Landowner T. Dambravičienė is still considered to be one of the founders of Kačerginė resort. In 1920  she acquired large plots of land here and began to build the first cottages for rent. However, the death of the landlord’s husband worsened her financial situation, so she began to subdivide part of the large area of ​​land she owned into smaller plots and sell it. Three plots of land surrounded by P. Mašioto, J. Zikaro and Šaltinio streets were acquired by different owners. Two of them were bought by sisters Pranciška Ona Skomskienė and Zofija Valtienė and summer houses were built here. Both of them were designed and built by their brother Juozas Paulauskas.

 

Villa in 1930s. From a personal archive of M. Vasiliauskienė.

 

Designed by the same person, these summer houses also had individual features. The villa of Zofija and her husband Jonas, a lawyer, was called “Valtienės vila” (Villa of Zofija Valtienė) and it had a wooden tower typical of the resort architecture, which has survived and protrudes in the crowns of trees to this day. During the Soviet period, a kindergarten for childrens of the army officers was established in the villa, and later it was sold to Kavaliauskai familly from the nearby village of Pypliai.

Text by Ž. Rinkšelis. We thank J. Jurkonienė for the collected information.

Photos by M. Plepys, 2018.

Coincidence that turned into a new home

Vytautas grew up in Kačerginė from childhood. He has no other memories except from here, and this house is his home. How did he get here? Well, that is the story worth mentioning. Vytautas’ dad wanted to live near the Nemunas river because he was from Jurbarkas himself. After returning from exile in Siberia, he began to search for a new home. The paradox of fate is that while driving to see the place he was looking at a car broke down at Kacerginė. It was a beautiful and warm May 1961 evening. A couple of hours of car repair became an opportunity to stroll around an empty town. Finally, Vytautas’ dad liked it so much that he didn’t want to be anywhere else. Right here was the river, Kaunas city also nearby. He knocked on the door of the random house and asked for rent.

As Vytautas remembers “At that time, every summer Kačerginė was full of vacationers – the spirit of the prewar resort was still very lively, with many people coming here for holidays. If you have a room – you will definitely have summer vacationers as well.”

That year Vytautas’ family came back in the fall and was staying here for a few years looking for a home to buy. Two years later, the residents of the house across the street talked about a house for sale. Vytautas’ dad bought it for 4000 rubles – “Neither much nor little – at that time it was about the price of a worn-out car. Not everyone could have it, but there were also those who could”, Vytautas stated. Later, as his son grew up, Vytautas’ father expressed his desire to make this home a home for their future generations. Later, there was a thought to expand the house because it would have been a pod for families with children. But now the hosts are happy not to. They thought the house would have been disfigured and irreversibly replaced.

 

A child in the photograph – current owner of the house Vytautas Sabaliauskas with his family in front of the house, 1960s. Photo from family archive.

 

Vytautas family are the second hands of the house, surprisingly sensitive to its history and caring for its original form. This allowed the hosts to discover an interesting home life story, to inspire a modern and sustainable being. Fearing the Soviet authorities, the first owners of the house – the Venckiavičiai family – sold it and moved away with great sadness. By mutual consent, however, the old landlords were allowed to stay here five years during summers – practically all historical knowledge of the house is from them.

 

A child in the photograph – current owner of the house Vytautas Sabaliauskas, 1960s. Photo from family archive.

 

An enigmatic engineer

According to current owners, this summerhouse was built in 1939. It belonged to the Venckiavičiai family. Engineer E. Venckiavičius had three children. Already then, the cottage was created as a future legacy by dividing it into three parts: one on the ground floor with a porch for one child, the other – for another and the second floor – for the third. The house was fenced with a wooden fence. Unfortunately, little is known about the engineer himself. According to the current hosts, it was related to the railway infrastructure, because all fence poles are made of narrow-gauge railway tracks – “cement was expensive enough at that time,” says Vytautas. What’s more, all the structural elements and assemblies of the house are made with extreme precision. The woodworkers who visited the house marveled the morticed corners of the building.

“They were rich people. The engineer was a respectable person during the interwar period. […] The family owned real estate in Kaunas, a summer home in Kačerginė, hired a maid and everything else.”

The present plot of land is one third of the once large land owned by Lapėnas. His bungalow stood on a hillside. It is not yet known who is the author of the Vytautas’ house project. It is not excluded that it was designed by the homeowner himself, in consultation with famous architect V. Landsbergis, who had the summerhouse in the neighborhood. The house has remained essentially unchanged until today. The original window partitioning has been retained and saved. So far, only the balcony railings that has rotted had been dismantled, but the master plans to restore them as well.

 

Photo of the house during 1960s. Photo from family archive.

 

A story that influenced the family business

There was a shop and a café in this house for a while after the war. “Authorities were told to open a shop and nobody objected. You couldn’t say no at that time. The location was convenient and eventually became a center of attraction for the locals. Even today, we find lots of different stoppers around the house”, assures Vytautas.

In 2018 the bicycle path was paved nearby. With the encouragement of a family friend, Vytautas and his wife Jolanta decided to open the Velo Bar (“Velo baras”) – a very cozy terrace for cyclists, skateboarders, pedestrians and other travelers. And it is just an hour’s bike ride from Kaunas Town Hall Square. The hosts are passionate food lovers, so everyone can come here for a delicious snack or meal prepared by the hosts. There are rumors that the oysters they serve are even better than the oysters of some Michelin restaurants in Europe. And how not, especially when they are served by hospitable and smiling hosts and you eat them in the beautiful corner of the Kačerginė resort, surrounded by pine trees!

Text by Žilvinas Rinkšelis

A huge thanks goes to the owner of the house Vytautas Sabaliauskas for the stories told and photos shared.

Photos by Ž. Rinkšelis, 2019.

A corner of a pine wood called “Mašiotynė”

Older residents of Kačerginė remember the writer Pranas Mašiotas, fondly called “Pasakų Senelis” (The Grandpa of Fairy-tales), sitting in his summerhouse, writing and talking to children. This corner of a pine wood and a house next to it have been respectfully referred to as “Mašiotynė” to this day.

Kačerginė was a resort flourishing during the Interwar Period. It was frequented not only by citizens craving to relax, but has also become a place, where Lithuanian intellectuals used to gather in summer. A place next to Nemunas, surrounded by the endless pine woods, charmed the educator and mathematician Jonas Mašiotas. After returning from Russia in 1919, he worked as a teacher in Marijampolė Gymnasium. In 1922, he studied mathematics in Berlin and Zurich universities. He later worked in Kaunas “Aušra” Gymnasium for boys and in 1943, he was assigned as the senior teacher in Vilkija. In 1936, he approached an architect Vytautas Žemkalnis-Landsbergis, asking him to design a house for a permanent residence in Kačerginė, and in 1937, together with his wife, Veronika, he started living in their new home.

Mašiotas family is well-known in Lithuania, as there are many active public figures, educators, nurturers of culture and science since the time of Lithuania’s national rebirth. The father of Jonas, Pranas Mašiotas (1863–1940), was a highly esteemed and respected Lithuanian writer and educator. His student Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis shared his memories about his teacher: “Students and teachers equally respected and loved teacher Pranas Mašiotas very much. He was always in a good mood, smiling.”  Therefore, as a thanks to his teacher, the architect designed a residential house for Pranas Mašiotas in Kaunas, where he lived from 1929 to 1940.

 

A memory that became the Park of Fairy-tales

Pranas Mašiotas was famous as a children’s writer, author of literary textbooks, public and cultural figure. After retiring in 1929, Pranas Mašiotas dedicated himself to literary works and translations. His creative and literary legacy consists of over 150 books for children, also mathematics and physics textbooks, as well as preparation of spelling-books for elementary and secondary schools. His works also include translations of literary works for children that are now considered as classics, including Gulliver’s Travels and Robinson Crusoe. Pranas Mašiotas spent his last years living with his son in Kačerginė. In the summerhouse standing here, he worked enjoying the nature next to Nemunas that reminded him of his native Pustelninkai.

After 1990, B. Mašiotaitė-Kronienė, the granddaughter of Pranas Mašiotas, gave the summerhouse she inherited from her father Jonas and approximately 1-ha land lot in Kačerginė to the town with a condition that the summer house will continue to be maintained and used to appreciate the memory of Mašiotas family. In 2002, Society to Maintain the Memory of Pranas and Jonas Mašiotas started its activity in Kačerginė. It has been cherishing the cultural heritage ever since and, in a park, next to the house, established the Park of Fairy-Tales, full of various characters from the stories of the author. The society organizes children’s creative camps and, together with town’s community, creates future visions for Mašiotynė.

Text by Gabrielė Balaševičiūtė

For this information we are very grateful for granddaughter of P. Mašiotas – B. Mašiotaitė-Kronienė!

Photos by L. Mykolaitis, 2018.

A chapel sunk in a picturesque forest park

After the First World War, when the summer resort of Kačerginė and the population grew, the considerations about the construction of the church began. Architect Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis, who spent his summers in Kačerginė during the interwar period, prepared a unique chapel project in 1936.

“My Dad designed it from wood, with light, transparent walls, so that the pine forest was not separated from nature – the church of God” (from the memories of the son V. Landsbergis) 

 

The first drawings of the chapel, done by the architect V. Landsbergis-Žemklanis. Source: Lithuanian archives of literature and arts.

 

However, for the clients it turned out to be too unconventional. With the outbreak of World War II and the Soviet occupation, the parish community was shattered and religious life was interrupted.

After 1994 the formation of a new religious community took the initiative to restore what was destroyed. The new chapel was built in 1998 based on the original drawings of the architect V. Landsbergis-Žemkalnis. The new project was adjusted by architects Feliksas Jackevičius and Gediminas Jurevičius. Construction took 4 months. The chapel was consecrated in 1998.

 

The first drawings of the chapel, done by the architect V. Landsbergis-Žemklanis. Source: Lithuanian archives of literature and arts.

The glass gates to Paradise

Although V. Landsbergis-Žemkalnis designed many churches in Lithuania before the Second World War, the Kačerginė chapel, first of all, stood out with its unique philosophy. A building that becomes not an accent, but a harmonious part of the surrounding environment, where even when inside, you can feel the connection with the environment, as if merging with it. Sadly, this idea was realized when it was no longer so avant-garde in the world. But still, it is extremely gratifying that we can still recognize this wonderful idea today. In 2018, one participant of the International Youth Summer Camp said:

“I never thought that the gates to Paradise could be made of glass…” (Petar Vuckovic).

Text by Žilvinas Rinkšelis

Photos by Zapyškis parish and eldership of Kačerginė.

High above Jonas Biliūnas Square, in the pine forest, stands abandoned summerhouse of Teklė Dambravičienė – it was one of the earliest villas in the newly established Kačerginė resort. In general, this landlord is considered to be one of the founders of the resort of Kačerginė. Around 1920 she bought a big plot of land and began to build first cottages for rent.

 

A plan of the building designed by E. Frykas during 1920s. Source: Lithuanian Central State Archives.

 

This beautiful and probably the largest summer house of the resort was designed in 1920s by the famous Lithuanian architect E. Frykas. It was built in 1929. After the war, the building was nationalized and transferred to the Academy of Agriculture, later Vytautas Magnus University.

Text by Žilvinas Rinkšelis

Photos by L. Mykolaitis, 2018.

The officer who worked as a doctor

Pranas Vaiciuška (1876–1939), a doctor, brigadier general and public figure, is a significant personality of interwar Lithuania, who actively contributed to the building of the state and died together with its sunset. It is also the initiator of the construction of this villa and its first inhabitant, although not the only one. During the First World War, while working as the head of a field hospital, he met his wife, Pelagia Grigoryevna, a Russian, with whom he created a family and had a son, Jurgis.

 

The early project of the summerhouse, 1930s. Source: Register of cultural values of Lithuania.

 

A villa that was converted to school and later became home

Until the Second World War, Kačerginė was a unique suburban resort, where many famous public figures, politicians and artists of that time built their summer houses. To “repair” their health and to have a rest, Vaiciuškos chose Kačerginė, where they built two summer houses – one for private use, and the other served for rent. The owner of the villa Pranas Vaiciuška died in 1939. During the occupation, the property was expropriated and later it housed a primary school for many years.

 

Villa during the postwar period. Photo by M. Pužauskaitė-Lišajevienė. Source: Register of cultural values of Lithuania.

Eventually, the building was abandoned and became obsolete. The collapsing cultural heritage object was saved in 2013 with the help of active local community and private investor. In 2014 the building was purchased and its restoration was undertaken by businessman Algirdas Pūkis. The resurrection of the villa for a second life has started. Today it is considered to be one of the most successful stories of reviving cultural heritage in Kaunas district. According to the iconographic material found, the entire former structure of the building was restored by modern means, and many authentic elements were preserved. Today it is a private residential house.

A turn into a town school, 1980s. Photo by P. Bekerienė. Source: Source: Register of cultural values of Lithuania.

Text by Žilvinas Rinkšelis

Photos by L. Mykolaitis, 2018 m. and R. Tenys („Kas vyksta Kaune“), 2016.

Engineer Viktoras Rėklaitis

After getting acquainted with the facts of the biography of the engineer V. Rėklaitis, it can be firmly stated that he was an energetic and active personality. In the daily newspaper “Į Laisvę” (1942), V. Rėklaitis was described as an active public figure, a member of various societies and organizations (“Lithuanian Baltic Company”, “Lithuanian-Finnish Society”, Member of the Board of the Seamen’s Union). It is also mentioned that V. Rėklaitis was a very devout person, very kind and friendly to colleagues and friends. Always tactful and cultural. Apparently, due to these and other positive qualities, he became the director of the resort of Kačerginė.

 

Advertisement of the American–Lithuanian company in Kaunas. Source: Album “Vytauto Didžiojo mirties 500 metų sukaktuvėms paminėti albumas”. Kaunas, 1933.

 

The villa in Kačerginė

V. Rėklaitis left one of the brightest architectural monuments in the town – a villa. It is believed that the villa was supposed to be built between 1935–1938 on the main street of Kačerginė. At that time it was still Palankiai village not attached to the resort. The building is one storey, slightly asymmetrical, planked with wood. From the street side you can see a glazed porch with an entrance. Looking from the inside of the two-storey tower on the side of the yard, you can see Nemunas river, with the greenery of the meadows, the beauty of the valley and the barely visible town of Kulautuva on the other side of the Nemunas.

At the end of the interwar period, an outpatient clinic was located on the premises of the building for many years. Even in the years of independent Lithuania, the villa remained abandoned for a long time, until it was recognized that it is a very important symbol that forms and nurtures the resort’s collective memory. Therefore, in 2016, the villa was renovated. Now it houses the eldership of town, which welcomes tourists and all passers-by who want to share their own stories or to get to know more about Kačerginė history.

Text by Gabrielė Balaševičiūtė

Photos by L. Mykolaitis, 2018 and R. Tenys (“Kas vyksta Kaune”), 2016.

A house for generations

When we talk about the architecture, the role of its creators is no less important. Even more interesting is when we have the opportunity to see not only the architecture affected by the tastes, possibilities and other circumstances of the clients, but also the residential houses of architects, designed for themselves, independent of these circumstances. They reflect their ideas, influences, philosophy and worldview. In the case of V. Landsbergis-Žemkalnis, we have the opportunity to see not only his residential house in Kaunas, but also a villa in Kačerginė.

 

The villa of Landsbergiai family, 1940s. Source: Lithuanian archives of literature and arts.

 

This summerhouse of Landsbergiai family was built in 1938. A green-painted one-story house with an attic became a shelter from bombs falling on the city during the war. After the war, the house was nationalized, and a town pharmacy was established there. Today the house again belongs to the family.

Text by Žilvinas Rinkšelis

Photos by M. Plepys, 2018.

The writer’s house in Kačerginė

A small resort town of Kačerginė, still preserves the memory of the man that we call a classic of Lithuanian literature today. Writer Vincas Mykolaitis Putinas discovered Kačerginė in the late years of his life, when from 1961 he spent his summers here with his wife. Today, on a street named after him, stands a two-story house, planked with yellowish wooden tables.

Emilija Kvedaraitė Mykolaitienė – the poet’s wife, a woman who, according to some memories, may have been the last drop to push Vincas to change his lifestyle. She was strong, self-confident woman. The responsibility for the establishment of the summerhouse in Kačerginė was also placed on her shoulders. At first, there were thoughts to choose Kulautuva as the place for the house, but large trees covering the sun encouraged couple to look for another place. That’s when Kačerginė was discovered.

Emilija also had to take care of the construction woks herself:

“I drove to Pirčiupis myself by truck to buy wood – I got it from the locals. The wooden house of my sister’s family Balčiūnai was brought.”

It was agreed to divide a new house in half – half for Mykolaičiai, half for Balčiūnai families. The construction was completed in three years.

Finally, the time has came to admire the pine trees supporting the sky and to breathe in the fresh natural air. In his diary, Vincas Mykolaitis Putinas wrote:

“I am glad to have a house here in Kačerginė, where I can spend the summer season. I have everything I need here – loneliness, peace, dry pine forest, and all the good conditions”.

The Kačerginians who lived at that time still remembers the poet standing by the window and observing the environment, walking the paths along the forest or sitting on the balcony of the house with a book. The writer appreciated the music, knew a lot about it and played the piano himself. If the conversation went smoothly with him it was very interesting to discuss.

Today Kačerginė remained as cozy and calm as then. Surrounded by forests and Nemunas river, this town invites you to visit, to in it and to discover something new or something long forgotten.

Text by Monika Gilytė

Photos by L. Mykolaitis, 2018.

Vaiciuškos family

While working as a nurse in the hospital during the First World War, Pelagija Vaiciuškienė met officer Pranas Vaiciuška, who also worked there. After the war, they moved to Kaunas, where P. Vaiciuška worked at Kaunas City Hospital. As it was popular to spend summers in one of the resorts near Kaunas, the family chose Kačerginė, where they built two villas. In the larger villa, Vaiciuškos lived with their son Jurgis, and the smaller one became a summer house for rent to summer holidaymakers.

Both – husband and wife – had similarities. According to a friend of the Vaiciuškos family, both Pelagija and Pranas were very hospitable, welcoming and generous people. But, on one issue, their views differed. It was the religion. Pranas was a Catholic, and Pelagia was a strong Orthodox. Although Pelagija was a sufficient and calm personality anyway, she had a rather categorical opinion regarding this sphere of life. It goes without saying that she raised his son Jurgis in the truths of the Orthodox faith. Unfortunately, Pelagia surpassed both husband and son in age. After the war she moved back to Kaunas and lived there till she died in 1951.

 

Cozy summer house

The villa named after P. Vaiciuškienė in Kačerginė had become a summer paradise. The villa opened its doors to hosts who were visiting during the warm season. The two-storey building, planked with brown flat boards, is located on a hillside, near the main street of Kačerginė. The building, was designed by engineer P. Valiukėnas, and it dates back to 1930s. At the beginning of the Soviet era, the villa became a wood workshop for the students of Kačerginė school, later a home for teacher, and now quietly standa and waita for another interesting turn in its history.

Text by Gabrielė Balaševičiūtė