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The Vytautas the Great War Museum ( lt, Vytauto Didžiojo karo muziejus) is a museum in
Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Traka ...
,
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
. It was built in
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
and early functionalism style. Originally it was established in 1921 by Vladas Nagevičius but later it was decided to move to a larger location. A part of the new museum was opened in 1930, at the 500th anniversary of
Vytautas the Great Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...
,
Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power— Ho ...
, the namesake of the museum. The finished museum was opened on 16 February 1936. Museum displays historical artefacts pertaining to Lithuania and Kaunas from prehistoric times to the present day, including a large collection of historical weapons. There are expositions dedicated to the military skills of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was Partitions of Poland, partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire, Habsburg Empire of ...
, Vytautas the Great Chapel, collections of weapons, firearms, ammunition, army uniforms of various states, defense of the Kaunas Fortress in 1915, and others. The airplane ''
Lituanica ''Lituanica'' was a Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker airplane flown from the United States across the Atlantic Ocean by Lithuanian pilots Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas in 1933. After successfully flying 6,411 km (4,043 miles), it crashed, ...
'', on which
Steponas Darius Steponas Darius (known as Stephen Darius in the US; born Steponas Jucevičius-Darašius; January 8, 1896 – July 17, 1933) was a Lithuanian American pilot, who died in a non-stop flight attempt in the ''Lituanica'' from New York City to Kaunas, ...
and Stasys Girėnas flew across the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
in 1933, is on display and remains a popular exhibition. In the great hall of the museum there are copies of 17th century
cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
s. There is also a comprehensive collection of 18th century
pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, a ...
s. Statues of Lithuanian national renaissance figures, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and
eternal flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can ...
, are located in the square in front of the museum. During the time of the First Lithuanian Republic (1918–1940), when Kaunas was the
temporary capital of Lithuania The temporary capital of Lithuania ( lt, Laikinoji sostinė) was the official designation of the city of Kaunas in Lithuania during the interwar period. It was in contrast to the declared capital in Vilnius, which was part of Poland from 1920 u ...
, national holidays were celebrated in the square. The plaque commemorating
book smuggler Lithuanian book smugglers or Lithuanian book carriers ( lt, knygnešys, plural: lt, knygnešiaĩ, label=none) transported Lithuanian language books printed in the Latin alphabet into Lithuanian-speaking areas of the Russian Empire, defying a ...
s and distributors ''Knygnešių sienelė'' is also situated alongside. The Kaunas 35-bell
carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoni ...
(range from as1 to as4) in the tower of the Vytautas the Great War Museum was completed in
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
in 1935. Bell music from the tower was first played in 1937. Regular carillon concerts began in 1956. The first carillonists of the Kaunas carillon were Lithuanian composers
Viktoras Kuprevičius Viktoras is a Lithuanian masculine given name. It is a cognate of the English name Victor and may refer to: People *Viktoras Andriušis (1908–1967), Lithuanian artist and designer *Viktoras Biržiška (1886–1964), Lithuanian mathematician an ...
and his son
Giedrius Kuprevičius Giedrius Antanas Kuprevičius (born April 8, 1944 in Kaunas) is a Lithuanian composer and music educator. Life Giedrius Kuprevičius graduated from Prof. Eduardas Balsys' composition class at the Lithuanian Academy of Music in 1968. From 1966 to ...
. The carillon was restored by the
Royal Eijsbouts Royal Eijsbouts ( nl, Koninklijke Eijsbouts) is a bell foundry located in Asten, Netherlands. The workshop was founded in 1872 by Bonaventura Eijsbouts as a "factory for tower clocks." In 1893 Eijsbouts was joined by his 15-year-old son, Joha ...
bell foundry in
Asten, Netherlands Asten () is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands. It is home to the Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry and also a carillon museum. The spoken language is Peellands, an East Brabantian dialect. Population centres * Asten * Heusden ...
, in 2005–2006. After the restoration, the carillon has 49 bells and a new keyboard. Every day at midday, the Lithuanian war time song ''Oi, neverk motušėle'' (Don’t Cry, Mother) is played. The
crypt A crypt (from Latin '' crypta'' " vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a c ...
to Those Perished for the Freedom of Lithuania was constructed in 1938. The crypt was vandalized and destroyed during the time of
Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into two different ...
. After the restoration the crypt inside covered with black marble was opened again in 1998. The 90th anniversary of the museum in 2011 was marked by the opening of two new galleries: Warfare in Pre-Historic Times and History of Warfare of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy of the 13th-17th centuries. The museum shares its building with the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum and is located in . The museum and its surroundings are depicted on the 20 litas banknote. Museum's garden has more than ten statues of Lithuanian military chiefs and cultural characters who influenced Lithuania in 19th and 20th century. In 2015, the building was one of 44 objects in Kaunas to receive the European Heritage Label.


References


External links


Official Website

translation
// wiki5.ru {{authority control Museums in Kaunas Museums established in 1936 Buildings and structures completed in 1936 Military and war museums 1936 establishments in Lithuania History museums in Lithuania