General route
433 km
79 h
27 h
6 h30 min
App
In 1931, Miškų Street in the centre of Kaunas was renamed after the important public figure Vladas Putvinskis. During the years of the First Independent Republic of Lithuania, embassies of many countries including the USA, Hungary, Sweden, Argentina, Czechoslovakia, and France were all located here. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also located in a close vicinity, so one can only wonder what kind of secrets are known only to the walls of this quarter.
Today, the street is an important axis of culture in Kaunas, known for its museums, the Kaunas Artists’ House, Vytautas Magnus University, and street art. From here there are routes to Žaliakalnis and Laisvės alėja (Liberty Avenue). A walk along this former avenue of diplomacy is a real treat for those who appreciate Modernist architecture. Let’s look around!
An important trace of Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis, one of Lithuania’s busiest interwar architects, this house designed for artist Antanas Žmuidzinavičius dates from 1928. It’s one of the first designs in Kaunas by the architect, who’d just completed his studies in Rome. The third floor was added a decade later.
Whilst walking down V. Putvinskis Street you’ll definitely notice the wavy window frames. The yard of the building is also interesting, as it has a garden that grows upwards towards Žaliakalnis and is complete with two terraces.
For some time, the consulate of Sweden operated here on the first floor. Henry George William Parland, the Finnish-Swedish writer and journalist, worked here as a secretary for a very short period of time until he caught scarlet fever and passed away, a tragedy remembered on a memorial plaque on the building written in Lithuanian, Finnish and Swedish.
Marija Putvinskaitė was the wife of Žmuidzinavičius and the sister of the rifleman Vladas Putvinskis after whom the street is named. She was a dentist and had a dentist’s office established in her house where she even took care of the smile of President Antanas Smetona.
This house saw the start of a collection of devils, which was initiated by the priest Vaižgantas who gave a devil to his friend as a present. Žmuidzinavičius died in 1966. The museum of his works and collections was opened here. The artist gifted all of his property to Lithuania. Soon after, visitors were invited to the memorial apartment and the artist’s workshop. Here you can see many authentic pieces of furniture and other interior details. The building of the present day Velnių muziejus (Devils’ Museum) was built in 1982.
In 2015, the European Commission awarded 44 objects of Modernist interwar architecture in Kaunas the European Heritage Label, among them this house that once belonged to the former painter.
In 1931, Miškų Street in the centre of Kaunas was renamed after the important public figure Vladas Putvinskis. During the years of the First Independent Republic of Lithuania, embassies of many countries including the USA, Hungary, Sweden, Argentina, Czechoslovakia, and France were all located here. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also located in a close vicinity, so one can only wonder what kind of secrets are known only to the walls of this quarter.
Today, the street is an important axis of culture in Kaunas, known for its museums, the Kaunas Artists’ House, Vytautas Magnus University, and street art. From here there are routes to Žaliakalnis and Laisvės alėja (Liberty Avenue). A walk along this former avenue of diplomacy is a real treat for those who appreciate Modernist architecture. Let’s look around!
An important trace of Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis, one of Lithuania’s busiest interwar architects, this house designed for artist Antanas Žmuidzinavičius dates from 1928. It’s one of the first designs in Kaunas by the architect, who’d just completed his studies in Rome. The third floor was added a decade later.
Whilst walking down V. Putvinskis Street you’ll definitely notice the wavy window frames. The yard of the building is also interesting, as it has a garden that grows upwards towards Žaliakalnis and is complete with two terraces.
For some time, the consulate of Sweden operated here on the first floor. Henry George William Parland, the Finnish-Swedish writer and journalist, worked here as a secretary for a very short period of time until he caught scarlet fever and passed away, a tragedy remembered on a memorial plaque on the building written in Lithuanian, Finnish and Swedish.
Marija Putvinskaitė was the wife of Žmuidzinavičius and the sister of the rifleman Vladas Putvinskis after whom the street is named. She was a dentist and had a dentist’s office established in her house where she even took care of the smile of President Antanas Smetona.
This house saw the start of a collection of devils, which was initiated by the priest Vaižgantas who gave a devil to his friend as a present. Žmuidzinavičius died in 1966. The museum of his works and collections was opened here. The artist gifted all of his property to Lithuania. Soon after, visitors were invited to the memorial apartment and the artist’s workshop. Here you can see many authentic pieces of furniture and other interior details. The building of the present day Velnių muziejus (Devils’ Museum) was built in 1982.
In 2015, the European Commission awarded 44 objects of Modernist interwar architecture in Kaunas the European Heritage Label, among them this house that once belonged to the former painter.
