Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas says his cabinet is considering the previous government’s proposal to build a Jewish memorial in and around the Vilnius Palace of Concerts and Sports, a now derelict Soviet-era indoor arena, but this year’s budget does not include funds for a feasibility study.
“The process is ongoing. We’re evaluating, weighing options, and holding discussions. So far, nothing has changed, and if any decisions are made, [the public] will be informed,” Paluckas told BNS.
The previous government approved the idea of building a memorial on the site of the old Jewish cemetery in the Šnipiškės area of Vilnius, and in the arena building, based on the recommendations of a working group.
The memorial would be dedicated to the history of the Jewish cemetery.
The Lithuanian National Museum told BNS that the memorial project is being carried out according to the working group’s proposals.
The museum said that, together with Turto Bankas (Property Bank), the centralised public property management company, it “will begin work on the feasibility study as soon as the necessary funding is received”.
Earlier plans called for the feasibility study to be completed by November 2025 and for an international tender to be launched on February 1, 2027.
However, the museum said it could not confirm a specific start date for the study because it did not know when funding would be available.
“A lot of money will be needed,” PM Paluckas said. “We’ll have the money in the budget when we do. The 2025 budget is what it is, but things can happen in 2026.”
The prime minister said there wouldn’t be “any sudden moves” because the project had international significance and decisions must take the “geopolitical context” into account.
“There’s a wide context of circumstances to take into account,” Paluckas said, noting that “there are all sorts of proposals”, including scrapping the Šnipiškės memorial altogether and instead converting the Sports Palace into a conference centre or adapting it for commercial use.
“So everything needs to be considered carefully,” he said.
Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas told BNS he was not sure whether the new government would follow through with the previous cabinet’s idea.
“I’ve spoken with the prime minister, and it seems the position is to continue. I personally support the idea. I think it’s the best and fastest way to reach an agreement with Jewish communities and to clean up and restore the site, which is extremely important from the city’s point of view,” he said.
Turto Bankas took over the disused Vilnius Palace of Concerts and Sports from Ūkio Bankas Investment Group, which was then undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, and Žalgirio Sporto Arena for 5.6 million euros in 2015.
The plan at the time was to convert the arena, built in 1971, into a conference centre, but the tenders were either cancelled or fell through.
The reconstruction project also faced opposition from some Jewish communities because the Sports Palace had been built on the site of an old Jewish cemetery that had been there since the 16th century.
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