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Up to three times last week, various institutions went to Perkūnas Avenue, where an Art Deco-style building was demolished. People are now collecting signatures on the inability of officials to stop working and will work to rebuild the building.
The voice of the public
Since Monday morning, a long line of Kaunas residents stretched out at House 11 on Perkūnas Avenue. People came to express their civic position on the destruction of heritage and the uniqueness of the Žaliakalnis area. The signatures will be transmitted to both the custodians and the prosecution. More than 200 signatures were collected in a matter of hours.
People are calling for justice to determine why the authorities did not arrest Perkūno al. Demolition of house 11, which left only half the building. Civilians are also demanding the restoration of a unique interwar building in the heritage protection zone.
Photo by Justina Lasauskaitė
The petition will be presented to the Directorate of Cultural Heritage, the Ministry of Culture, the Prosecutor’s Office and other institutions. The reconstruction of a building is one of our objectives. However, we also want the actions and omissions of officials to be identified, because this situation is very colorful and encompasses many aspects.
We want the actions and omissions of officials to be identified, because this situation is very colorful and encompasses many aspects.
Initially, this was a problem for heritage professionals due to little experience, then there was an error from the Cultural Heritage Evaluation Commission that did not include the building in the Register of Cultural Heritage and therefore reduced its protection. Then there was such a conversation with the Building Inspection, who explained that the owner could demolish without permission. The incapacity of the police also appeared in this situation, since they never requested documents from the destroyers during those days, they were only observers, ”said Aurys Karalius, one of the initiators of the petition.
However, other architects also decided not to remain silent and pay attention to the destruction of what makes Kaunas an exceptional city. “I am an architect and heritage conservationist, I live in a house designed by Aleksandras Gordevičius (this architect also designed house 11 in Perkūno al. – ed. I consider this situation to be a terrible arrogance, nothing can be done, because this district is part of our identity ”, expressed Ramunė Bernavišienė.
Photo by Justina Lasauskaitė
“I am a citizen and responsible and I cannot look at it calmly. Although I live in Šančiai, I cannot be indifferent to the problems of other districts as well, I think we have to represent when the laws are ignored. It hurts me a lot because of what is happening ”, said the architect Elena Vanagaitė, who was speaking in the Perkūno in the middle of the demolition. House 11, even distressed.
According to the request, we also met Dainiai Lanauskas, who organizes tours around art deco buildings and introduces people to valuable and unique details of Kaunas architecture. The man assured that one cannot stay away when such things happen in the neighborhood.
“We see that there are many people who have no education and do not understand what is valuable. We want society to strive to preserve value. I was very surprised that due to the signature it was necessary to queue, ”said the Kaunas resident.
It is true that people did not only come from Kaunas to sign in order to protect their cultural heritage. There were also people from Palanga, Vilnius and some foreigners. The petition organizers themselves were surprised that the issue of cultural heritage conservation brought together so many different people.
Legal loopholes
For Perkūno al. Law enforcement specialists also spoke about the demolition of house 11. The former judge, now lawyer Mindaugas Šimonis, claimed that the demolition of the Žaliakalnis pearl had turned into a legal fiasco in Lithuania.
“The Lithuanian state, with all its institutions and the entire legal system, has not been able to protect the values of a culture, which is located in the very center of Žaliakalnis. “It was done in the middle of the white day, in the most cynical way for everyone to see,” the lawyer said.
This was done in the middle of the white day, in the most cynical way seen by all.
According to him, the authorities first had to take swift action to stop the demolition. This required the use of police officers, but was not done. He also pointed out that no inspector or representative of the institution has approached the Public Ministry, which has asked the court for precautionary measures.
“As a result, the Lithuanian people are now collecting signatures to be able to submit an application to the prosecutor’s office not only for violations of the Construction Law, possible crimes, but also to determine whether the services have fulfilled their functions. The conservationists of the heritage were here both on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. The result speaks for itself. So now that the prosecution finds out what the officials had to do, “said lawyer M. Šimonis.
Photo by Justina Lasauskaitė
Owner position
Artūras Dankovskis, the owner of this house, also observed the campaign to collect citizens’ signatures. He explained to reporters that a permit was not required for the demolition of the building, and documents in his possession indicate that the house had no valuable property and was not included in any line of the Register of Cultural Heritage.
“There is a lot of manipulation of facts in the public space. I, as the owner, know the prehistory that professionals keep silent. This building is not a cultural heritage building, it is only in the heritage area. Nowhere did the specialists mention that the building was in an emergency condition and declared unfit for habitation. I have supporting documents. A commission was also formed, which decided whether the house should be registered in the Cultural Heritage Register, but the commission voted that the building it had no valuable properties, ”said A. Dankvoskis.
Artūras Dankovskis / Photo by Justina Lasauskaitė
He explained that he had consulted with lawyers and they explained that the building was in a heritage zone, but as it was supposedly worthless, it did not need a demolition permit. According to the home owner, a permit is only required if a new building is under construction. As a result, he now demolished the building and would later combine projects and permits for the new building. According to A. Dankovskis, he intends to build a one-room house here.
“I really do not plan to build any apartments here. The documents were delayed for five years and all the letters were answered with standard sentences. I have correspondence with the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Municipality of Kaunas. it’s legal, ”explained A. Dankovskis.
He said the demolition work was stopped only on Saturday when he received a letter from environmentalists. According to the landlord, the works were not officially stopped on Wednesday or Thursday of last week, because neither he nor the company carrying out the works, which A. Dankovskis did not want to name, received any official document on the suspension of the works .
Photo by Vilmantas Raupelis
Demolished for three days
Kauno Diena recalls that all the commotion over this demolished house started on Wednesday of last week. Then locals reported that the interwar building was being demolished without any permission. Upon arriving at the site, the head of the Department of Cultural Heritage of the city council and a specialist from the Department of Cultural Heritage stopped the demolition work. The first time, when heavy machinery was set on fire, part of the roof collapsed.
Although specialists had pointed out that the demolition work was illegal, they were not granted permits, the demolition work resumed on Thursday. The heavy equipment was aimed at the ceiling again and part of the wall collapsed. Heritage conservationists who rushed to Perkūnas Alley stopped the works again and promised that the object will be monitored more closely, specialists will go through it more frequently and check if the demolition works have not been renewed. It only worked on Friday. To this day no details of the Art Deco building have been demolished.
Photo by Justina Lasauskaitė
But work started again on Saturday, when most government agencies are closed. It was over the weekend that most of the building collapsed and now there are no half walls and no roof. The single tower at the top seems to hang from the hair. Environmentalists also joined the work stoppage process on Saturday. It was they who delivered the letter that the work was suspended for a month and during that time the building could not be demolished anymore.
Photo by Justina Lasauskaitė
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