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These areas were to be carved out by wide roads, with huge traffic rings and spacious plazas. The territory of Vilnius had to reach the present Sudervė. Where there are now forests and villages, hundreds of Soviet skyscrapers had to prop up the sky.
In the last years of the Soviet era, the Vilnius government made a commitment to implement the plan. The implementation continued for some time even after the restoration of Independence.
However, only one of the planned new districts has emerged: Pilaitė. The portal planned to create a “new Vilnius” west of the current Vilnius Western Bypass. 15 minutes Vilnius chief architect Mindaugas Pakalnis said.
Luke April / 15min photo / Mindaugas Pakalnis
It is directly related to these plans: just over 20 years ago, M. Pakalnis, then a young architect, contributed a lot to their replacement. Now M. Pakalnis firmly asserts that if the “new Vilnius” project had been implemented as planned, it would have been a real tragedy for Vilnius.
Vilnius expands to the west
During the Soviet era, the population of Vilnius grew rapidly. More and more industrial enterprises were established in the city, various institutions appeared, students constantly went to the city, and often stayed after their studies.
It was clear that the newcomers would soon have nowhere to live. In such circumstances, said M. Pakalnis, in 1967. The city’s first major master plan was born in 2006, which envisioned the expansion of the city to the west by building new apartment districts: Lazdynai, Karoliniškės, Viršuliškės, Justiniškės , Pašilaičius.
“The main idea was that it was necessary to surround the city from the western side, to form a new city in that place,” said M. Pakalnis.
Drawing sent by Mindaugas Pakalnis / 1967 Vilnius Master Plan
According to the architect, there were also considerations that it might be worth building new apartment buildings en masse only in the center then, in Šnipiškės, Naujamiestis, even in the old town. However, it was clear that in that case a large part of the old town would simply have had to be demolished. Such plans were abandoned mainly for financial reasons: it was decided that it would be more profitable to build new houses on an empty field.
“Although heritage protection was not among the government’s priorities at the time, it is obvious that development costs in and around the center would have been much higher and the possibilities of constructing typical buildings were less. Therefore, there were no large constructions. In that, Vilnius differed, for example, from the cities of East Germany, where new large-scale constructions reached only the old cities and were destroyed in many places. With us the old town has been preserved. Therefore, in 1965 the plan was quite successful for Vilnius, ”said M. Pakalnis.
Thus, new neighborhoods began to emerge. However, it seemed that despite their homes in Vilnius, there would soon be a shortage, as Vilnius’s population continued to grow.
XX a. In the late 1970s, the Soviet government planned for more and more people to move to the cities of the USSR, and the urbanization process in Vilnius would be further affected, as people would come not only from Lithuania but also from other countries. Soviet republics.
According to M. Pakalnis, there were also political objectives: to fight so that the capital of LSSR was as diverse as possible from the ethnic point of view, so that the Lithuanians did not begin to dominate it.
Authorities began to consider where the city would need to expand further. One proposal was to expand to the southwest, towards Trakai Vokė and Lentvaris. However, it was finally decided to expand the city by building new neighborhoods in the west of the city. This was reflected in 1981 in the updated Vilnius Master Plan.
Drawing sent by Mindaugas Pakalnis / 1981 Scheme of the Vilnius city master plan. You can see how much Vilnius had to expand to the west
“It was thought that we would make a new city center in the western part of the city, towards Kaunas. There we will form the new Vilnius ”, said M. Pakalnis.
This stage of the development of Vilnius had to begin as soon as Pašilaičiai and Fabijoniškės emerged. Both districts were completed in the 20th century. in the late 1980s, just before the collapse of the USSR.
“Pilaitė was planned as the first district of the new stage of development, followed by Plytinė and other districts. The city had to get to Sudervė, ”said M. Pakalnis.
Although administratively the new districts would have remained part of Vilnius, in reality they would have been very far from the center of Vilnius, and its inhabitants would have felt like residents of the new city.
About 200 thousand people were planned to live in Pilaitė and other planned districts. population, only in Pilaitė – about 70 thousand. Since Vilnius in 1989. He lived around 576 thousand. population, which meant that, in the long run, the new districts were supposed to house about a quarter of Vilnius residents.
The new districts were to consist only of apartment buildings; no space was provided for private houses. Wide streets had to run between them, connected by huge traffic rings. The new districts are planned to be connected to the center of Vilnius by a metro or tram route.
Drawing submitted by Mindaugas Pakalnis / Vision of Vilnius City High Speed Tram, 1986
“They would be high-rise houses, wide streets, similar to the current Pilaitė apartment blocks. About the width it is now in the State Security Department building, Pilaitė Avenue was to continue towards Sudervė. Where Papiškės now stands, a huge transport ring similar to the Volunteer Ring was planned. New streets must appear, a new road to Kaunas. Many things are on a completely different scale than today, ”said M. Pakalnis.
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Traffic on Pilaitė avenue
The plan was also implemented during the Year of Independence.
Pilaitė was planned as the first district of this new city. Construction began in 1989. after the restoration of Independence. 1981 implementation of the developed plan has been underway for some time.
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