Seimas Palace ( lt, Seimo rūmai) is the seat of the

Seimas The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas), or simply the Seimas (), is the unicameral parliament of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of government in Lithuania, enacting laws and amendme ...

, the Lithuanian parliament. It is located in Lithuania's capital

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

History

Work began on the construction of the first wing of the palace, a purpose-built building for the Supreme Soviet of Lithuanian SSR, in 1976. The construction was supervised by architects Algimantas Nasvytis and Vytautas Nasvytis. In 1980, 9717.37 square meters of the palace were completed. Initially, the palace was named as "Soviet Palace". Other two wings housed Ministry of Finance of Lithuanian SSR and Trade Unions Council. Later the building was expanded due to growing needs. The final phase of the palace complex consists of three wings, with the main, or first wing, housing the Parliament Hall, where legislation is passed. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania's independence was re-established in the old Parliament Hall, where the re-establishment declaration from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

was adopted. On the same day, most of the emblems of the Lithuanian SSR, which were installed, were been removed or covered by the

coat of arms of Lithuania The coat of arms of Lithuania consists of a mounted armoured knight holding a sword and shield, known as (). Since the early 15th century, it has been Lithuania's official coat of arms and is one of the oldest European coats of arms. It is ...

. In addition, in 1993–1997 the western wing of the first wing gave temporary shelter to the President of the Republic of Lithuania. Now, as in 1990–1992, it again houses the offices of the Speaker of Parliament and his Secretariat. In 2006, work started on building a new Parliament Hall. Employees in the second wing were housed in temporary accommodation. On 10 September 2007, the new Parliament Hall was officially opened. It cost fifty million Litas. The old Parliament Hall remained to be used for celebratory sessions of the Seimas (e. g. opening sessions of newly elected Seimas).

Gallery

Image:Seimas 1 rumai vestibiulis.JPG, Interior of Building 1 Image:Flickr - europeanpeoplesparty - CES Seminar 'Baltic Freedom, The Next 20 Years" (30).jpg, Old Parliament Hall "Act of 11 March" Image:Seimas Constitution Hall1.JPG, Constitution Hall Image:Baltijas_Asamblejas_31.sesija_Viļņā_(8169464428).jpg, New Parliament Hall Image:Seimas 3 rumai 2.JPG, Building 3

History

Gallery

References

See also