OPEN ARCHIVES OF KAUNAS

*Gabrielė: *Early morning. Two-storey building. Unlocked door. So many lights. Corridors decorated with unclear pictures and all sorts of crafts on the windowsills. Little doors of lockers. Lessons, tasks, questions. The most delicious food, or maybe the most disgusting one. Women substituting for mothers. A hall with music, dances, concerts, plays and sometimes even exercises. The most interesting and unheard fairy-tales and stories. Two hours of numbing silence, while the rest is a spree. War of pillows and toys instead of silence. Discipline. Lessons, tasks, questions. A bunch of new friends. Boys and girls. Little beds and lockers with their names. Laughter, tears and anger. Pencils, crayons and toys. Lessons, tasks, questions. Little doors of lockers. Cold, sometimes just refreshing coolness. Sled, sometimes even the heat. Snow fights and angels. Sand castles and princesses. Post-nap dinner. Milk soup with noodles and a sweet slice of white bread. Doll house and police car. Knocking on the door. So many lights. Evening. (2017)* *

*Lolita:* "Gimiau ir augau Kauko alėjoje (kai gimiau, ji tuo metu dar vadinosi S. Šimkaus alėja). Ąžuolynas yra vienas miesto miškas, o šalia gyvenantiems buvo aktualu jį konkretinti. Taigi, tarp K. Petrausko, Parodos ir Radastų gatvių esančią dalį, kur XX a. 9 dešimtmetyje dar buvo atrakcionai, vadinome Mažuoju Ąžuolynu,  arba Ąžuolynėliu, o dalį nuo K. Petrausko g. Zoologijos sodo link - Didžiuoju Ąžuolynu.  Į Zoologijos sodą eidavome pėsčiomis. Ąžuolyne - įspūdingiausia, be abejo, buvo stumbro skulptūra, bet būdama maža labai mėgau ir L. Striogos "Poilsį", kurį vadinau "hipopo" - matyt, vaikui kažkuo priminė begemotą." (2019 m.)

Laumė café that was working during the Soviet times was famous for its good coffee and sweets but the most important thing there was the sense of community. Youngsters who lived in the spirit of Laumė became a subculture of sorts, a group that called themselves lauminiai.

*Gintaras: *Posters started to appear in Kaunas, just like in Vilnius, after the bloody events of January 13. They condemned the unjustifiable behaviour of the occupant army towards the residents of Lithuania. Since during these events I was in Vilnius, I could only capture these posters in Kaunas a week later, after I came back home from Vilnius. (2014)

Sculptor Robertas Antinis sharing his memories about  people of Laisvės avenue and Kaunas (2014).

*Galina*: “Formerly, the Christmas tree was decorated at Vienybės (Unity) Square. There was a feast and Santa Claus was coming to see the children. We lived in S.Nėries Street (now V.Putvinskio Street), so we would see the decorated tree from our home windows. They would always decorate a real tree and near it would stand a sculpture of mister Lenin, pointing his butt to our windows…”

*Justė:* Miesto Sodas always stirs a little rebel in me.

*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.

*Saulė: *After high school, I got into Kaunas Stepas Žukas Technical School of Applied Arts. It was still called like this in 1996. We, students, would simply call it Stepžukė. My years of studies were probably the happiest of my youth. In high school, I felt different and I couldn't wait until I graduate, and in Stepžukė I felt like myself. This place on a hill with a fenced territory was like a protected area where I felt very well. A group of us working with glass was a small one, so this communication was very warm, we would usually spend our time together and go to concerts.

1 photograph Povilas (first to the right) and Vandas (second to the left), Tarnauskas, restaurant "Versalis" shareholders, festive visit to Nemunas. 4th decade. From the family archive of Ludza Riaukienė.

When I was sixteen, it was the first time, when I brought my photo camera to the Oakwoord Park, Darius and Girėnas Sports Centre, the Hall and the Stadium. It was during the World Lithuanian Games in the summer of 1991. I followed the participants marching from the Old Town. There were crowds of people, great mood, no mournful atmosphere. The second day of the Games was coloured in bright green: a boy who carried Detroit Kovas flag gave me five dollars for a photo that I handed him when we met. My first honorarium in cash! As my aunt Zita (currently living in Detroit) found out, his name was Tadas Baukys. The euphoria did not last long. Shots were fired at the Lithuanian boarder and the crowds moved to Vilnius: again, for a funereal.

*K. Laurinaitytė: *I had been visiting Merkurijus since very young days. It was like one of the monuments of Kaunas. That building had something to it.  It was more beautiful on the exterior than the interior. It was the first place, where my mother allowed me to walk with friends without supervision. (2014)