In 1934 architect Vaclovas Michnevičius designed a neo-gothic church for the Evangelical and Reformed community in Kaunas. However, the decision was made that “the project cannot be built in the form in which it currently is”, since its design did not fit well with its surroundings. A new design was prepared by Karolis Reisonas. The new project kept the layout of the hall on the second and the third floors, but the design represented current modernist trends: had a flat roof, smooth shape and was more functional; narrow vertical windows added greatness to the image of the relatively small church which looks quite similar to its “bigger sister” – Christ’s Resurrection Church which was designed by the same architect.

 

A drawing of the church by architect Karolis Reisonas. Photo source: Architecture and Urbanism Research Centre of Kaunas university of Technology.

 

Money for the construction of the church was collected by the believers’ community and the church was finished in 1940, however, it remained unused by the community due to the Soviet occupation. The top part of the tower was torn down, the building was nationalised and turned into the warehouse for tobacco and alcohol manufacturers. Later it was given for the Ministry of Internal Affairs which adapted it for the use of special (militia) school: a canteen and a sports hall was established. When Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, most of the churches were given back to religious communities, however, this case was different: since the owner of the building was an educational institution, the rules of returning the property did not apply. For nearly 20 more years the Evangelical and Reformed Church in Kaunas was used as a sports hall and a canteen. The believers were allowed to come an pray on Sundays.The church was given back to the community in May 2019.

Text by Ugnė Marija Andrijauskaitė

Photos by E. Kniežauskas, 2017 and Ž. Rinkšelis, 2020.

Originally this building served for the organization devoted to the promotion of health, hygiene, and childcare among Jews. Founded on 7 August 1912 in Saint Petersburg as the Society for the Protection of the Health of the Jewish Population, OZE (Obshchestvo okhraneniia zdorov’ia evreiskogo naseleniia; later, Obschestvo zdravookhraneniia evreev; OZE), is now based in Paris and is known as OSE (Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants) World Union. Now this buildings is owned by sports medical center.

One of the earliest examples of a functionalist aesthetics in Kaunas, this building has a particularly laconic exterior of severe geometricized forms, with a clear delineation of spaces and planes and a distinct rhythm of elements. The kernel of the complicated plan is constituted by original oval-shaped halls. The purpose of the building was manifold: the first and third storeys had two five-room apartments; the second contained not only the owner`s apartment, but private suites in which he practiced internal medicine and Dr. Girša Elkes practiced ophthalmology. In one of the rented apartments the first Montessori kindergarten in Lithuania was established; from 1936 to 1940 the building also housed the Finnish consulate.

There are only four remaining mosques in Lithuania, and Kaunas Mosque, also known as Vytautas the Great Mosque is one of them. Kaunas had a wooden mosque built in 1860, but in 1930 for the commemoration of the 500^th death anniversary of Vytautas the Great, the Grand Duke who invited Tatars to come and settle in Lithuania, a decision was made to build a new brick mosque. The project was drafted by by architects Vaclovas Michnevičius and Adolfas Netyksas. Its design reminds the mosques in Northern Africa: compact, small-volume mosque combines historical forms with oriental motifs like an elliptical dome and a small minaret, which was, actually, never used for its traditional purpose.

 

Kaunas mosque. A postcard, 1940s.

 

In 1941 m. the mosque was closed and robbed: its windows were smashed, carpets, furniture and ancient hand-written Quran were stolen. Later the mosque was reopened, but then closed again in 1947. The ownership rights were transferred to Kaunas City Archive which turned the building into a warehouse. In 1950’s the mosque was used for Valentinas Dikulis cirque. In 1986 the building became a library and a warehouse of M. K. Čiurlionis Museum of Art. During the soviet times, the murals inside the mosque were painted over. The mosque was returned to the Muslim community of Kaunas in 1989 and restored in 2007-2008; there are plans to recover the old murals by 2030 when the mosque will celebrate its 100 anniversary.

Text by Ugnė Marija Andrijauskaitė

Photos by L. Mykolaitis and R. Tenys (“Kas vyksta Kaune”) 2018.

This private residence, located next to a busy boulevard, rightfully draws the eye of many a passersby. The building stands out among its modernistic Kaunas’ peers by its looks and decorative details, and breaks away from Lithuanian architectural tradition. Its outlandish looks have probably fuelled the many stories and rumours about its uncommon origins.
According to its contemporaries, this expressive residence is a real-life copy of images found in foreign newspapers and books of the time. Its original owners would have had the architect take an example from these foreign pictures, and build a house that would be an example for the whole of Kaunas. As a result, the building is rich in contrasts – its rich decorum mixes both art nouveau and art deco styles, while its front (street) and back (inner court) façades exhibit surprisingly different looks.
The back façade is remarkably modern, and could, with its nicely-balanced proportions, perfectly fit in any of today’s streets of the Naujamiestis district. This house epitomises the peculiarity of Kaunas’ modernistic heritage. Throughout all the independence period, buildings always tended to exhibit an official-looking, confidence-inspiring front façade, while the back façade would be of much simpler aesthetics, devoid of any decorums, and reflect a more day-to-day, modern image of what life in the city is really like.