City Day in Kaunas
Description:
Kaunas was founded in 1280 at the confluence of the two largest Lithuanian rivers Nyamunas and Neris. Since the 17th century, the ruins of Kaunas Castle have reached us, from the 17th-18th centuries - the beautiful buildings of the old city.
Kaunas is a city with very old and well-established cultural traditions. This place has given the country generations of Lithuanian artists, composers and writers. Their work is presented in numerous museums and galleries: Art Gallery of M. Žilinskas, Museum of Lithuanian Literature named after Myronis. Of great interest are the museum of ceramics, the museum of folk music, the museum of medicine and pharmaceuticals, the military museum of Vytautas the Great and others.
In addition, Kaunas is one of the ancient centers of art crafts: the production of knitted wool products, items made of embossed leather, wood and stone, artistic ceramics. In this regard, the museum of folk life is of great interest.
The first known mention of the city dates back to 1361. In modern Kaunas, you can find the remains of an ancient fortress dating back to the 13th and 16th centuries, when Lithuanians repeatedly had to repel attacks by Teutonic knights.
The old town, picturesquely located at the confluence of two rivers, is a stunning combination of archaeology, architecture and history. The buildings of the Gothic style include Kaunas Castle (13-17 centuries), Pärkunas House (late 15-16 centuries) - one of the largest Gothic buildings in Lithuania. The palace of the Masalski princes is a creation of the Renaissance. In the Baroque style built the monastery of the Kamaldolians in Pažaislis (one of the most beautiful creations of this type in Northern Europe), the city hall, the Church of the Jesuits.
The Orthodox churches of Kaunas fully reflect the history of the city as such. Before the Patriotic War of 1812, the only Orthodox in Kaunas were either merchants trading in the city or soldiers of the garrison located in the city after the III partition of the Commonwealth.
The uprising of 1831 greatly changed the policy of the empire towards the Catholic Church. No new Orthodox churches were built in the city; instead, Catholic churches confiscated or abandoned after the War of 1812 were rebuilt. The city then consisted only of its old part (modern Old Town), so all the temples were located close to each other. Decoration of temples, icons were also often “borrowed” from Catholics, which imposed a certain Western imprint.
With the development of the city and the appearance of the station and the district "New plan" begin to emerge new Orthodox churches. The construction of the Kovno fortress left a strong imprint not only on the development of the city itself, but also on the number of Orthodox churches in it.
At the beginning of the XX century, more than half of the temples of the city were garrison. New temples were created in the places of deployment of troops - military towns, and originally existed as house churches, later the efforts of the military built wooden or stone extensions. With very little money, the servicemen created interesting architectural compositions. The simplicity of regimental temples was more than compensated by the Kovno fortress cathedral erected in the very center of the new city in the name of Saints Peter and Paul - the central cathedral of the fortress.