KAUNAS FULL OF CULTURE SEPTEMBER 2019

KAUNAS FULL OF CULTURE

Landmarks

2019 SEPTEMBER Illustration by Kotryna UrbonaitÄ—

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Photo by A. AleksandraviÄ?ius

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There is this sweet winged saying that writing about music is the same as dancing [around] architecture. It does make some sense, after all, we are still learning to talk about architecture. Now it is safe to say that Kaunas people love their interwar period. If a decade ago, the curved windows were cared for only by professionals and enthusiasts, today people would get mad if the talks would arise about selling the Central Post Office or Pienocentras to a random person.

Take a broad look However, emotions are not what should form the basis of the vocabulary when conversing about architecture. A personal relationship with the surrounding environment, especially the heritage objects, is significant but personal and ad hominem are not the same. To avoid ad hominem, we need tools. Tools that help us read plans, orient yourself in visualizations, not get lost between the lines of explanatory text, and be able to delicately retreat to see the big picture. We can’t all be architects (or basketball coaches), but it is worth trying on his shoes.

And thus, we approach the critical point of the month – Kaunas Architecture Festival (KAFe) coming back after three years. Upon returning it right away asks: Landmark architecture – creating or destroying the city’s identity? From the end of September for two months, we will look at what landmark is – the symbol of the city, landmark building and what examples of it we have in Kaunas. The KAFe team is already saying that they are not only interested in the most prominent symbols of the city, as material for discussions, workshops, and creative work. Let’s agree, to give a proper laudation for these, we would need a three-month-long internation-

al festival. Anti-landmarks, post-landmarks and other ways of marking the city are of interest in the context of KAFe. It couldn’t be more symbolic – the KAFe opening will take place in one of such anti-landmarks, the unfinished Hotel Britanika which will soon be demolished and will take the longest Lithuanian word to the oblivion with it (the author of Nebeprisikiškiakopūsteliaujantiesiems is Morfai). On the 21st of September, we will have perhaps the only (for many of us) opportunity to climb up Britanika – a thirty-year-old semi-invisible ghost – and look at our Kaunas from up high. We hope that this big picture will become an exciting launch of very busy autumn.

You can find more KAFe events in the magazine’s calendar. Also, in this issue: the relationships between Kaunas cinema and architecture, conversations with the first female chairwoman of Architects’ Association of Lithuania Rūta Leitanaitė and the Prikockis family of architects, interwar detective about the urban planner Kovalskis, new dimensions of aesthetic architecture, and the search for the connection between heritage and hackers.

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Before starting a conversation about cinematographic architecture, photographer Lukas Mykolaitis invites to take a walk on historical cinema trails in Kaunas. His photographic journey begins at the Romuva Cinema – a currently intensively renovated mecca of the city‘s film culture. Next up – former film theatre Santaka that operated in a church during the Soviet period and this year was renamed as a cultural space Sakramentas.

The finish line will be at the landmark of mass film culture Forum Cinemas, a cineplex located in the Akropolis mall.

Following the trails of cinema Photos by Lukas Mykolaitis

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By the end of September, two long-awaited festivals will come back – the 12th International Film Festival and the 3rd triennial Kaunas Architecture Festival.

This year the festival organizers decided to implement the long-planned idea of cooperation. The search for parallels between the space and the moving image was joined by Ekskursas team which, for several years now, has been inviting the public to get acquainted with Kaunas architecture and history. Both festival programs will offer a series of events dedicated to the links between architecture and cinema. One of them will be a tour in Sakramentas space. Sakramentas, which served as a cinema Santaka until 1990, was one of those spaces which, although far from the standard of film theatre, still plays a vital role in the history of Kaunas cinema. Together with Ilona Jurkonytė (cinema researcher, film curator and art director of Kaunas International Film Festival), Tautvydas Urbelis (philosopher, curator of Kaunas Architecture Festival) and Algimantas Grigas (architect, co-founder, and guide of the Ekskursas team) we visited several places that mark the beginning of cinema in Kaunas and reviewed the current processes that shape our perception of film in a space and spatiality in film.

Cinematographic architecture and vice versa Julija Račiūnaitė Photo by Lukas Mykolaitis

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First and foremost, we stopped to talk next to the Kaunas Puppet Theater located in the former cinema Odeon – build in 1925 and based on Jonas Salenekas’ design. In many ways, during this period, cinema in Kaunas was experiencing a golden age which peaked in 1928, 1929, until the emergence of sound film. The sound had become a new challenge for the film industry because, after its emergence, there was a slight drop in the viewers’ interest due to the foreign-language films. Silent cinema, by contrast, was more universal, understandable to all.

Over the years, the film industry across the globe has also undergone dramatic technical changes (the invention of the digital audiovisual format and its mass adoption).

According to I. Jurkonytė, between the challenges faced in the 20th and 21st centuries, many parallels could be found, “The emergence of sound film and digital technology could be

compared, In Lithuania and abroad, in both cases, there has been some industrial reorientation, the change in audience size and composition.”

While standing next to the former Odeon cinema, we also talked about the shared vision of film and architecture festivals: I. J. “We have been fostering the idea of cooperation for some time.

In fact, the origins of the Kaunas International Film Festival are marked by the attention of the Kaunas Architecture union. Kaunas Film Festival started its film club prehistory at the Gallery of the Architects’ Association in Vilniaus 22 where the restaurant Galeria Urbana is currently located. No wonder that just as we started talking to Rasa, Gintaras and Tautvydas, we immediately found common connecting points. Cinema is a spatial art and architecture, in turn, is cinematic. This year we will invite you to a joint screening of Kaunas Architecture Festival and Kaunas Film Festival in a completely unique space – a building that was built long before the invention of cinema but in the 20th century functioned as a film theatre. Having played an important role in the context of Kaunas cinema culture in its time, this space had disappeared from the map of Kaunas cinema. It is the former cinema Santaka and currently Kaunas Blessed Sacrament Church reborn under the name of Sakramentas cultural space.”

T. U. “The theme of this year’s Architecture Festival is: Landmark architecture – creating or destroying the city’s identity? As Ilona mentioned, there is a close link between cinema and architecture. Using landmark architecture as a starting point, we want to show that cinematic spaces (which don’t necessar-

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ily only include cinemas) are both architectural and cultural landmarks. It is important to emphasize the openness of Kaunas Architecture Festival – as every year the festival aims to attract not only professionals but also to be attractive and accessible to people who are not directly involved with architect’s work. We want to show that architecture goes beyond buildings – it intertwines with many areas, including cinema. A great example of this is Sakramentas which will host a joint event of architecture and film festivals. We are also going to discuss this space, which used to be a cinema, both from an architectural and a cinematographic point of view.”

I.J. “Indeed, I wonder how often when we talk about the history of Lithuanian cinemas and architecture, we look back to the interwar period. And this is not surprising – these phenomena are inevitably closely related in the Lithuanian context. Kaunas interwar period is unique. After participating in a lovely tour by Ekskursas about the old Kaunas cinemas, I was very pleased with the growing attention to cinema and the reflection of the cinema phenomenon from an urban perspective. I think that even though cinema research is only in its infancy in Lithuania, such initiative by Ekskursas is a good sign pointing to the fact that in Kaunas we can start talking about a film from a perspective of film research.

The tour in Sakramentas will present the signs that have never been combined into a single narrative.

We will talk about post-war film culture, with a particular focus on the last three decades. This will bring the interwar period a little

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closer, revealing how cinemas that were built at the time, and the foundations of film culture allowed for the latter to flourish in later periods. It is fascinating to study Lithuanian film culture from the institutional point of view marked by significant political changes. I want to believe that we can already look back to the Kaunas post-socialist period and highlight some of the tendencies that are characteristic of this period. One of them, the cinemas that operated during the interwar and the Soviet period, were massively privatized or closed down.

Over the years, the film industry across the globe has also undergone dramatic technical changes (the invention of the digital audiovisual format and its mass adoption).

The contact of these two phenomena and, of course, the series of endless economic crises in Lithuania created conditions not only for corruption to flourish but also sparked a public-spirited impulse to search for other ways to maintain film culture in a space where the market economy conditions without scruples destroyed both public spaces and public models of culture funding without inventing the much-needed ones for a long time.

In recent decades, film culture has played a role as a platform for social movements. As a result, I identify that the privatization of cinemas has become the last drop that overfilled the cup of patience and that is how the intention of preserving the film spaces became a platform for public spirit and political action to unfold. This is what I identify as a unique manifestation of politics in relation to the cinema showing/ viewing experience – a public cinema space. You want to understand these processes better, talk about them.”

Cinema becomes a kind of mediator, helping people to be together in public spaces.

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A. G. “The film theatre was founded by reserve officers, brothers Antanas and Petras Steikūnas. They had the ambition to establish the most modern cinema in Kaunas. It was one of the largest single-volume halls with a modern ventilation system, acoustic material made in Lithuania and many other interesting and valuable details. In addition to that, the brothers were going to install an apparatus – analogue-based changing light – brought from abroad, in a glass turret decorating the facade of Romuva, thus making it gleam in different colours. When the war broke out, the colour machine travelling to Lithuania disappeared at one of the customs offices.”

T.U. “I think cinema is getting more and more relevant. It was just this summer that my colleagues and I were discussing the growing number of free cinema events in public urban spaces. Of course, the large number of free cinema events is putting extra pressure, but on the other hand, these events show that film is democratic and accessible to all. This summer there was a lot of open cinema in Kaunas. For example, Urmo bazė hosts an open-air night cinema where viewers watch movies from their cars. So, cinema becomes a kind of mediator, helping people to be together in public spaces. As for public spaces, one of the problems we face today (not to mention their privatization and commercialization) is the lack of imagination. What, then, to do in that public space? Cinema becomes an intermediary variant, which makes it possible to re-learn how to be in the public space. This is also related to the idea behind the architecture festival - architecture makes sense and functions in a wide variety of areas of our lives. Often, we do not even feel the impact directly, but it certainly exists. As we have already said, film screening is both a collective and individual experience, and the same can be said for architecture. We want to show that when we talk about architecture, we often cover an extensive range of phenomena, and vice versa, when we talk about various phenomena, in this case, cinema, we inevitably, though indirectly, talk about architecture.

But we often do not realize it, and we separate these elements too strictly. The purpose of our festival is to emphasize that the difference is not so radical, the architecture is constantly here, and now, it affects us in many ways and influences a variety of processes, both directly and not.”

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For a more extended conversation, we stop at the Romuva cinema, which is currently under reconstruction. Since 1940 it has been one of the most critical points in the history of Kaunas cinema, polysemously intertwining with the topics analyzed by film and architecture festivals:

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Rūta Leitanaitė, a graduate of the Kaunas University of Technology Gymnasium, as well as the University of Technology itself, is the first woman to chair the Architects’ Association of Lithuania. The term ‘architect’ is not sufficient enough to describe the woman who has been in this position for 2 years. With the range of her activities, she seeks to engage people with their environment and bring them closer to architecture. One of Rūta’s activities is a radio show series Reikia architekto (Architect is needed) on Žinių radio, in which Rūta accompanied by various professionals educates the public on multiple architecture-related questions. We talked to her as an organizer of Forum, one of the most essential pillars of this year’s Kaunas Architecture Festival (KAFe).

Of course, we are not only interested in the Forum program but also Architects’ Association of Lithuania chairwoman’s relationship to her hometown and its residents.

Good architecture should reflect values Aistė Bielevičiūtė Photo from R. Leitanaitė’s personal archive

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Rūta, what is your opinion on the central theme of the festival – Landmark architecture – creating or destroying the city’s identity? In addition to that, does Kaunas need new landmark buildings?

I think that this topic is very relevant today. Big Lithuanian cities are expanding, and new buildings are being constructed in smaller ones, either with private business or European Union money. Unfortunately, the quality of the architecture is not paramount for these people. What matters most is the return on investment or the cheapest construction cost. There are, of course, cases where someone wants to create a landmark building. But what kind? What values must this landmark represent? Private busi-

nesses want to be visible, stand out, and also sell or rent the premises located in an iconic building. That’s when the race begins: higher, better, more extravagant. Everyone wants their own Eiffel, preferably designed by an architect of some prominence at least (and it doesn’t matter if “celebrity’s” design has nothing to do with the city structure, composition, history). But how many Eiffels can a city accommodate?

On the other hand, creating a building that could become a landmark of the city is neither cheap nor quick nor easy. Just a tall, shiny building of a striking shape will not become a landmark that the city should be proud of.

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We want to talk about different landmark buildings at the festival.

Those that enrich the city not only aesthetically, but also give a positive impetus to the surrounding area, create new public spaces for the townspeople, highlight the character of the city. We will ask whether landmark architecture can be environmentally friendly and non-dominant. What is it focused on – the social needs of townspeople or the interests of business and tourists?

Are buildings designed by the same celebrity architects suit different cities? What is the lasting value of such architecture? We will invite you to look for something that makes architecture a landmark one, not only in its form. Exceptional architecture is an architecture that emphasizes the peculiarity of the place, harmoniously complements the existing urban fabric, giving priority to social and cultural content.

Thus, the answer to the question of whether Kaunas still needs landmark buildings, or should we rather preserve the existing identity of the city, would be yes – we do need them, but they should preserve and emphasize that identity.

Why is it important for townspeople to attend events such as KAFe? While public interest in architecture is certainly growing, we would like to see even more awareness related to the fact that the environment is crucial to how we feel, behave, work and communicate, understand our city, and identify with it.

The third KAFe is a diverse platform for talking about architecture, getting acquainted with it and...

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with architects! During the festival, everyone will be able to find an acceptable, understandable, and enriching form to experience architecture and the city – through play, serious conversations, real architectural experiences, meetings with professionals, information-rich exhibitions. The festival helps to reveal and remind us that architecture is more than just structural calculations and square meters. It is the art of creating the environment, the emotions that are born in it, the scenarios of human behaviour.

After all, the real owners of the city are the citizens – they should be the ones who say what city and the environment they want or don’t want.

But to say what you want; you need to know at least something: that is what festival aims at, and I would boldly call it a public education event.

Are Kaunas residents sufficiently interested and concerned with their architecture?

I have not lived in Kaunas for more than ten years, but I often visit – my parents, brother’s family, and friends live here. I see that architecture is becoming more and more important not only to architects.

I will repeat the phrase that probably has been heard hundreds of times – Kaunas is a very Lithuanian, patriotic city. And architecture occupies an important place in that patriotism of Kaunas. After all, the interwar architecture, the social, commercial, administrative, cultural, sports, and science buildings created in the temporary capital, was a true embodiment of the order, values, ambitions, and Lithuanian character of that time. In my opinion, they are the most pronounced, most valuable landmark buildings of Kaunas one by one and all together, as a phenomenon.

Today, when information flows so quickly and through various channels, thanks to social networks and other means, Kaunas people are able to focus and express opinions not only about their backyard but also about the communal property: public spaces, green zones, and cultural heritage.

Tell us what forum guests, lectures and discussions we should anticipate?

Prominent architects and researchers from Lithuania and the world will share their insights and experience in the Forum.

Ole Gustavsen, one of the founding architects of the Norwegian Office of Architecture, will talk about the experience in designing the famous Oslo Opera House. The building, which was awarded the prestigious Mies van der Rohe European Contemporary Architecture Prize in 2009 is praised as an architecture embodying modern values of democracy. It is clearly noticeable, has a distinctive character that fits in perfectly with the coastal context and at the same time its grandeur is not oppressive but rather invites all the people to come, play, communicate and enjoy music and public space.

The restoration of De Flat residential building in Amsterdam carried out in 2017 together with the colleagues from NL architects’ firm earned them a Mies van der Rohe main prize. The architects sensitively retained the original character of the building of the Modernist era, reconstructing the house, creating new public spaces and giving residents the freedom to settle using their own imagination.

This precedent (it was the first time that Mies van der Rohe Prize was awarded for an apartment building project, not a new one, but a reconstruction project) is very much in line with the festival theme – the best architecture does not necessarily have to scream about itself. Good architecture is the one reflecting the values, a connection to history, context; the one that ingeniously and sensitively provides answers not only to architectural challenges of today, for example, (in the case of this building) the fate of post-war architecture, housing affordability, today’s alternative lifestyle and property models.

Also invited are the renowned Portuguese architect Manuel Aires Mateus, Jose Selgas from Spain (SelgasCano, a finalist for Mies van der Rohe in 2019, the architect of Placencia Cultural Center in Spain), Arno Brandlhuber (finalist for Mies van der Rohe in 2019, TerrassenHaus architect, Co-author of the 2016 German Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale), David Crowley (Art Historian, Ireland, National College of Art and Design) and others.

It is scheduled that participating architects will exhibit one piece of their own work that most closely matches the theme of the Forum.

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It is great seeing that more and more Kaunas residents understand, appreciate and take pride in this heritage, while actively promoting it, for example, settling in and maintaining interwar residential buildings, while preserving their originality. I believe that other buildings forming the face of Kaunas, such as wooden houses, will gradually get their turn.

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From the mystical Gothic to the search for national identity in the interwar modernism; from elaborate Baroque shapes to the quiet and subtle classicism – the history of Kaunas architecture is undoubtedly rich and valuable.

However, we seldom consider the fact that just a few decades ago, part of it was hidden under a thick layer of plaster. It is thanks to architects and restorers that we can know the past not only from written sources, art or photography but also from the surrounding environment that we can touch. We talked with architects Asta and Gintaras Prikockis (he joined the conversation later) about heritage architecture, unexpected finds, and things that make Kaunas exceptional. Both of them participated in the organizing of the first Kaunas Architecture Festival and remain close to the event to this day. In November, the architects will present their book during the festival and, of course, it will be about Kaunas.

Architectural dialogues and signs of life Justė Vyšniauskaitė Photo by Teodoras Biliūnas

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You often work with heritage objects. What makes the job of an architect-restorer unique?

Asta Prikockienė: Indeed, we have explored buildings of all periods in Lithuania, we work with heritage, new projects, and architectural research. Therefore, I would say that our approach to architecture is different from that of people who only work on new projects. They have more freedom to create, and we have more responsibility for historical culture. Also, architecture is not just an aesthetic category for us. These are primarily signs of time and life.

When creating something new, we think about how it will look like in a hundred years and what message it will carry.

The aesthetic approach is continually changing. It was a discovery for myself during my first decade in restoration because young artists usually want everything to be beautiful and in harmony. And then I saw how Maironis Memorial Museum looked like. The apartment contained things that were probably incompatible back then as well as it is now – the ceiling was decorated with secession-style drawing and the walls covered in Lithuanian folk patterns. Aesthetically, this is nonsense, but it says a lot about life at that time. It was a quest to reconcile national identity and global trends. I think this is an essential message for our times. We are always looking for such messages in our work, trying to pull them out and display them so that people who come could understand and read them.

Architecture is an exact science, but it also takes creativity to prepare new projects. And how does creativity unfold during restoration?

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A.P.: There is a great deal of creativity in our work, but it is not so obvious. For example, the Franciscan monastery practically holds the entire history of Kaunas. It was built in the late 15th century and survives to this day. Each passing period brought something unique to it. Bringing all these elements together so that they are in harmony with each other, and there is no cacophony is a massive challenge for creativity. You need to be like a psychologist and mediator of the building, someone who knows its ‘‘personality’’ and can reveal all the best qualities.

You often mention that restoring a building is not about purifying a style, but about revealing history. What unexpected historical signs have you discovered during your work?

A.P.: When we started working at St. George’s Church, it was merely dull.

In the 19th century, the monastery was plastered, and rectangular windows were put in. Then, on the joint monastery and church wall, which seemed completely empty, we discovered the entrances to the pulpit and the confessional. I didn’t even know it was possible to find rooms in the wall, and there were as many as seven. As we continued to work, we discovered that the monastery had begun to emerge from a two-room hut, to which the monks started to lay other rooms and a church. Now, this little house is a part of the overall structure of the monastery, but we have been highlighting it so that people could take notice of where it all started. There was also a medical school in the monastery at the time. I was constantly told, “Let’s go up to the third floor, I will show you the basement.” I couldn’t understand why I was offered to look for the basement on the third floor, and then it appeared that about a meter and a

half mezzanine was built above the second floor. It contained an archive where we found authentic examples of a pediment. The most exciting things are the ones you find completely unexpectedly or you don’t understand at first and have to figure them out. Each surviving grain is essential because it allows you to know that authentic matter. Yes, we know how people lived, and not from fairy tales but from real, tangible artefacts.

This is understandable because of the painful political history. During the interwar period, it was even considered whether Soboras should be demolished since it was a foreign body of another culture in Lithuania. Still, this is a considerable period in Lithuanian history, and we have a lot of heritage from the time – buildings which, in my view, are unnecessarily written off. Now, they are listed as heritage objects, but publicity and recognition are still lacking.

Why is it not only the individual building that is important to your work but also the surrounding environment? Which environment presents the most challenges?

Four years ago, I started working on the 6th Fort project. This was news to me, and the military buildings, structures, fortresses seemed entirely uninteresting for me. But when I started working on it, I became obsessed with the thing. Not because it would be more valuable than the interwar period or Gothic but simply because I did not know many things. As I began my exploration, understanding and curiosity arose because, in the 19th century, the engineering structure was out of this world – those underground rooms had heating and excellent natural ventilation. It is hard to believe that the first seven forts were erected in eight years (starting in 1882) using only manual labour. After all, it’s a massive structure! It would be precious and exciting if the general fortress system with forts, barracks, administrative buildings, and even roads were to be connected into one system, one application.

A. P.: Probably the hardest thing is to work in an empty environment because there is no one to talk to and architecture, after all, is an art of dialogue. We construct buildings in an urban or natural environment, and there has to be some kind of harmony – a whole – between these things. Again, you need to know that environment. What’s right in Neringa wouldn’t work in Druskininkai or Kaunas. You need to listen to a particular space, to see it and get to know it. An object appearing in an already formed environment must become a part of it instead of occupying it. Of course, dominant buildings are also needed, but they must have some meaning.

It is nice that today Kaunas is rediscovering, researching and publishing texts on interwar period architecture. However, in your opinion, has some architectural period been undeservedly forgotten?

A. P.: The situation is improving now, but for a long time, the 19th-century had been forgotten.

Which building’s restoration and adaptation in Kaunas would you consider as an example to be followed?

A. P: Perkūnas House. It was restored in the 1960s, from a simple plastered rectangle that had nothing to do with the image we see today. The good thing about Gothic is

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that it is easy to restore. If you cut the plaster from a Baroque building, almost nothing will be left; meanwhile, Gothic hidden under plaster can be discovered because it is a brick system. Based on brick binding, you can even build on a bare wall the way that architectural elements were laid out. That is how it went with Perkūnas House. I still have the drawings from those days, and I can say that the oriel window was perfectly restored, perhaps only one or two profile bricks were out of sync. Speaking on the adaptation of the building, medieval-style dinners, educational and other cultural activities are currently being held there.

It is a public building that encourages people to get acquainted with the heritage.

What architectural style is closest to your hearts?

A. P.: I always loved Gothic the most.

There is nothing fraudulent about it, it is genuine. I don’t like Baroque because it is full of intrigue and deception – the facade says one thing, but nobody knows what’s inside. In that sense, Gothic is primordial, there is nothing unnecessary in it. At first glance, it may seem that there are too many things in this style, but they are all measured and constructively motivated. All décor elements here are well-thought-out and appear only when they are needed and have meaning. It is also a style that allows us to discover and continually raises questions that we try to answer over and over again.

Gintaras Prikockis: Gothic also appeals to me with its mysticism and mystery. However, I must also mention the Kaunas interwar period modernism. Buildings like Pienocentras infect many generations of architects, and even today, they are trying to understand and paraphrase those architectural solutions.

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Therefore, modernism is probably the most important style for me in terms of Kaunas architectural expression.

What makes Kaunas heritage architecture unique?

A. P.: When I started working at the Restoration and Design Institute, it was dominated by public statements claiming that Kaunas emerged in the 19th century, during the Tsarist era and until then it was a village. As a result, the entire institute would

Today, we already have quite a few solid scientific publications, but we wish to make a simpler book about the landmarks of Kaunas architecture.

rush to inspect each newly discovered piece of Gothic masonry. These discoveries made it clear that Kaunas had been a European city since the 16th century. Already then, the city had plumbing, hypocaust heating system and even sanitation units inside a building.

Probably no other city in Lithuania has experienced so many changes.

We have the 15th and 16th centuries when Kaunas was emerging; we have the Tsarist 19th century, which was very pronounced in Kaunas, then we have the interwar period temporary capital and the Soviet years... Each period brought certain peculiarities to Kaunas. If the Soviet period touched all of Lithuania, the Tsarist era and the phenomenon of the temporary capital were strongly pronounced only in Kaunas.

One of the most common phrases in Kaunas at the moment is “Kaunas under maintenance”, but there are still a lot of derelict buildings in the Old Town. How would you imagine their future?

G. P.: Whether it is the Old Town, a new part of the city or the centre – it is all the city itself, which is a living organism, just like a human being.

One person walks dressed in a tuxedo, another in a nightgown; one is dressed neatly, and another one looks messy. It is a normal state of society, all of these things are necessary. The same applies to the city. All the cities should not sparkle because it is simply unnatural.

In terms of urban management, neighbouring Elbląg in Poland and Ventspils in Latvia have left a big impression on us. These two cities are maintained following the same principle. The municipality is determined to take care of the environment: the streets, the lights, the benches... This infrastructure is glistening, and the rest is being handled little by little. There are a lot of old unused houses in Ventspils, but their windows have been cleaned, wooden doors nailed-up with board planks, the sidewalks are tidied, and there is no litter. That romance and the spirit of life exist there naturally. It

reveals the city’s position. Therefore, it is a pleasure to see how Laisvės alėja is being maintained. Its renewal will prompt everyone else to become better.

Currently, you are preparing a book about Kaunas. Could you tell us about that?

A. P.: This is our contribution to this year’s architecture festival, and we look forward to the book coming out in November. We have been working on this idea for a long time because we want to share our knowledge and thoughts about Kaunas. Today, we already have quite a few solid scientific publications, but we wish to make a simpler book about the landmarks of Kaunas architecture – what they mean and how to read them – that would be comprehensible to all.

Everything will be based on our own experience, and we will try to present the information in a simple form. It should be a publication that does not require architectural education and is accessible to the general public.

G. P.: We also want to look deeper into the causes of various processes and to draw attention to the phenomenon of Kaunas urbanism because there are already quite a few publications about individual buildings, but less attention is paid to urbanism.

And finally, which part of Kaunas is the cosiest for you and brings out the best emotions?

G. P.: Žaliakalnis, when the cherries are in bloom.

A. P.: It is the Old Town for me. We have been working and living here for many years, so every little lump is familiar. You don’t feel foreign or lost here.

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In this issue, we write a lot – and up until the end of November, on the occasion of the Kaunas Architecture Festival, will continue to talk via various channels – about the landmark buildings of the city.

Not necessarily, but quite often their scale and architectural expression are superior to those of the neighbors. These buildings are well visible from various parts of the city, and from them, the city itself is revealed in all its beauty. Yet we continue to talk about what is visible but what if you can’t see?

To pull out of the shadow

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If you have a visual disability, or perhaps a mobility impairment then, of course, the ergonomics of the building, the logic of its layout, accessibility and other nuances that are particularly important to those with limited orientation or movement, are more important than the color of the facade. It must be acknowledged that creative building solutions, aesthetic elements and, ultimately, the expression of style and epoch more widely discussed in society than ramps, are not accessible to everyone.

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The (Invisible) Architecture project was initiated by architect Rasa Chmieliauskaitė together with Kaunas Artists’ House. “I was inspired by the perception that the laziest way to know the environment is vision. We only need a few seconds to judge the architectural object and historical facts or professional terms of architectural details do not guarantee the pleasure of “reading” the object,” says one of the organizers of Kaunas Architecture Festival. We talked to her in this March’s issue about adapting heritage objects to different groups of society. We are pleased that we have an excuse to extend our acquaintance with Rasa’s meaningful ideas.

So, what is this project about? Of course, buildings are needed. Well recognizable and distinguished.

We definitely have some of those in Kaunas. Then you need architects.

We also have them! Let’s not forget urban specialists as well as participants who could communicate the unknown ways of perceiving the environment and buildings to the “lazy” ones. Here, the Lithuanian Association of the Blind and Visually Handicapped came to the rescue, spreading the invitation to join the workshop among its members. All together they went on tours and later a “design thinking” workshop took place. While we wait for their results, I wonder how the (Invisible) Architecture project is viewed by people who have come across it in different ways.

Architect Matas Vilkauskas told me that he joined both as a professional and as a curious person who wanted to learn something new, “I have little experience with how people with one or other disability live. Of course, when designing buildings, you follow the requirements, but from a practical point of view, it was really interesting to face the reasons for those requirements.” The architect says that during the tours and a workshop he focused on how visually impaired people orientate in space, what makes it easier for them, what bothers them. He expects to apply the new knowledge at work intuitively.

Of course, Matas was also curious to experience the buildings in a new way, “Although architects are usually interested in details and materiality, this time we were touching everything so carefully, listening to the echo of the room and the sound we make while walking.” One of the objects visited by the architect was

the Museum of the 9th Fort and a memorial to the victims of Nazism, which he had visited before, but only now, as he says, became fully aware of the integrity of the object.

Andžejus Ravanas, an active member of the community for the blind and partially sighted, also visited the historical objects of Kaunas. He was invited to the workshop by Lina Puodžiūnienė, culture and art project’s manager at the Lithuanian Association of the Blind and Visually Handicapped. “She often suggests all sorts of interesting activities.”

Andžejus visited Perkūnas House for the first time but he has been to the 9th Fort during his school years, “This time, however, it was different - in a simple excursion you are told about historical events, and on this occasion, I learned more about the monument itself. We were able to literally touch objects, sense their differences and architectural features. The architects who were guiding the tour told us a lot. They knew how buildings should be presented to the blind, they told us in detail about the relief, the textures - for the blind, such things often remain in the shadow.

By the way, Andžejus is a resident of Vilnius, so I could not resist the temptation to ask if Kaunas and Vilnius were different or actually similar cities? “To me - they are very different. The Old Town of Kaunas and especially the center is very cozy. Even before the reconstruction of Laisvės alėja, I used to like coming here and simply taking a walk. It is a very comfortable street for the blind - well if we compare it with Gediminas Avenue in the capital. I kept telling it to my friends and they were surprised.”

The idea that blind people hear better is a stereotype - they are

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Photo by Ernestas Lylaus

The workshops would take place the next day after the tour so that there would be time for the multitude of experiences and sensations to settle, but still remain fresh. The team worked on a pre-prepared methodol-

I also asked the interviewees how they see the meaning and applicability of the project in the future.

Paulina says she liked the project’s intent to change the way of thinking when it comes to building design, “Instead of adapting buildings post-factum, they should be designed with various social groups in mind. I believe this applies to the wider presentation of the city and the field of culture. I would like it to not be a belated thought or an obligation but a self-evident thing.”

Andžejus mentioned a snowball effect, “Maybe there will not be any global impact but I felt that the architects who attended the workshop were impressed by our communication, and not only from a professional point of view - I think they will share personal discoveries with colleagues.”

The results of these workshops will be presented during the Kaunas Architecture Festival on November 26 during an exhibition and a lecture Architecture and Sight. It should interest even those who are lucky to have a great eyesight.

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Paulina Drėgvaitė, an essayist from Kaunas Artists’ House who joined the project to explore its inner workings as well as re-acquaint herself with well-known objects, also participated in the tours of the Old and Rare Print Department of Kaunas County Public Library (K. Donelaičio St.) and Perkūnas House. She says that this tour model - acting in tandem, when the sighted person walks with the blind or partially sighted - allowed to experience buildings from many angles: texture, temperature, height, smell, paying attention to seemingly self-evident building elements, “It was very interesting to notice my own hastiness in terms of everyday life, when you live surrounded by architecture.”

ogy designed specifically for this project. With the help of various materials, they created models – not of the buildings they visited or any specific object but, with the help of imagination, of architectural elements characteristic of one era or another.

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simply better and listening to the environment. It was an interesting point we touched with the (Invisible) Architecture participant from Vilnius. Andžejus says that buildings do sound different, “9th Fort Museum has a really tall ceiling, this space can be felt precisely through sound.”

And do you know how to roughly measure the distance from wall to wall or from ceiling to the floor? By snapping your fingers.

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To hack the heritage in 48 hours

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What can be done in 48 hours for the sake of Kaunas heritage? If technology, architecture, and heritage specialists all join forces with activists, artists, and designers - quite a lot. This is what an upcoming Kaunas Architecture Festival (KAFe) and KTU National Innovation and Business Center hackathon for heritage Herithon’19 would say.

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Culture archives open for the public Kaunas Architecture Festival enters its third cycle in the city with the question about landmark and iconic architecture as the one which creates or destroys the city’s identity. While Kaunas modernist architecture is waiting for its UNESCO heritage label, and there is an ongoing public discussion about the architectural value of the block of flats and one-storey wooden houses, a need arises to rethink what we see and appreciate in our environment every day. To this end, the triennial international architecture project has included a fresh, open format for participation in its regular program of exhibitions, K AU N A S F U L L O F CU LT U R E

tours, and competitions. The interactive heritage hackathon – simply Herithon’19 – dedicated to Kaunas will settle in one of the city’s architectural symbols - KTU Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Design – for 48 hours, from the 27th till 29th of September.

It is one of the first such events in the Lithuanian field of culture. However, it turns out that European and global heritage institutions have been using hackathons as helpful tools for years. These include the European Commission, with the Europeana project of cultural heritage digitalisation and promotion that invited to hackathons to propose new solutions for accessing cultural heritage.

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Many initiatives have already set an example. ChangeMakers’ON hackathon that has been taking place for quite a few years now, dedicated to the development of social innovation, after becoming the part of the European Capital of Culture (Kaunas 2022) forum session on The Element of Sustainability for Communal Social Business this year focused on communities. Examples can be found a little further to our west as well – last year, during Baltathon, the Lithuanian Maritime Museum, participating in the Baltic Museum Hackathon Network created tourism service propositions for the city of Klaipeda, the castle and the Castle Museum.

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Driven by the policy of openness, more and more institutions are opening up their digital treasuries to the public and communities. In this way state and municipal, culture and heritage, science and technology institutions along with the independent representatives of culture and social spheres get into a symbiotic relationship.

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KAFe and Herithon partner, The National Innovation and Business Center of Kaunas University of Technology, has also inscribed several events in the history of Lithuanian Hackathons. The most unusual one was the Defense Technology Hackathon DELTA 1, (the first of its kind in Lithuania) organised in Rukla together with the Lithuanian army. KTU achievements in this field also include the largest hackathon in Lithuania – Hacker Games, which took place in 2017 and the more profound connection with Kaunas was established. One weekend of 2018, participants of the Kaunas Startups 2018 hackathon, having gained access to Kaunas city data, developed innovative solutions to improve the situation of tourism and mobility in the city.

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Hackers and marathons to build the city of the future For Kaunas resident who isn’t that well acquainted with the field of technology (or architecture and heritage), it might be challenging to understand the combination of innovation and heritage suggested by Herithon as well as what hackers and marathons have to do with it. In the English language, having rid itself of negative connotations of digital data thieves, the term hacker refers to a specialist who hacks the old system.

And also, an innovator capable of discovering how technology can be applied in solving other problems.

For example, heritage, like Kaunas Architecture Festival suggests. The format of the hackathon may thus find itself at the intersection of IT and engineering, the humanities, social sciences, the arts and other possible areas that Herithon organisers are seeking to unite.

Hackathon is a collaborative, time-limited process in which teams of professionals from different disciplines, with the help of mentors, develop problem-solving prototypes using innovative technology. In this way, a niche problem, perhaps only recognised by a specialist, can become relevant to the broader public.

In addition to commonly used mobile applications, it uses such attractive tools as augmented and virtual reality and drone technologies.

For those who are skeptical of the seemingly contradictory disciplines – the state-of-the-art technology and heritage – KAFe curator Tautvydas Urbelis assures that “today there isn’t a single aspect in our environment that would not be touched by technology and heritage, which is part of our everyday lives, and its preservation is or at least should be a dynamic process.”

During Herithon, the difference be-

Herithon will be part of the Kaunas Architecture Festival and will present Kaunas Modernist architecture as one of the best examples of how the city’s heritage potential is put to work. However, the organisers of hackathon do not consider the historical marks of the city or “dusty museum exhibits” to be the only heritage objects. After all, the concept of heritage includes both tangible and intangible heritage that reaches townspeople from different historical periods.

By combining the imagination and collaboration between theorists and practitioners of different disciplines, the conception of the future city can fit the little wooden houses located in the centre, in need of restoration and, for example, the tree alleys that are being rid of trees. In this way, one of the hackathon format’s values is the ability to raise unexpected or specific questions and challenges, rather than only offering solutions to physical problems that are visible to the naked eye. For example, one of the organisers’ guidelines, Changing States, speak of intangible heritage

Most often, the value of hackathon’s results is measured by the commercial success of the prototypes created, but Herithon organisers emphasise the educational and social value of the project. The cultural shift in the format of technological innovation development stems from the question of what we consider worth preserving for future generations.

In a sense, Herithon can become an opportunity to “take back” or, as the organisers say, “free” heritage from oblivion and actualise its objects to a wider section of society, for example by creating smart public spaces.

Or, rather, provide a niche solution for something that concerns many townspeople and with the help of information technology provide assistance to the owners of heritage objects.

T. Urbelis emphasises that KAFe seeks to question the aforementioned landmark concept as something that might not only create but also disturb the microclimate of the city. After all, one of KAFe’s key questions this year is, “Can Landmark architecture be more than just glass towers focused solely on international names, tourists and business interests? Perhaps the exquisite architecture should emphasise the specificity of the area and function as actual urban signs at the same time complementing the existing urban structures in a harmonious way.” The problematization of present and future heritage using the principle of the hackathon can help create, as T. Urbelis puts it “micro landmarks.” That is, the aim should not be to define as many new, majestic urban sights as possible, but to initiate processes of change that would create new meanings for heritage labelling.

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New heritage labels

transforming into tangible objects, and vice versa, “Urban legends turn into algorithms, and masterpieces of modernism into sounds? Of course!”.

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tween innovation and history will be erased as will the notion that heritage is accessible only to people with special education. Vaida Morkūnaitė, Business Development Specialist at the National Innovation and Business Center at KTU, provides an example from her own experience gained in Defense Technology Hackathon. Warfare does not seem to be an easily understood discipline, but if you look closely, its problems appear to be very ‘human’. Such an approach is also expected when focusing on heritage issues, thus opening the way for everyone to embrace their future city through the practical changes they find the most important.

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“Looking at his ideas and analyzing them, we get excited because we finally got an architect whom we can easily entrust with this enormous task. We have confidence in his expertise and would just like for the city to give as much means to Kovalskis as possible and allow him to work independently.” This is how architect Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis spoke about the new head of the city’s urban planning Jonas Kovalskis who appeared in this department of the municipality in 1937. Indeed, he had a reason to be happy because the first functioning position of an urban planner had appeared in the country and in the certain office – an architect, holding a fresh (several years old) diploma from a prestigious French school, Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts.

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The Interior Ministry scholarship holder turned out to be a fair public investment. At the time, Lithuanian cities had many problems and although they were being gradually solved by the chief building inspector of the country, Antanas Novickis (read about him and the challenges he faced in our January issue), there was always an issue of personnel shortages. Recalling that in a poorly industrialized country, these problems were mainly manifested in the heavily developing Kaunas, it seemed

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that logically the best creative forces had to be consolidated; and yet, perhaps because of the heavy workload they were under, the city was unsuccessful with the heads of construction – chief engineers. F. Vizbaras was kicked out from this position in 1925 with a resolution drafted by the Minister of Interior for professional misconduct. In 1931 E. Frykas was tried for negligence when a worker died during construction, and at the end of 1937, Karolis Reisonas lost his position under the same circumstances.

Jonas Kovalskis-Kova in exile. Journal „Aidai“

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The project for redesigning the access of Vilijampolė bridge. Lithuanian Central State Archives.

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Taking advantage of legislative changes started by A. Novickis, J. Kovalskis soon began large-scale works in his department. Engineer Juozas Dragašius, who became the head of the Construction Department later, did not interfere with Kovalski’s work in any way. A list of the most significant urban problems in the city was made and soon something that has been discussed for many years was sanctioned: the most important document on urban development – the general plan – was drafted. Until then, the official plan was the one made in 1923 by a prominent Danish engineer M. P. Frandsen, which, due to the lack of geodesic data of the city at that time, was more of a sketch than a serious planning regulation. The new city plan was to be a comprehensive study based on the urban planning guidelines of the time, which had to foresee a comprehensive urban development path for at least 25 years ahead, based on past and future urban demographic,

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economic, geographical and other data. Although this is routine practice today, it is worth remembering that many settlements at that time did not even have coherent plans of their current state, and only Šiauliai was able to start preparing a document of similar scale and detail. The Kovalskis’ plan was expected to become a benchmark for other cities.

Many of the current problems in the city seem to replicate those of the past, the most sensitive of which, the urban planner chose as a priority.

One of the first steps had to be the significant expansion of the administrative borders of the city. It was not about the desire to expand the city, but, on the contrary, a preventive measure designed to avert unplanned events beyond the boundaries of the city. The situation was very similar to the present one: in the last two decades, a whole constellation of chaotic suburbs emerged around Kaunas which provided

cheaper housing for the people who worked in the city but had deplorable infrastructure, many deeper issues concerning urban design, and also programmed more significant problems for the future development of the city.

Early in his career as an urban planner, Kovalskis wrote, “An urban planner must be an encyclopedist. But he alone, cannot make a fully-fledged city plan: he has to reach out to specialists in other fields and ask them to join this work.” And indeed, it was an aptly described modus operandi of this architect. Kovalskis made his decisions based on the opinions and studies of other specialists.

Taking his colleagues’ criticism into account, he also used customizable planning solutions dating back to 1923. Frandsen’s work and sketches of the city prepared by the German occupation authorities in 1917. Some of the ideas were used in the preparation of the first part of the future plan, the scheme of the urban arterial network, which, as usual, should have provided the basis for further work. The far-sightedness and logic of the architect’s decisions are illustrated by the fact that although many of them were not implemented, quite a few appeared in a more or less varied form during the Soviet period.

The matter was urged by one of the most pressing problems of the temporary capital - the enormous traffic problems, which were bound to increase in the future as the number of cars grew. The city stood on a large crossroad. The transit traffic between Ukmergė, Žemaičiai, Raudondvaris, and Veiveriai roads moved through Vilijampolė and Vytautas Didysis Bridges and heavily burdened the entire Old Town. Even before the restoration of diplomatic relations with Poland, there were ideas

about Tunelio Street, which, sooner or later, had to become the witness of the primary traffic flows to Vilnius.

Karmelitų and Eigulių Bridges (that were planned to be built) were not a new solution, but this time they served as a kind of urban bypass, connecting the major interurban arteries and liberating the city centre.

These decisions were implemented some decades after following other general plans, although Karmelitai Bridge has been moved closer to the axis of M. K. Čiurlionio Street. The hypothetical Marvelė Bridge – a part of Kovalskis’ plans – which was supposed to connect Žemaičių Road with Suvalkija directly, emerged in the form of Lampėdžiai Bridge.

Significantly more controversial decisions, which in other forms were implemented several decades later during the Soviet period, were also associated with traffic reduction in the Old Town. Back in 1939, it was decided to enlarge the streets of Birštono and Šv. Gertrūdos. However, the situation here had been solved a little differently. Instead of currently integrated connecting Šauklių Street, which directs traffic towards Petras Vileišis Bridge and Jonavos Street, Šv. Gertrūdos Street was supposed to be a kind of extension of Laisvės alėja, ending with a large transport junction and a second bridge to Vilijampolė. The bridge was supposed to appear on the axis of Birštonas Street, thus leaving Vytautas Didysis Bridge only with a symbolic role of local significance.

A large, traffic-flow-dividing transport junction with a square in the middle was planned in the axis of Karmelitai Bridge – in front of the church of the same name. However, it was decided together with the representatives of transport institutions that leaving all future traffic in the direction of Vilnius through

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Petrašiūnai would be short-sighted, especially considering the newly built Žemaičių Highway. This led to a proposal to solve the connection through the former Tvirtovės alėja, which later became Taikos Avenue.

Although, when Vilnius was regained and the highway construction works started, it was planned to connect it with Savanoriai Avenue (Ukmergė Road) in Murava, but it was the first solution to become the main junction.

This idea was also crucial because of the expected role of the northeastern part of Žaliakalnis. Before that, it had been decided to concentrate the city’s industry mainly in Vilijampolė gradually moving it from Karmelitai, and later Šančiai, and establishing a huge port nearby. The studies of the Railway Administration revealed

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that the construction of the railway to Vilijampolė would be costly, so it was agreed that the best location for a large industrial area would be in Žaliakalnis, beyond what is now known as Aklųjų Crossing. The railway branch from Palemonas was to be brought here. Under these circumstances, a huge new industrial area was foreseen here for businesses “in need of a railroad but not a river nearby.” Perhaps those guidelines were followed in the 1960s, when, although a few kilometres away, the city’s main industrial area began to emerge in the northeast. An anticipated military airport emerged a bit further, in Karmėlava, unfortunately serving another army.

Bearing in mind that only J. Kovalskis, his deputy Algirdas Prapuolenis and several delineators

worked on the planning part, over a few years, a huge amount of differently-sized changes appeared in the urban fabric, designed to solve major problems. Having the sketch of the main arteries in possession, the regulatory plans for the “most chaotic” areas were gradually drawn up.

The street network and connections were being straightened and logically solved; plot sizes and shapes, the anticipated green spaces and social infrastructure were being managed.

This also led to the re-planning of the so-called Karmelitų and Ąžuolų (better known today as Pelėdų) hill quarters which had not been fully realized before the war, and these areas reached the 21st century with little change. Perhaps the most impressive project headed by J. Kovalskis’ department – Aukštieji Šančiai plan – was implemented only partially. It, like the missing sketch of the entire city, made for the same purpose, had systematically resolved the layout of public buildings, spaces and green zones. Until then, the structure of the city was dominated by the chaotic layout of representative buildings.

J. Kovalskis’ prospective Kaunas was very green, with a large system of parks and green zones, preserving not only the former but also planting trees in the empty, newly connected areas. In addition to the plan to preserve the Panemunė or Kleboniškis forests for the recreation of townspeople and Ąžuolynas (Oak grove) layout project, it was also planned to plant all the outskirts of the city with trees and expand Pažaislis Forest in threefold. Small parks also played a big role here – as part of the official urban strategy, future confluence and island parks also emerged at the time. In the future, he intended to apply to the suburban resorts of Kaunas a specific concept of satellite settlements, which became

more popular at that time, thus enabling them to have the best possible connection with the city. Instead of Panemunė – gradually turning into a city district – he saw Vičiūnai as the new, promising, and main resort of Kaunas, for which he had even prepared a layout project.

After Lithuania was occupied by the Soviets, the former J. Kovalskis’ deputy, A. Prapuolenis became the head of the city planning department and thus continued the work they had started earlier. The plan was developed during the next occupation as well. It was then that the boundaries of the city where expanded twofold: it is an area, with a few subsequent additions, forming a major part of present-day Kaunas. It is believed that this plan was formally followed in the early post-war period as well since architect Vladimiras Zubovas in 1945 had provided a slightly revised part of the sketch with “solutions to the main problems”. However, the master plan was never fulfilled – the changed geopolitical situation required a different city.

It is worth remembering that J. Kovalskis was also a pedagogue.

Between 1937 and 1941 he taught the young generation at the Technical College (currently Kaunas Technical College) architecture and urban planning. And during the war, the former head of the Urban Planning Department joined the staff of Vytautas Magnus University. In 1944 the architect retreated to the West. While in Displaced Persons’ camp in Germany and after moving to the US and changing his surname to ‘Kova’ (Battle), the architect worked a lot and created plans for future Lithuania and later designed a number of distinctive buildings for Lithuanian communities. But this time, we will not tell you about the architect’s buildings designed on both sides of the Atlantic.

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“30 years of friendship is more than memories. Lithuania first!� the ninety-year-old publicist Fritz Bartelt, a prominent cultural figure in West Germany and a great friend of Lithuania, using his strong hand and elegant writing dedicated his new factual literature novel Neumark for Kaunas residents. Before recounting another meeting with this distinguished person, the laureate of Santaka Honorary Badge of Kaunas City, let us first make a quick stop at his rich biography.

Born in Warthebruche in 1928, Mr Bartelt studied acting and theatre in Rostock, Putbus and Plauen. He studied political science, German philology, and ethnology in Munich and Munster. After that, for a long time, he served as director of Detmold Cultural Institute in Lippe County in North Rhine-Westphalia.

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Petras Palilionis Photo by author

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This nice man, a competent Western German culture actor from Lippe region, appeared in the Soviet Kaunas three decades ago in May 1989.

Why and how, we learned early this spring from Mr Fritz Bartelt himself after meeting in his welcoming and spacious flat located in the luxurious Charlottenburg district of West Berlin: “As the Soviet empire was collapsing and political climate was warming up, in 1989 a treaty of friendship and cooperation between Lippe county and Kaunas city was signed. Among other things – professional, economic, sports-related – the agreement envisaged cultural relations as well.

Udo Hasse, the head of Lippe County at the time, charged me with setting up these connections. As it turned out later, it would have been difficult to find a more favourable occasion. Kaunas was hosting an annual Poetry Spring, a significant literary festival and Bernardas Brazdžionis – coming to Lithuania from the US for the first time – was being honoured.

I thought about whether I should be going or not for a long time. There were no direct flights. I had to go through East Germany. I flew from Schönefeld Airport to Moscow and from there to Vilnius. At the Vilnius Airport, I was welcomed by the head of Kaunas writers, Petras Palilionis.”

How do you remember Kaunas of the time?

Very green, very spring-like, and very friendly to me. Although the street names were still in Lithuanian and Russian, and occasionally you could meet Soviet soldiers and hear their muted speech, you could already feel that the city was living on the eve of Revival. I was just shocked by the drawing attached to the tree in Laisvės alėja, which was depicting the Stalin-Hitler alliance…

You came to Lithuania as an expected guest, as a friend...

Now, remembering not the cartoon you saw but the actual deal between Stalin and Hitler, the terrible war, forgive me for the question but do you think things could have gone differently?

No, they couldn’t! At the end of the war, I was barely 16 years old. Also, I can’t imagine myself shooting people…

And thank goodness! Dear Fritz, it is easy to name the years of friendship between Kaunas and Lippe – it is 30. It is much more difficult to count all the contacts and visits to both countries.

Here‘s as sketch by Osvaldas Jablonskis, one of the Kaunas artists that travelled to Schwalenberg.

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There were more contacts between Lippe and Kaunas than between West and East Germany… Between politicians, doctors, firefighters, sports and art collectives. A number of official acquaintances quickly developed into personal. During my first trip, I visited Kaunas museums, artists’ studios and got acquainted with the work of professional and folk artists. All this made a great impression on me. When I came back, I started thinking about how to help Lithuanian artists. At that time Schwalenberg Creative House was opened, and scholarships for artists were established. Romualdas Čarna, Osvaldas Jablonskis, Alfredas Šatas, Laima Drazdauskaitė, Mykolas Šalkauskas and other famous Kaunas artists were among the first to use these opportunities.

I think for many of us this was the first widely opened window to a free Europe. And it took place annually?

During the years I worked as a director, 18 Lithuanian artists created, exhibited and rested in the Schwalenberg Creative House. Under favourable conditions, they had to leave one artwork in Lippe and others they could sell there. It was also great support. With the change of political leadership of the county, the directorate of the Lippe Institute of Regional Studies, and when I left for Berlin, those ties weakened…

In today’s terms, this was a very successful project of great importance to us. Unfortunately, now we have to live only with the memory of it.

The situation isn’t special, everything changes. Just like in any family, at first, a passionate relationship later then develops into a normal, traditional one. It all depends on the personalities and circumstances. After Lithuania’s liberation from the occupation, relations between Lippe County and Kaunas city could not remain the same. But the ties didn’t break! I am delighted with the 30th anniversary of our friendship, the upcoming events.

Unfortunately, my health does not allow me to participate.

Well then, we will have to raise a glass in your honour without you. Dear Fritz, we are very grateful for everything, but let me make a quick joke here – not necessarily indebted – I am talking about your beautiful family here.

Indeed! During my first stay in Lithuania, German translator Giedrė became my wonderful wife and an active helper. After getting an art critic’s degree in Berlin, she continues my work. My wife has established a private gallery in our home. Many artists from the Baltic countries have already exhibited their works there.

On the occasion of Kaunas and Lippe County cooperation anniversary, Lithuanian Artists’ Association is organizing an exhibition featuring artists who had been awarded the Lippe County scholarships.

The exhibition will take place at the Kaunas State Philharmonic (E. Ožeškienės g. 12) on September 16-22.

Also, all Kaunas residents and guests of the city are invited to the German Days in Kaunas which will take place on September 16-22. More information about the events can be found at www.kaunas.lt.

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What was most important to you? What stuck in your memory the most?

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Calendar MUSIC Thursday, 09 05 / 09 19, 8 pm

Impro night

Sunday, 09 08, 4 pm

The conveniently located and brilliantly programmed cultural bar is jumpstarting the new event season with a new tradition. Every two weeks, musicians of all kinds are welcome to improvise here. The first event will be started by Arūnas Periokas and Artūras Novikovas.

Vytautas the Great War Museum garden, K. Donelaičio g. 64

Bar “Godo”, Laisvės al. 89

Carillon concert by Julius Vilnonis

Saturday, 09 07, 4 pm

“Buitis 2: Paplavokas” Kaunas reservoir pier

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from London and perform his new music. Local cold, harsh and industrial music acts are on the lineup, too, both outside and inside.

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Maestro Julius Vilnonis will have the pleasure to play at one of the last concerts of the carillon season. The program will include both classics and well-known contemporary music.

Saturday, 09 14, 3:30 pm

“Autumn Devastation X” Club “Lemmy”, Girstupio g. 1 Photo by Povilas Karpavičius

Older Kaunasians definitely remember there once was a popular cafe called “Paplavokas” in the pier, which has been unused for ages. “Ghia” crew, however, booked 2nd Gen to come here

Pet-friendly places

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Performers of death, black, doom, thrash metal and genres alike will storm the live music venue all Saturday long in this traditional autumn gettogether.

More events pilnas.kaunas.lt

September Sunday, 09 15, 4 pm

Carillon concert by Austėja Staniunaitytė-Proietta Vytautas the Great War Museum garden, K. Donelaičio g. 64

The talented carillonist of the younger generation will close the concert season with a programme full of positive emotions.

Thursday, 09 19, 6 pm

Concert “Four Seasons” Kaunas State Philharmonic, L. Sapiegos g. 5

Everything has already been said about Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”, the monument of music and the object of very many interpretations and recordings.

Would the Venetian composer have really appreciated the performances heard over the past decades, be they ‘authentically baroque’ or, provocatively ‘rock-baroque’? The Italian violinist Daniele Orlando, accompanied by the Solisti Aquilani, ‘read’ and ‘play’ the contemporaneity of Vivaldi: here there are no effects without a cause, never is there an overbearing taste for gratuitous stupefaction as though saying to the listener, “Listen how gifted I am”.

Instead, it is as though restoring his own stupefaction: “Listen how this music is lively and varied”.

Thursday, 09 19, 8 pm

Live: Flash Voyage

“Laukas”, Nepriklausomybės a. 12

The open-air venue on the terrace of M. Žilinskas Art Gallery welcomes the psychedelic rock youngsters.

Born and bred in Kaunas, the band offers a fresh fusion of sounds and colours, already available on vinyl.

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Calendar Friday, 09 20, 7 pm

Il Volo and Vilnius Sinfonietta

“Žalgirio” arena, Karaliaus Mindaugo pr. 50

Saturday, 09 21, 11 pm

“Isla of Ghia”

Club “Lizdas”, Nepriklausomybės a. 12 The new event season is bringing new sounds to the best venue in Kaunas for electronic music. The tones are dark and weird – the inaugural party of the series will be visited by a Latvian artist SDK and local heroes Patricia Kokett, Hilda, Shapoka and Weevil.

Sunday, 09 22, 7 pm“

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”Kaunas Jazz”: Salvador Sobral Il Volo (Italian for “The Flight”) is an Italian operatic pop trio, consisting of baritone Gianluca Ginoble, and tenors, Piero Barone and Ignazio Boschetto.

They describe their music as “popera”. Having won the Sanremo Music Festival 2015, they represented Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015.

They are the first Italian performers to secure a deal with “Sony Music” and have won numerous Latin Grammy awards. Their tenth-anniversary tour is coming to Kaunas. Il Volo will perform with Vilnius Sinfonietta.

Saturday, 09 21, 9 pm

Live: Varang Nord, Berserker, Aeulurus Club “Lemmy”, Girstupio g. 1

Varang Nord, a Latvian Viking folk band from Latvia that won this year’s Wacken Metal Battle, are back in Kaunas. They’ll be met by Berseker, a melodic metal band from Vilnius, and a local epic rock crew Aeulurus.

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“Žalgirio” arena, Karaliaus Mindaugo pr. 50

The Portuguese singer Salvador Sobral, who performed a spectacular concert in Vilnius on the last day of Autumn 2018, is ready to come back to Lithuania. The winner of the Eurovision Song Contest will now sing at the biggest indoor venue in the Baltics.

September Thursday, 09 26, 6 pm

Season-opening Concert Kaunas State Philharmonic, L. Sapiegos g. 5

The 50-year old Kaunas State Choir, together with an array of talented soloists and Lithuania State Symphony Orchestra, will perform “A Child of Our Time”, an oratory by Michaelo Tippetto (1905–1998). The composer started writing this piece on the first day of World War 2 when Great Britain declared war on Germany.

Friday, 09 27, 7 pm

“GM Gyvai”: Anthony Joseph

VDU main hall, S. Daukanto g. 28

Anthony Joseph is a Trinidad-born poet, novelist, academic and musician who has been referred to as ‘the leader of the black avant-garde in Britain.’ As a musician and spoken word artist, he has released seven critically acclaimed albums which blend Afro-Caribbean music, free jazz and funk. The most recent, “People of the Sun (Heavenly Sweetness)” was recorded in Trinidad and released in 2018. In the same year, he curated a series of five events which celebrated the literary and musical legacies of the Windrush generation, culminating in a gala concert at the Barbican as part of the London Jazz Festival.

Sunday, 09 28, 7 pm

“Missa pro centesimo anno restitutionis Lituaniae” St. George the Martyr Church, Papilio g. 7

Composer Vaclovas Augustinas was commissioned “Missa pro centesimo anno restitutionis Lituaniae” to commemorate the centennial of the Restoration of Lithuanian State. Its premiere took place in November 2018 in the Bernardine church in Vilnius.

In Kaunas, the piece will be performed

by Klaipėda chamber orchestra, Bernardine vocal ensemble, soloists and dancers of Kaunas dance theatre “Aura”.

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Calendar Saturday, 09 28, 6 pm

“Litanies of the Gate of Dawn”

EXHIBITIONS

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08 21 – 09 30

Exhibition “1:23:40. The time that changed history” Vytautas the Great War Museum, K. Donelaičio g. 64

Photo by Šarūnas Jasikevičius

1:23:40 am, April 26, 1986, is the exact time of the biggest nuclear explosion in history, the Chernobyl accident. In the exhibition, Šarūnas Jasikevičius demonstrates pictures from his trips to the area.

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Exhibition by Naglis Rytis Baltušnikas. “WC TV | Part I. Desires” Kaunas picture gallery, K. Donelaičio g. 16

Composer Stanisław Moniuszko (1819–1872), a person important for the history of Lithuania, Poland and Belarus, was a prominent citizen of Vilnius for eighteen years. For the anniversary of the composers 200th birthday, the orchestra of Witold Lutosławski Chamber Philharmonic in Łomża, together with Kaunas State Choir and soloists, will perform his “Litanies of the Gate of Dawn”, dedicated to one of the sacral landmarks of the Lithuanian capital.

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Kaunas Arch-Cathedral Basilica, Vilniaus g. 1

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Photo by Dainius Ščiuka

The cycle of monumental mosaics, presented in the exhibition, was born from real drawings. These are the old WC landscapes. According to the artist, everything was forbidden in Soviet times. The only place you could have privacy was the WC. Toilets of those times are a treasure trove of graffiti: from desires to declarations.

The author of the exhibition didn‘t have an opportunity to take pictures of the toilets, though he repeatedly talked to photographers (at those times there were no smartphones).

Some of the graffiti was destroyed

by KGB. In this way, the Pillars of Gediminas were turned into a house with fumes, a double-cross into “classes” (a game), etc. The erotic themes were not touched. “I have been trying to search the internet, but there is nothing like it anymore.

Those pains disappeared with the era; therefore, my works are more historical than artistic,” the author of the exhibition says.

September 09 06 – 01 05

Exhibition by Leonora Kuisienė “A Tribute to the Muses” National M. K. Čiurlionis Museum of Art, V. Putvinskio g. 55

Leonora Kuisienė is an artist from Kaunas who cherishes the fading art of bookbinding. Her creativity is best described by three things: professionalism, experiment and neo-romantic aesthetics. Fostering the tradition of bookbinding culture, the artist is also building new paths for the future of this branch.

This is the fourth exhibition of the bookbinder, the central theme of which is about inspiration and the inspirers – the muses. The exhibition presents books, in one way or another related to the divine inspiration: from the first act of creation – the beginning of human beings, to the manifestations of creative inspiration by one of the Lithuanian geniuses – M. K. Čiurlionis: the bound notes of the composer, and letters to his wife, Sofia. However, the central leitmotif of the exhibition is the nine-monthbound books of the Greek Muses, born of the Nine Nights of Mnemosyne and Zeus.

Friday, 09 13, 6 pm

“Viskas gerai. All good” opening night Kaunas Artists’ House, V. Putvinskio g. 56

The history proves us that cycles of euphoria and depression are at the same time collective and individual.

You can sometimes touch them just like you feel the pulse under your skin.

“All good” is a saying-masquerade that shows us the inability to see through conditions somewhere in this change of cycles. It might be a way of escaping home, where time stands still, and a party is always going on. The artists of contemporary art and performance exhibition are Jokūbas Čižikas, Monika Janulevičiūtė, Antanas Lučiūnas, Rūta Kiškytė, Ulijona Odišarija, Jurgis Paškevičius, Ieva Rojūtė, Anastasia Sosunova and Gedvilė Tamošiūnaitė.

Sunday, 09 29

Free Museum Sunday

Various locations

Starting January 2019, every last Sunday of the month means free entrance for everyone to a long list of museums all around Lithuania. In Kaunas, the

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Calendar list includes the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art and its departments, Maironis Lithuanian Literature Museum and its departments, Kaunas 9th Fort Museum, Lithuanian Aviation Museum and Lithuanian Education History Museum. The Open-Air Museum of Lithuania in Rumšiškės, located not far from Kaunas, is also taking part in the programme.

Wednesday, 09 11, 8:30 pm

“Why Are We Creative?”

Cinema “Romuva”, Kęstučio g. 62

CINEMA “Where’d You Go, Bernadette”

Cinema “Romuva”, Kęstučio g. 62

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Friday, 09 06, 6 pm

Former architect Bernadette Fox seems to have it all – a beautiful home in Seattle, a successful and loving husband, and a brilliant teenage daughter who’s about to attend boarding school.

When Bernadette suddenly disappears without a trace, her concerned family sets off on an exciting adventure to solve the mystery of where she might have gone. Directed by Richard Linklater. In English with Lithuanian subtitles.

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Hermann Vaske is a director, producer and the winner of more than 100 creative awards including Cannes Lions.

This documentary pulls together interviews conducted by Vaske with more than 50 luminaries in their fields over 30 years. They include David Bowie, Björk, Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch, David Lynch, Angelina Jolie, Yohji Yamamoto, Vivienne Westwood, Marina Abramović, Dalai Lama, Stephen Hawkins and many others. Their answers become timeless.

More events pilnas.kaunas.lt

September Saturday, 09 14, 8:30 pm

“Halston”

Cinema “Romuva”, Kęstučio g. 62

The satellite event of the European Film Forum “Scanorama” will represent the cinema of the early twentieth century. The program is structured to cover the most diversified spectrum of genres and schools of national cinema.

Screenings at Kaunas cinema centre “Romuva”.

09 26 – 10 06

Kaunas International Film Festival Various locations

TRoy Halston Frowick, known simply as Halston, was an American fashion designer who rose to international fame in the 1970s. His minimalist, clean designs often made of cashmere or ultrasuede were a new phenomenon in the mid-1970s discotheques and redefined American fashion. The flattering, myth-inflating documentary

by Frédéric Tchen, gives us the story of this flamboyant personality.

09 20 – 09 22

Early cinema festival “First Wave”

The festival will gather the cinephiles of Kaunas and Lithuania for the 12th time. As always, the festival shares a diverse programme with all the cinema lovers: they can choose between art house films, audiovisual arts to the grand award-winning films.

Cinema “Romuva”, Kęstučio g. 62

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Calendar OTHER EVENTS 09 05 – 10 06

09 06 – 09 07

Fluxus Festival Various locations

Festival “Kaunas Photo” Various locations

Hannes Wiedemann. “Grinders”

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Photo by Martynas Plepys.

The longest-running annual international photo art festival in Lithuania and the Baltic States will spread across various spaces of Kaunas with the theme “Digital-Virtual-Real”, aiming to reflect upon our contemporary digitised society from different perspectives. Visit exhibitions in galleries and museums as well as open-air public spaces through September and look out for artist talks and other events connected to the 16th edition of the festival.

More events pilnas.kaunas.lt

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Every resident of Kaunas and Kaunas district, as well as every guest of our city, is invited to join the unpredictable event that will culminate on midnight – this is when we’ll climb to Parodos hill in various Fluxus-inspired ways. The festival is one of the many steps of Kaunas in becoming the European Capital of Culture 2022.

09 06 – 09 08

Baltic Tattoo Convention

LSU Track-and-field arena, Aušros g. 42 The biggest tattoo event in Baltic states will field the 2000 square meters with ink, entertainment and rock and roll. This year, tattoo stars like Benjamin Laukis, Natalie Nox, Randy Engelhard, Dave Paulo, Jurgis Mikalauskas and many more will take part in the event.

September Sunday, 09 15, noon – 6 pm

Red Bull Soapbox Race Parodos hill

week full of events all around Kaunas.

Expect concerts, film screenings, excursions, lectures, food tastings and exhibitions. More at www.kaunas.lt.

Friday, 09 20

Conference “Building Bridges. Thoughts about the other Russia” Various locations Photo by Red Bull

The Red Bull Soapbox Race is a self-made vehicle race first held in 2000. Over a hundred races have been held in multiple countries around the world. 11 years ago, the event took place in Vilnius, and now, for the first time in history, it’ll occupy Parodos hill in Kaunas.

09 16 – 09 22

German days in Kaunas Various locations

Kaunas is celebrating 30 years since it met its first sister city – the Lippe district in Germany. Together with the German embassy in Lithuania, the Goethe Institut and other partners, the municipality is hosting a

Photo by Remis Ščerbauskas

It will be the second time that the Andrei Sakharov Research Center for Democratic Development will organize a conference and concert in memory of Leonidas Donskis (1962-2016).

The event is named after Leonidas Donskis, a Jewish-Lithuanian philosopher, political theorist, historian of ideas, social analyst, and political commentator, who was a professor of politics at Vytautas Magnus University. The goal of the event is to discuss the need to distinguish between “the Russians” and Putin’s clique. The conference held in Vytautas Magnus University will be followed by a concert in the M. K. Čiurlionis Gallery.

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Calendar

Saturday, 09 21

KAFe 2019: Space (s)

Hotel “Britanika”, Kęstučio g. 26

Thursday, 09 26, 7 pm

Slam #26

Kaunas Artists’ House, V. Putvinskio g. 56

Thursday, 09 26, 5 pm

Birthday event

Bar “Godo”, Laisvės al. 89

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For its opening night, Kaunas architecture festival is opening the doors and spaces of the most prominent ghost in Kaunas, also its antilandmark – the unfinished hotel “Britanika” that will soon be demolished. Don’t miss a chance to see Kaunas from a different perspective and register at www.kafe.lt.

posters of events. Later on, everyone will be welcomed to read their favourite poems – in any language.

On September 28, the party will continue with the performances of Waterflower, Kojosopa and Arma.

Photo by Gerda Žemaitytė

The cultural bar has reached its first anniversary, and it’s ready to celebrate for a few days in a row. The first event will be the presentation of the bar’s anniversary zine, as well as an exhibition of photographs and

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The 26th poetry slam at the Kaunas Artists’ House might become a starting point in your slamming career. You can slam in English (or any other language). Register at asta@kmn.lt

09 27 – 09 29

September

KAFe 2019: Herithon’2019 Studentų g. 56

Together with its partners, Kaunas architecture festival is hosting the first-ever interactive heritage hackathon in Lithuania. Digitizing, alternative mapping, creating digital platforms and transforming objects of architecture are just a few ways to go!

Register and give it a go if you come from the fields of architecture, art, heritage – or any other fields, really, if you love Kaunas and its heritage very much. More at www.kafe.lt.

Saturday, 09 28, 14:00

Sign language poetry festival “Girstutis”, Kovo 11-osios g. 26

Saturday, 09 28, 10 am– 6 pm

“Vegfest LT Kaunas”

“Akropolis”, Karaliaus Mindaugo pr. 49,

Photo by Gintarė Stepanavičiūtė

The event aiming to spread the joy and beauty of veganism and plant-based diet will gather more than 70 businesses to the public spaces of the centrally located mall. You’ll be able to taste all kinds of dairy- and meat-free dishes, drinks and products, buy ecological clothing and cooking books, as well as participate in lectures and workshops.

More events pilnas.kaunas.lt

We wrote about sign language poetry a few issues ago – back then we had no idea we’ll be able to invite you to the first-ever sign language poetry in Kaunas! Its participants were trained by a lecturer from France; the poetry will be translated, but it’s fascinating to watch even if you don’t speak either Lithuanian sign language or spoken Lithuanian.

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pilnas.kaunas.lt

„ Soboras ruins the image of the best place in the centre of the city. It oppresses the Laisvės Alėja with its heavy mass and is on the boulevard’s way.“ From the article “A monument to slavery times”, “Lietuvos žinios”, August 6, 1931.

KAUNAS FULL OF CULTURE Monthly magazine about personalities and events in Kaunas (free of charge)

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Laisvės alėja 59, third floor

Editorial office:

Authors: Aistė Bielevičiūtė, Artūras Bulota, Austėja Banytė, Bernadeta Buzaitė, Eglė Šertvyčūtė, Emilija Visockaitė, Julija Račiūnaitė, Justė Vyšniauskaitė, Kamilė Kaminskaitė, Kotryna Lingienė, Kotryna Urbonaitė, Kęstutis Lingys, Paulius Tautvydas Laurinaitis, Petras Palilionis, Rasa Chmieliauskaitė, Teodoras Biliūnas.

Patrons:

KAUNO MIESTO SAVIVALDYBĖ

RUN 100010COPIES. TIRAŽAS 000 EGZ.

K AU N A S F U L L O F CU LT U R E

ISSN 2424-4465

Leidžia: Publisher:

2019 2017 Nr. Nr. 92 (49) (18)