OPEN ARCHIVES OF KAUNAS

*Grafas: *This photo hangs on a wall in my house. Interestingly, those who see it for the first time do not seem to understand what place and view it is. And this is the centre of Kaunas during the Soviet times, 1980. It is Janonio (Vienybės) Square and Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis Art Museum and War Museum. It is a view from an unusual angle, i.e. from the tower/roof of a building which was then a radio factory. The photo has was made by a professional and great expert of colours Juozas Polis. During Sąjūdis, he published several wonderful photo-albums about Lithuania. I got this photo from him as a present. Format: 60x50 cm.

Memories about Oakwood Park by people of Kaunas.

The first building of Garrison Officers' club during the Interwar period was in a two-storey building designed by an unknown architect at the corner of Laisvės Alėja and A. Mickevičiaus Street (currently the premises of the Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees). When Kaunas became the temporary capital, it required new representative spaces that would allow the development of cultural conversations, so at the officer's initiative, the decision was made to build a new building for the Garrison Officers' Club. Exclusive people participated in the events that took place in the Building of Kaunas Garrison Officers' Club, and it reminded gatherings of bohemians, as they communicated as a separate community with its unique ideology and habits.

Writer Markas Zingeris: for me as a child, Laisvės Avenue was both freedom and a promise.

*Audronė*: „Pradėjau lankyti devintą vidurinę Senamiestyje. Paskui ją pervadino į Adomo Mickevičiaus, o dabar tai jau Jėzuitų gimnazija. Dabartinėje Jėzuitų bažnyčioje buvo sporto salė. Ilgai stovėjo nenaudojama, paskui padarė sporto salę. O vienuolyne buvo mokytojų seminarija, kol į Marijampolę neiškėlė. Ten mokėsi studentai. Paskui padarė proftechninę mokyklą. Kavinės nė vienos nebuvo. Dabar aplinkui – vien kavinės, restoranai. Buvo knygynas prie Jakšto gatvės, gyvenami namai, kuro parduotuvė, maisto produktų parduotuvė. /.../ Maironio muziejuje buvo žaidimų aikštelė ir paties Maironio sodas. Su daug agrastų. Nuraškydavom dar žalius...“ (2019)

*Rimantas Viedrynaitis:* “I was born in Kaunas, the Jewish Hospital. It is sad that it does not look good right now. It is in front of the Seminary of Priests and Kaunas Castle. That building has a very interesting history: it was a Jewish hospital, and it was a brothel during the war and later a maternity ward, where women would tease the priests with naked breasts. I don't know, I feel some emotional connection to that place.”  (2014)

The funniest part was to spin circles around the monument with my Nikon, which was used but still great. I brought it back from a trip. Before leaving, I used half a film taking photos with my Zenit camera, capturing the monument which had not been fully built yet, and in June, I used the rest of the film in my new camera to capture the installation the sculpture. I was in time to the see the test installation of the sculpture, and later the actual procedure. When the team of construction workers made sure that everything was OK, some of them even started to pose, as if they gained some significant award. It somewhat reminded of a different photo, the completion of the railway that connected the Western and the Eastern banks... It was probably the first time when I saw all the benches in Sporto Alėja (Sport’s Avenue) occupied: people watched the installation of the sculpture as some show. The monument was uncovered on 17 July 1993 and it was probably the largest rally-type even in Kaunas after the restoration of Independence.

*Lili Kristina Vaičekauskaitė-Čepauskienė (2014):* Everyone on the same lion !

Stasys: "Since I lived up the hill in the city, in Vaižgantas street, I used to go past the cemetery to work. This one time, one red-cheeked guy said you can’t walk through here – go around. I say: “Why? How come?” He yelled back to me: “I’m telling you you can’t. Get out of here, it’s forbidden, there’s no path here!” I look past him and I see a crane, some construction workers – they were demolishing the monument "We Died for the Motherland". I felt really bad, I wanted to do something mischievous to them, but I couldn‘t... When I came to take a look at it in the evening, everything was wiped out, there were barely any footprints left of the monument." (2019)

In December, 2018 The lions that are protecting the entrance to Vytautas Magnus War Museum commemorate their 85th anniversary.

*Alma: *It is very nice to remember how people would gather in the Oakwood Park. In summer, it was full of people. Even though there were no normal paths in there back then. Some would play the harmonica or guitar. Everyone would gather in groups or families to spend some time in nature. It is also very pleasant to remember Song Festivals. The songs used to fly all around the Oakwood Park. 

*Eglė:* Hens running across the yard, pigs being farmed behind the house and the old horse of Kaunas silently sitting in the garage... It is a description of a casual rural household after World War II, of one of the buildings located in Nemunas Street. Described as the Red-light district during the interwar period, the street was many times called the Venice of Kaunas as well, as the overflowing river used to flood the street. Despite the street being unknown to many tourists, and a few of who live in Kaunas since birth having been there, locals are full of memories. It is known that since the 1870’s, the property of land belonged to the town dweller Chaim Gidoni and after his death in 1876; to his family’s generations. In 1900, two-storey buildings (now Nemunas St. 14 and 14B) of red brick masonry were built. Later, in 1927 the property was sold to Benjamin Gruzdas, who was the owner of a jewellery store in Laisvės Avenue and the official provider of Omega watches. The oldest residents remember themselves being children, sitting in the house and watching playfully the overflowing river. Together with floating giant floes (heet of floating ice) the river used to flood almost up to the windows of the ground floor of the Nemunas St. 14B building. Ms. Elena was one of these children, who grew up listening to the clamour of children’s voices and saw adults organising birthday celebrations with food, music and dances until sunrise. However, not all of the memories cause nostalgia. According to Mr. Levas, several tragic accidents have happened: during one of the floods, a woman drowned when she accidentally fell into the basement, a German military officer jumping out from the balcony of building 14B, and one woman burned alive in the fire of a storehouse where she lived. Another local resident, Romas, remembers the times when several families had to live in one small apartment. Once, his mother hosted two students, who protested against the Soviet Union government by sewing so called “granny” pants out of the union’s flag and hanging it on the fence next to the parterre. These past stories allow people to feel the spirit of the street and re-live every moment experienced by former residents of Nemunas street.