In Panevėžys, an idea has never been seen before: he has established a collection of telephones in a wild pear

Near Berčiūnai, in front of the Smiltynė mansion, a green forest pear does not only bear bitter fruit. In its branches there is a collection of various telephones: from landlines used in the Soviet era to sophisticated smartphones. Entrepreneur Gediminas Ambraška, the inventor of this idea, smiles seeing that the telephone tree is a great education for the younger generation, who not only cannot imagine how to make a call by turning the wheel of the telephone, but probably no longer know how to use button cell phones.

According to G. Ambraska, the idea of ​​having a telephone tree was whispered by life itself. One of their activities is kayaking and canoeing. The statistics are such that during the season, lovers of active recreation drown at least some of their mobile phones in the river. Although some are found, it is no longer possible to resurrect them after that bath. Thus, in the long run, the businessman amassed a considerable collection of drowned people – who would find them in the river, who – in a kayak, and who would get them wet themselves.

“We have a lot of phones in the box. After one of those losses, a tourist offered to make sense of the sunken phones. So the idea of ​​hanging them on a tree came up,” said G. Ambraška.

Over time, the number of telephones increased: acquaintances, friends and artists took them not only from the water, but also from their attics and basements. The Panevėžys resident estimates that around 130 mobile phones, several dozen of his chargers and corded phones are already connected to the tree. And on a specially equipped bench that surrounds a pear, old telephones are housed with corded, turned on wheels or with just a few buttons.

“We will all show how many we will receive. When it no longer fits in the tree, we will think about something again ”, smiles the businessman.

History lessons

The exhibits really make you smile. Although mobile phones began to be sold en masse in Lithuania only two decades ago, it is difficult to imagine how their size, appearance and functions have changed in such a short time. Adults are interested in discovering their first phones in the tree: from almost the size of a brick to colorful folding, with large antennas or the legendary Nokia, where it was possible to try probably the first game: “Snakes”.

“Virtually all the evolution of telephones is around the tree. It is fun not only for visitors to see, but also to discuss which model they had and what are its advantages. Children and young people in particular are surprised. Many of them have not had a push-button phone, but one wired with a rotary dial is not understood at all, ”said G. Ambraška.
Probably the oldest exhibits in the collection are cordless phones that cannot be called.

“Young people don’t realize that there were once phones that could only be answered when called. All you had to do was pick up the phone, listen and agree with what was being said,” smiles the inventor of the tree telephone.

Rescued from an ax

A pear decorated with telephones is not the only tree in this region where nature and ingenuity come together. In the very center of Panevėžys, in the cozy Birutės street, the ash adorned with thousands of keys has already become a place of attraction not only for lovers, but also for tourists. The key ash is also called the tree of justice, so your finders may also nail a key or bell to this withered tree.

This is now one of the most visited tourist attractions in the city – the idea of ​​artist Algirdas Jonušis. It is true that the potter himself smiles when he sees that the original idea was not an art installation, but to save the tree from the ax blade. It was decided to cut the ash, so the resident of Panevėžys and his friends decided to cover it with old keys.

“It just came to our knowledge then. And we had enough keys, once there was a Soviet unit in this place, so we picked them up. In one place we even found a buried box with seven dozen old keys. We attached them all,” A said. Jonušis.

It would be difficult to count how many keys are now in the ash. After all, there is constant movement here: some insert new keys, others remove or kick them. However, when A. Jonušis last counted, there were some six thousand keys.

“I recently visited a tree and saw that the old keys had already grown on it, leaving only the ends, as if the tree itself included them. But a lot of broken or peeling keys. I once drove the keys to a very tall machine, they lasted maybe a couple of weeks. I can’t even imagine who could have carried them that high. And at the bottom, the kids like to peel the whole bark or sell it. There is a constant movement there ”, said the artist.

The key is a symbol of abundance

A. Jonušis is convinced that passersby are attracted not only by his unusual appearance, but also by his strong energy. A resident of Panevėžys interested in Baltic mythology said that ancient Lithuanians worshiped not only oak but also ash. The latter is unique because its roots are so deep that it even reaches the groundwater, which is why lightning strikes these trees so often. Dried ash was believed to be special, and Birutė Street birch was even damaged several times by lightning.

“The roots of the ashes reach the groundwater, so touching this tree is flooded with positive energy. One of the legends says that people reached up to hundreds of screws to the dry ash and tied pieces of material or keys. It was believed that it was a kind of protection for the home and family, especially for men to help solve family problems ”, explained the expert in white traditions.

According to A. Jonušis, for the ancient Lithuanians, the keys had not only a practical but also a symbolic meaning. Some now decorate their homes with horseshoes, believing that they will attract success and prosperity, and in the time of Duke Algirdas, symbolic keys were hung as an amulet in a venerable place in the house. It was believed that by looking at the key, God Gausinėlis would give various gifts and graces. Therefore, even today, newlyweds turn to key ash. According to the artist, there is a legend to this day that says that when you reach an ash you have to make a wish, but it will only come true if no one tells you.

“Wedding people liked to hang padlocks on bridges, but this is not a Lithuanian tradition. The key to our culture is a symbol of abundance and success, so this ash is a place of attraction for newlyweds seeking family happiness, ”smiles A. Jonušis.