Panevėžys promises to surprise the whole of Lithuania: it has discovered how to become the most attractive city and attract thousands of tourists

The city of Panevėžys decided to use the quarantine period on purpose and dedicated it to thinking about how to attract thousands of tourists. Both from Lithuania and neighboring countries. Vilma Narkevičienė, director of the Panevėžys Development Agency, is responsible for the maximum publicity of the city. After working in the capital for a long time and having a good career there, he decided to return to his hometown and devote all his energies to reviving it. Vilma is a person who travels a lot, during one of her trips she was a specialist and she saw how Panevėžys could interest everyone.

“I was in Liverpool and watched with great admiration how the city exploited its industrial sites. Factories, warehouses, port – all this has been opened to tourists, people can go and see how the production of various products is going, as well as see what abandoned industrial areas look like. I really liked that many industrial objects are exploited for art, it is another way to attract people “, shares the director of the Panevėžys Development Agency. After inspecting the sights of Liverpool, see local factories and warehouses turned into art installations, now says that the beloved Panevėžys must follow a similar path.

The whole team of Ms. Vilma is working to start this city from next year, which is not what other places in Lithuania do, to develop industrial tourism. “Currently, there are around five hundred industrial objects in Panevėžys, which is really a lot. We communicated with the commercial representatives, we talked about what they could show, what they would tell people. We chose the most interesting places. I think the list of Places can be very large, very extensive and different so that each diner can choose according to their taste. Some people prefer existing production, others prefer abandoned places “, explains the specialist who is in charge of the development of Panevėžys.

Residents of Panevėžys say that according to the new industrial strategy, it will be small to come to them for a day, therefore they will offer tourists to come for the whole weekend, because what they recommend to see is a very long list . The production of beer, starch, household soap and many other things takes place in the town of Panevėžys. There is no need to drive far, all objects next to each other. One of the most impressive places that really looks like Liverpool itself is Industrial Street. The huge buildings and chimneys are simply impossible to count. Although this is not the first time in Panevėžys, I have not realized this until now. Mrs. Vilma and I spent the whole day driving around different objects.

He proudly showed me the water reservoir in the Aukštaitija vandenys area, which is no longer used for its intended purpose. The water hasn’t been there for a long time, but the reservoir can serve art-loving people. As in Liverpool, the old factories are being turned into galleries, so is this place. “We have already had an exhibition, in the future we will also hold all kinds of events,” says Svajūnas Mikeška, spokesperson for Aukštaitijos vandenai. He notices that the old water tank has incredibly good acoustics, just like in the church. The place is really extraordinary, there are no other similar places in Lithuania.

As icing on the cake, Panevėžys wants to offer tourists one of the largest factories in Lithuania, Ekranas, which until 2006 produced CRT. Then there was a painful fire, shrouded in legend, followed by the largest insurance case in Lithuanian history. Ekranas has closed, more than four thousand employees have lost their jobs.

The huge area of ​​this factory has been sold to various owners, a lot has changed in the area since then. It is not the main administrative building. It was as if someone had kept it. Just like that sad bankruptcy day left it in 2006.

Now the ancient heart of Ekranas belongs to the local businessman Inga Tribuišienė, who kindly agreed to accept me and show me what the legendary place of Panevėžys is like. It acquired part of the factory to move its businesses here, but has not yet done so due to the coronavirus. Several floors are still used as a warehouse, and in one of them the most prestigious ballroom in the city was inaugurated.

As soon as he enters the old administration building of “Ekranas”, businessman Inga shows old photos of the factory, how everything looked here in times of prosperity, then he turns to the other side and says in a sad voice: “And here it is. the day of the fire, when everything was destroyed. “

The first exhibition that, in the opinion of the new owner, could be of interest to tourists is a glass elevator, through which the main people of the Ekranas government, including former CEO Eimutis Žvybas, made their way to their offices. By the way, this gentleman has long been called the richest man in Panevėžys. Many envied him, many were interested in seeing at least a part of his world.

At that time it was impossible, and now please. Inga Tribuišienė knows where the great factory commander was sitting and in which direction his desk was turning. “Here the general sat, with the most beautiful view of the Ekranas lagoon, better jobs and no idea,” says the new owner of the building, showing that exact general location.

It also suggests paying attention to the various switches that were a total luxury at the time, fourteen years ago. “It just came to our attention then. I don’t think even the Vilnius offices could boast what the ‘Ekranas’ government had in such things,” says businessman Inga.

Another interesting “exhibition” is the old accounting floor and the endless offices for financiers. Now everyone’s doors are open and the interior completely empty. It is standing unless only overpowering safes, but sadly no money. There was no scent left from them. “In this place thousands of Ekranas workers were paid, look how many guards are installed here, it was a very important place in the factory,” he says, showing those offices.

One of the places that visitors to Panevėžys could visit from next year is the old Panevėžys sewing workshop, which for many years sewed clothes for big brands like H&M, Bershka, ZARA, etc. Unfortunately, during the crisis of 2008, the sewing house lost orders and had to close. Here is everything, it seems that yesterday dozens of tailors were still working. Many sewing machines have materials, needles, and buttons. On the window sills there are cups and coffee utensils. It looks like everyone will be back to work tomorrow and the sewing shop will be running again. Unfortunately, that probably won’t happen. Of course, Paulius Šaparnis, the guy whose family owns the sewing house, is not happy about that. It doesn’t hide the fact that you tried to sell it, but the buyer didn’t show up. Later, Paul tried to set up his office in the building, but then decided to move to work in the capital. Now nothing happens in it, calm and peaceful. But Paul knows how to interest people. We walked through a large area, around various offices. I admit it, in some places it’s a bit scary. But the most interesting part awaits in the basement.

Since Soviet times, a special bunker has been installed there to rescue people. He, thank God, was never used, so everything was left intact. Authentic Soviet signs, maps, explanatory graphics and the like. The gas masks are hanging, the air supply system is still working.

“I have organized a music festival and various cultural events in this building. In the future, I would also like to use the sewing room in a meaningful way, it would be a lot of fun for tourists to come to us here, ”he says. We talked to Paul about the possibility of organizing some exceptional projects, say “Night in the sewing room.”

Vilma Narkevičienė, director of the Panevėžys Development Agency, is sure that tourists will be really interested in what can be seen in Panevėžys, especially since in addition to many industrial places in the city, there are also exceptional places to eat . “The goal of Panevėžys is to become a popular city with tourists,” he says. We wish that.