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On Saturday, the Kaunas City Museum and Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022 presented a joint event “A beast sleeps under Kaunas Castle” near Kaunas Castle. Here tales from the Kaunas Žvėries fairy tale book were read, and later those who wanted to be invited to search for Žvėries in the mazes of Kaunas Castle. Finally, he was heard: he snorted somewhere under the west tower of the castle.
The mythical Kaunas Beast is one of the parts of the Kaunas 2022 program. Rytis Zemkauskas, who invented the mythical Kaunas Beast and unexpectedly saw the rivers in Santaka, became the curator of this program after Kaunas received the title of European Capital. de la Cultura and, together with colleagues and partners in the program, began to create the legend of Kaunas.
Photo by Mykolas Cibas / Event “The beast sleeps under Kaunas Castle”
Immediately the Beast was invisible and inaudible, then it took shape as it was drawn. Soon after, the stories of the Beast lay in a fairy tale book, and now it can be felt.
The Beast will show all its powers and presence in 2022, when Kaunas will become the European Capital of Culture. It is in that year that he will finally die. Or you will be awakened.
“I have to say the most important thing: the beast does not erase or erase any legend about Kaunas. On the contrary, it captures all the stories that have been in the city so far in an even bigger story.
We say that the city is an organism. This is what even road builders say the builders of underground communications, well builders, architects, artists. The city is alive. So why can’t you imagine him as the great animal we make together? It is a metaphor for adults, and for children, the beast can be fun to draw or talk at night, it can be naughty, it doesn’t fix its toys at night. The beast sometimes lasted for fishermen because it is an aquatic animal. Here is one side of the stories.
Other: There were always stories and legends about the other world in Kaunas. It seemed to me that this is a very valuable idea, it enriches us and does not allow us to forget the real past. There is a true story and there is fantasy, there is a game, there is literature.
Therefore, it was necessary to combine this into one great story, where the Beast could be the hero of that story. It is the entertainment part of the European Capital of Culture, a small part of what we do. We believe that the Beast will bring joy to all the townspeople, “said R. Zemkauskas.
According to the curator of the Kaunas myth, he first came up with the idea of the Kaunas beast when observing the confluence of two rivers in Kaunas, because on closer inspection, he remembers the shape of an unknown beast, as if he had embraced to Kaunas.
Photo by A.Aleksandravičius / Panorama of Kaunas old town
The mythical beast of Kaunas wants the inhabitants of the city and the district to fantasize more, to be bolder and more free: “This is important here. Like all myths, it has a playful element, it has transcendence, it is necessarily from another dimension. Because if it is not, it is not a myth. The myth explains to us our daily life.
“We want to enrich our city and show what one of the objectives of the European Capital of Culture is: how cultural activities can change daily life. In this case, through the narrative, through the summary of everything we have had in the city, the summary of all the stories and legends.
If your stories are not humble at all, but simply float in midair, they will not work. When I look at the city map, I see very clearly the Beast that is spread throughout the city.
It is an aquatic animal. In my opinion, we are an aquatic city, we are aquatic animals. Beaches are needed in Kaunas (and not in Vilnius), because we are two rivers, and the Kaunas lagoon used to be called the Kaunas Sea. Nevėžis still connects, if we talk not only about the city, but also about the district.
The strangest thing is that we talk very little about these waters, we stay little with them except the fishermen. Now, this is changing a little bit, because the city government has started taking care of the riverbanks and the city is turning to the rivers, “said R. Zemkauskas.
Gabrielius Sužiedėlis, director of the Kaunas City Museum, in the basement where the Beast was installed, says that the legend of the Beast fits perfectly with the museum, and this character created by Kaunas 2022 will arouse the curiosity of children and adults and It will encourage you to look at the city from a different angle.
“It is a new myth in a way, but the connection is very strong and very significant, especially in the activities of our museum.
The story and its fantasyless interpretation have no meaning or value. I think the fairytale session taking place today can be interpreted and treated as a kind of rethinking of training and exercise in history, as a stimulus to fantasy in general. This is very important when looking at our city and its past, “said G.Sužiedėlis.
The Castle Department of the Kaunas City Museum plans to gather citizens more than once at the place where the Beast sleeps. This summer, at least 3 meetings are planned for families, during which it will be possible to listen to readings of tales of mythical beasts from Kaunas.
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