THE MOST FAMOUS PLACES AT KAUNAS

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THE MOST FAMOUS PLACES AT KAUNAS
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THE OLD TOWN Kaunas enjoys a remarkable Old
Town which is a concentration of ancient
architectural monuments the remnants of the 13th
century Castle, the Cathedral, the Jesuit and ST.
Trinity Churches as well as the Old Town Hall,
nicknamed the "White Swan" for its charming
architecture. The Old Town Hall Square, the most
important architectural accent of the Old Town,
is reminiscent of the Middle Ages with the early
Gothic Vytautas Church and the late Gothic
Perkunas House not far away. The Old Town squares
and buildings of the surrounding streets are
bricks with numerous restaurants, bars and cafes
as well as art galleries and Lithuanian folk art
souvenir shops, popular among tourists.
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KAUNAS CASTLE The castle build in the 13th
century, was Lithuania's first defensive bastion.
The surrounding walls were over two metres wide
and 13 meters high. In 1362 after thee weeks of
siege, the crusaders destroyed it and by 1368 a
second stronger castle was constructed. The
castle had two towers but over the centuries they
were washed away by the Neris and the northern
walls with the towers collapsed. Yuo can examine
the castle internally, but people to maintain
that haunt in the castle.
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CATHEDRAL The first church was supposedly built
in the early 15th century. The naves were built
in the 16th century and construction lasted until
in 1775 in baroque style. Interesting neogothic
chapel. In 1895 the church became a cathedral and
was elevated to the rank of basilica in 1921.
Tower 41,9 meters high. In one of the walls the
bishop and writer Motiejus Valancius is buried.
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  TOWN HALL SQUARE The ancient heart of Kaunas
is the Town Hall Square surrounded by a number of
16th century German merchants houses. In its
centre towers the 53-metre high white Town Hall,
late baroque in style, with elements of early
classicism and gothic architecture, The
construction started in 1542 and it was
supposedly built as a one-storey building. The
second floor and the tower were added at the end
of the 16th century. The cellar of the tower
served as a prison and a warehouse. The ground
floor was reserved for traders and the prison
guards. The first floor housed the magistrate,
the treasury and the archives. Partly destroyed
during the Swedish-Russian war (1655 - 1660) it
housed the municipality after reconstruction in
1771. Under the tsarist regime it was transformed
into an orthodox church and it even served as the
provisional residence of the Tsar in 1837.
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VYTAUTAS CHURCH Built in the beginning of the
15th century, it originally belonged to the
Franciscan monks. The church was constructed in
the gothic style without a tower which was only
added in the end of the 15th century White sober
walls. During the Napoleonic war the French used
it as an ammunition storage. In 1819 the
renovation was financed through donations.
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PERKUNAS (Thunderers) HOUSE Similar in style
to St. Anne's church in Vilnius, the Perkunas
house is one of the most original examples of
late gothic in Lithuania. Interest in it
increased in the 19th century as romantic minded
historians announced it to be the tample of
Perkunas, the God of Thunder. According to
legend, during reconstruction work in 1818
workers found a small statue (27 cm) with a town,
temples and three fishes in its hands which came
to symbolize the Thunderer, but the statue was
lost. Built the end 15th century it served
either as a Jesuit chapel or a Hanse house. In
1722 Jesuits moved out and the building was
deserted until reconstruction in the early 19th
century when it served as a school. In 1844 the
first Kaunas Drama Theatre was established here.
After 1863 he brick building fell to ruins. The
rich architecture of the house symbolized the
economic power of the Hanse and German expansion.
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ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL Built in 1891-93 by
Russian architects, the neo-byzantic style
symmetrical building at the end of Laisves aleja
was originally destined for the army of the
Kaunas castle. The blue imposing catholic church
is commonly called "soboras", since it has all
the aspects of an orthodox church. Transformed
into an art gallery during the Soviet period, it
was recently reopened to public wor-ship although
the interior is still unfinished.
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MILITARY MUSEUM OF VYTAUTAS GREAT One of the
most important museums in Lithuania, worth to be
depicted on the 20 Litas bill. The museum depicts
the History of Lithuania through the ages from
the prehistoric times to present-day Lithuania.
Of particular interest is the wreck of
"Lithuanica", the plane in which the Lithuanian
aviators Steponas Darius and Stasys Girenas
attempted in 1933 to fly non-stop from New York
to Kaunas. Their plane crashed in Germany on the
threshod of their homeland - you can see the two
heroes on 10 Litas bill. Further exhibitions
include the history of the Vytautas Magnus
University founded in 1922, closed in 1940 and
only reopened in1990.
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PAŽAISLIS MONASTERY AND CHURCH Founded in 1662
by the Great Chancellor Krzysztof Zygmunt Pacfor
Order of the Camaldolese Hermits, the main
construction has been built until 1674 and
further finished until 1712. The church was
designed by Pietro Puttini, were directed by
Carlo and Pietro Puttini, Giovanni Battista
Frediani. The building of the towers and the dome
after 1755 was funded by king's chambelain Michal
Jan Pac. In 1832 the church was closed by
Russians and later converted into an Russian
Orthodox ChurchOrthodox church. After 1920 the
ruined church returned to Roman Catholics and was
restored by sisters of the Lithuanian convent of
St. Casimir. After World War II, the Soviet
authorities converted the church and monastery
into an archive, a psychiatric hospital and
finally an art gallery (in 1966). In 1990s the
complex was returned to the nuns of the convent
and reconstruction work began.