Kaunas interwar architecture has recently earned a place on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Developed in a very short period, in the 1920s and 1930s, this modernist part of the city was meant to represent the fledgeling statehood of the first Republic of Lithuania. Here are some of the icons of modernist Kaunas.
Exclusively ‘Lithuanian’ Central Post Office
The Central Post Office (Laisvės Av. 102) is arguably the best-known gem of Kaunas interwar architecture. The building served its original purpose until recently when the Lithuanian Post decided it had no use for it and put it up for sale. After some protesting from the local community, the city took over the building to be used for public benefit.
“Very soon, it will be home to the National Centre for Architecture, which will not only showcase Kaunas’s legacy from the 1920s and 1930s but also raise topical questions about contemporary architecture,” says architectural historian Viltė Migonytė-Petrulienė.
The idea to build a modern post office building in Kaunas, which would bring together all communication services in one place, originated in 1924, she recalls, because hitherto post offices were scattered in old buildings all over the city, which was inconvenient.
“In 1930, in preparation for the 500th death anniversary [Grand Duke] Vytautas the Great, it was decided to build the Central Post Office as the nucleus and symbol of modern communications,” says Migonytė-Petrulienė.
Designs by the architect Felikas Vizbaras were realised in just one year and the Central Post Office became one of the most significant buildings of the jubilee year. The building also transformed Laisvės Avenue, the central boulevard of new Kaunas. “It stood out from the surrounding buildings and immediately became not only the centre of attraction of the New Town but also one of the icons of the new Kaunas,” says Migonytė-Petrulienė.
This was partly the result of a conscious effort: the edifice was extensively covered by the press, which repeatedly emphasised that it was built using exclusively local materials. This was also a way to boost the population’s confidence in Lithuania’s growing economy, says the architectural historian.
“The good materials and the quality of the construction and finishing work also justified the high cost of the building,” she adds.
Since the construction was part of the jubilee celebrating Vytautas the Great, the medieval grand duke at the centre of interwar Lithuania’s national myth, there were plans to erect his statue at the central entrance.
“Interestingly, this idea was abandoned because it was felt that the post office building itself could perform all the functions of a monument, and that additional visual elements would only unnecessarily burden the design,” says Migonytė-Petrulienė, adding that the principle should be applied in debates on monuments today.
The building’s interior was as impressive – and pregnant with national symbolism – as the exterior, she notes. “The main operations room left no one indifferent, with its richly decorated elements of the national style, ie the collection of stamps of the Republic of Lithuania issued before 1932, painted by the artist Petras Kalpukas; the frieze of stamps in the motifs of the traditional rural fabric patterns, and, in particular, the decorative floors of the foyer and the operations room, as well as a number of other motives.”
According to the historian, the architecture of the post office was meant to raise the prestige of the idea of statehood, which is why images of the building were widely circulated.
The building lost some of its authentic elements during the Soviet period and the interior was modified, although some of it was reversed after Lithuania regained independence, she says.
Century-long construction: Church of the Resurrection
Another Kaunas icon, towering well above its streets and buildings, is the Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Žemaičių St. 31A), which took a century to construct.
Back in 1922, when the decision was made that the city needed a new church, it was seen from the get-go as the symbol of national resurrection, says Migonytė-Petrulienė.
“Six years later, when the city donated a plot of land in Žaliakalnis for the would-be church, a design competition was announced. This part of the church’s history is very intriguing,” she recounts.
None of the three winning design proposals was realised. The proposals by Jonas Krasauskas, Feliksas Vizbaras and Karolis Reisons were not deemed monumental enough. However, the Latvian-born architect Reisons was given another opportunity.
“His second design for the church was much more imposing, with an 83-metre helical pyramid reminiscent of the Tower of Babel,” says Migonytė-Petrulienė. This idea was also criticised, this time for somewhat different reasons: the public thought that the church should be more modern. Moreover, Reisons’ design would have cost a fortune and, although fundraising had already been launched, Kaunas realised that it would be both too expensive and too complicated to realise the idea.
“So Reisons was given a third chance,” she continues.
In 1933, after significantly simplifying the main volume and cutting the tower to 70 metres, the architect finally won over the building committee. According to Migonytė-Petrulienė, the construction of the new national pantheon was marked by unreasonable optimism.
The plan was to finish the construction in three to four years. In 1934, during the Lithuanian Eucharistic Congress, the cornerstone – brought from Jerusalem – was consecrated and the foundations were laid. This work cost about 160,000 litas and exhausted all available funds, so construction had to be suspended for several years.
“It is remarkable how united the public was at that time, donating not only for the construction of the church but also for the construction of other symbolic buildings in Kaunas,” remarks Migonytė-Petrulienė.
In 1936, the work resumed with the donations amounting to 150,000 litas. Unfortunately, the construction could not be completed before the Second World War.
During the German occupation (1941-1944), the church was used as a paper warehouse, while during the Soviet occupation, the building was adapted for a radio factory and only returned to the faithful in 1988.
Restoration work on the church began soon after that and was finally completed in 2004. “The first project was prepared by the architect Henrikas Žukauskas and specialists from the Department of Reinforced Concrete Structures of the Vilnius Institute of Civil Engineering, headed by Antanas Kudis, and the last project was prepared by the architect Algimantas Sprindys,” says Migonytė-Petrulienė.
National modernism: Vytautas the Great Museum
Another monument to the nation and its aspirations was the Vytautas the Great Museum (Donelaičio St. 64). It is a textbook example of national modernist architecture and a landmark in Lithuanian architectural history, notes architect and architectural historian Jolita Kančienė.
The museum was conceived as a monument to Vytautas the Great, whose 500th death anniversary in 1930 was celebrated throughout the country. The museum was supposed to celebrate the spirit of the nation and patriotism, and present Lithuania’s history, culture and achievements, according to Kančienė.
“After an architectural competition in early 1930, which did not produce satisfactory results, the design of the museum was entrusted to the most prominent architect of the time, Professor Vladimiras Dubeneckis, who was assisted by Karolis Reisons, the city engineer of Kaunas, and Kazys Kriščiukaitis, an engineer and assistant of the Department of Architecture of Vytautas Magnus University. They continued the implementation of the architectural idea after the death of Dubeneckis,” explains Kančienė.
The same building housed two different museums, one for the military and one for culture, which were managed by Vladas Nagevičius and Paulius Galaunė, respectively, who were in charge of the design and construction work.
“The architecture of the edifice combines academic traditions and modern forms. The’s an emphasis on the symmetry of the composition and central facades, with two courtyards inserted between the blocks,” she says.
The highlight of the Museum of Culture is the semicircular bay (housing an amphitheatre auditorium), which is divided by vertical edges resembling a crown.
“This is a metaphor conceived by Dubeneckis, which, in my opinion, symbolises the importance of culture and M. K. Čiurlionis in the life of the state,” adds Kančienė, referring to the painter-musician whose museum is now housed in the building.
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