The Calvary market in the capital has determined the reputation of the entire district: the main street is still called hooligan

Witness the fights with the Muscovites

The feeling of a busy street is not a coincidence when it comes to Kalvarij calle Street. This is exactly how this street has been since its inception, says the art historian, Donatas Jokubaitis guide: “Already in the 16th century. Kalvarijų Street was a kind of gateway to Vilnius. The street begins at the Green Bridge, which until the nineteenth century. it was the only bridge over the Neris in Vilnius. “

That is why in 1655, when the Muscovite army invaded Vilnius, Kalvarijų Street found itself at the center of the battle.

“The last battles to cover the retirement of Vilnius residents took place on the Green Bridge,” says D. Jokubaitis, who for many years has been inviting citizens and guests to get to know Vilnius better. – The end of Kalvarijų Street, the Jerusalem district, is also associated with these dramatic events. As a thank you for liberating Vilnius from the Muscovites, a church and chapels were built on the Way of the Cross in Jerusalem. These chapels were destroyed and later restored. It is from Jerusalem that Calvary Street was named after him. “

Bazaar and factory, which formed the image of the entire street in the Soviet era.

The importance of Kalvarijų Street began to decline in the 19th century, when a new center of attraction appeared – the station district with a railway and Naujamiestis.

“Šnipiškės along with Kalvarijų street seems to have gone into the background; this partly explains why city life here is intertwined with elements of the rural environment, and the old buildings are only a few stories long, dwarfed” says D. Jokubaitis.

The market in the current location of the Calvary Market dates back to the 19th century, but was expanded only during the Soviet occupation. “The Vilnius Collective Farmers Market had an impact on the reputation that the whole district gained. With the trolleybus route 5 from the station, many people from other cities came to the market to buy, and non-locals could turn around in the market ”, says the interlocutor.

Another inseparable object of Kalvarijų Street during the Soviet era was the Fuel Equipment Factory. “It was a legend of Vilnius, a city within a city, the only diesel pump factory in the Baltic countries, employing about 7,000 people. people. By the way, the last leader of the Soviet Union, M. Gorbachev, also visited there ”, comments D. Jokubaitis and warns that the market together with the factory has shaped the image of Kalvarijų Street as an industrialist, worker and even hooligan. Street.

Unexpected connections to the film industry and the title of the last “real” street in the city

It is true that the popular image of Kalvarijų Street can be misleading. “At first glance, it looks the same, and when I look at it, it looks very different. For example, the legendary Oz cinema still lives here. During the Soviet era, it was a republican movie rental institution, from which movies came to all Lithuanian cinemas ”, says the guide.

The current New York Club building, dating back to the cinema, dates from 1954. The “Tėvynė” cinema was built. “He was also famous for ‘rock and roll’ in his day: movies were burned here, some of the spectators didn’t have tickets and they went down to see a ‘bunny’ movie,” says D. Jokubaitis. – One of the distinctive features of Kalvarijų Street is its authenticity. Kalvarijų Market is still a royal city market today, and Kalvarijų Street is a royal city street, not a main street. “

Current urban development will have to adapt to strict requirements

However, in the near future, Kalvarijų Street is unlikely to escape change. The proximity of the city center, convenient transportation and the growing number of city residents (according to calculations by the Vilnius municipality, last year the capital added 5,000 new residents) stimulates a growing interest in Kalvarijų street, forces to rethink your role in city life. For example, this year it was reported that a 45,500 m2 modern plant m business center. Alongside him, on Lvovo Street, a new business center is also being designed.

The lawyer Laurynas Staniulis, who advises on real estate development issues, warns that the territory is really acquiring completely new and undoubted characteristics of the Commercial District, which determines the formation of new centers of attraction and increases the attractiveness of the street for the inhabitants. In addition, a large part of the territory of Kalvarijų Street falls into the territory of immovable cultural values ​​and the protection zone, which should protect it from tasteless and chaotic development.

“Kalvarijų Street belongs to the visual protection subarea of ​​Vilnius Old Town, which means that all newly constructed buildings must comply with the architectural context and more stringent requirements apply to their architecture. All these reasons allow us to expect a high quality architectural offer from new projects. At the same time, due to these reasons, a new construction boom on Kalvarijų or Šnipiškės street should not be expected, and at the same time lower property prices ”, assesses L. Staniulis.