Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

(Ben Green) #1

58 NORTH EASTERN EUROPE


For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp68–9


Lithuania’s second largest city, Kaunas stands at the


confluence of the Nemunas and Neris, the country’s
biggest rivers. A series of disasters hindered the city’s
development, including invasions by the Russians (1655),
Swedes (1701) and Napolean (1812). Rapid growth in
the 19th century culminated in Kaunas becoming the
temporary capital of newly independent Lithuania in



  1. Later, the city suffered under Nazi and Soviet
    occupations. Today, Kaunas is a modern city with a
    boulevard and a host of museums. The main historic
    sights are located in its well-preserved Old Town.


Kaunas 3


View of the bridge over the Nemunas river leading to the Old Town


R Church of the Holy Trinity
Rotušės aikštė 22. Tel (37) 323 734.
5 10am Sun.
Built for a Bernardine convent
in the late 1620s, this church
(Šventos Trejybės bažnyčia),
with its blend of Renaissance
and Gothic styles and its
pastel colours brightens up
the northwestern corner of the
Town Hall Square. The interior
was redesigned just before the
outbreak of World War II.

R Cathedral of
Sts Peter and Paul
Vilniaus 1. Tel (37) 324 093.
5 7am, 8am, 6pm daily; 9am
Sat–Sun, 10:30am, noon Sun.
Several reconstructions have
culminated in the Gothic and
Renaissance exterior of this
15th-century cathedral (šv
apaštalų Petro ir Pauliaus
arkikatedra bazilika). The late-
Baroque interior, how ever,
remains largely unchan ged

T Kaunas Castle
Pilies 17. Tel (37) 323 436.
# 10:30am–1pm Mon–Fri.
8 mandatory.
The ruins of Kaunas Castle
(Kauno pilis) are a reminder
of its strategic location,
between the rivers Neris and
Nemunas. Built in the 13th
century, it was dam aged by
the Teutonic knights in 1362.
Soon after its recon struc tion,
the knights were defeated by
Lithuanians in the Battle of
Grünwald in 1410. Thereafter
the castle lost its significance
as a military base and was
used for administra tive
purposes. It functioned as a
prison in the 18th century,
but was restored in the 1920s.

R Church of St George
Papilio 9. Tel (37) 224 659. 5 6pm
Mon–Fri, 10:30am Sun.
This 15th-century Gothic
church (šv Jurgio bažnyčia)
was destroyed twice by fire,
by the Russians in the 17th
century and in 1812 by
Napoleon’s soldiers. It
was finally returned to the
Bernardines in 1993.

The elegant façade of the Old
Town Hall


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Cathedral
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Church of the
Holy Trinity Old
Town Hall

St Gertrude’s
Church

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P Old Town Hall
Rotušės aikštė.
Known locally as the “White
Swan” and resembling a
church with its single, tiered
tower, the Old Town Hall
(Kauno Rotušė) has been a
marriage registry office since
the 1970s. It continues to be a
photogenic backdrop for new-
lyweds. Built in the mid-16th
century, it has housed magis-
trates and the mayor, and has
been used as an ammu nition
store, clubhouse, fire station,
theatre and a subterranean
prison. Town Hall Square,
where it stands, was once a
busy marketplace and is still
the hub of the Old Town.

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