Žilvinas Rinkšelis

The end of P. Višinskis Street, which directs us to the door of the Church of the Resurrection, is framed by two private residential houses. As seen from the side of the church, these two modernists form a real modernist gate to the no less modernist quarters of Žaliakalnis, characterized by a wide variety of wooden and masonry architecture.

Although this house could easily be attributed to the authorship of architect B. Elsbergas (at least some houses of a similar type and architecture can be seen right here in V. Putvinskio Street), it is a project of engineer G. Gumeniukas.

The first Lithuanian Institute for the Blind opened its doors in 1928. An important date for this educational institution is also considered to be 1937, when a modern and new institute building was built. The administration of the institute, classrooms and dormitory moved to it from the old wooden building. The author of the project is architect Stasys Kudokas, a famous designer of schools, public and private buildings at that time.

The architectural objects that appeared in the Botanical Garden of Kaunas Vytautas Magnus University during the interwar period are interesting not only in their history, but also in different functional types. A small bridge over the pond is one of them.

There are many places in Kaunas where a lot of modernist buildings have been concentrated in one bunch. One such "island" is the area of ​​Trakų and K. Būgos streets. Here you can find not only a large part of the residential buildings designed by Jokūbas Peras, but also the house of the architect himself.

If not for the rounded corners, the typical courtyard entrances, and the slate roof of the interwar period, you could think that you are looking at an almost typical post-war apartment block. However, it was designed by Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis, a famous architect of interwar Lithuania, and the four-storey house was home to several well-known citizens and public figures of the time.

Walking down Trakai Street, we pass a large two-storey building located slightly away from the street with a spacious and green courtyard. If you come closer, you will notice the fence posts decorated with hearts: the house and a private hospital that belonged to Olga Gusevienė and her husband, Vitalijus Gusevas, a well-known interwar doctor. The owners with their daughters moved into the house in 1934 and lived there until the occupation of Lithuania in 1940.

What is the connection between Kaunas, Belarus and the Belarusian national revival? All these things were linked by one person – architect Klaudijus Dušauskas Duž, who lived and worked in Kaunas between the wars.