantas Kavaliauskas: a panel of modern wooden strips. According to the guide, some attribute this work to opart, or the art of optical illusion.

Returning to the first floor, we also visit the main space of the palace: the great hall. Now the hall is empty, there is no stage, just the chairs where the spectators once sat, still surviving.

We left the hall through the old service entrance. A two-hour tour of the site ended.

The festival has been running since 2015.

Open House Vilnius is an open architecture weekend, organized in Vilnius since 2015. During it, the Vilnius buildings, characterized by the quality of the architecture and the importance for the city and the communities, open their doors.

The coronavirus pandemic significantly adjusted the plans of Open House Vilnius organizers this year. The festival generally took place in late April, and it was possible to visit the interior of dozens of different buildings in the city with exceptional architecture or history. The excursions took place in the buildings, led by volunteer guides, their architects, and building representatives.

This year, due to the pandemic, the festival was moved to July and visits to individual buildings were replaced by architectural routes. It is true that it was possible to visit some of the buildings during them, but a large part of them, as well as the P. Vileišis Palace mentioned on this route, were only informed from the outside by volunteer guides.

According to the organizers, having been unable to participate in group excursions, they still have the opportunity to participate in independent excursions. The Open House Vilnius application on your mobile phone and headphones are sufficient. Three separate routes – “Reflections of the Century on Gediminas Avenue”, “Culture on Gediminas Avenue” and “Politics on Gediminas Avenue” – have been active since July 11. Visitors are expected to be able to walk with them until the end of summer.

Open House Vilnius is organized by the voluntary, non-governmental and non-profit public institution Architektūros fondas, the strategic partner is the Lithuanian Council of Culture.