The Old Kaunas Ducal Palace () is a building complex at the corner of Aleksoto and Muitinės Streets in

Kaunas Old Town Kaunas Old Town is the oldest part of Kaunas, next to the confluence of the Nemunas and Neris rivers and Santaka Park. The Old Town had industry in the past, but it is primarily a residential, retail and leisure area in the 21st century. The ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. It was a psychiatric hospital, but is now owned by the Kaunas Academy of Arts institute.

History

The palace, which was ruined and rebuilt multiple times due to wars, dates back to the 15th century. According to various historical sources, the palace was a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

monastery, a

powiat A ''powiat'' (; ) is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture (Local administrative unit, LAU-1 ormerly Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS-4 ...

court, a merchants' house and a city firefighters' headquarters. In the 16th century, the palace was used as the residential building of a

grand duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in ...

. According to L.Potockis, in the 16th century, the palace was used by

n and

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

heads of state while visiting

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

, due to floods at

Kaunas Castle Kaunas Castle () is a medieval castle in Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. Archeological evidence suggests that it was built during the mid-14th century in the Gothic style. Its site is strategic—a rise on the banks of the Nemunas ...

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...

lived in the palace while hiding from the plague with his six children, including

Saint Casimir Casimir Jagiellon (; ; ; ; 3 October 1458 – 4 March 1484) was a prince of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The second son of King Casimir IV Jagiellon, he was tutored by Johannes Longinus, a Polish chronicler, diplo ...

. The

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

head of state

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...

also lived in the palace multiple times. At the end of the 19th century,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n province architect S.Gorskis was ordered to convert the building complex into a city hospital. Starting in 1951, the unique and historical building complex was used as the Kaunas psychiatric hospital with a capacity of 200 patients. Currently, the building complex is owned by Kaunas Academy of Arts institute and was reconstructed.Renewed Dukes Palace in Kaunas will serve to art and tourism

References

External links

Kaunas Academy of Arts institute
Palaces in Kaunas Kaunas Old Town {{Lithuania-struct-stub