Yes indeed During the s, cinema design was heavily influenced by modernist principles, as were clothes, sports, adverts, books and every other thing. The Romuva cinema is exactly what we would have expected from a large c cinema, modern right down to the screening equipment, air flow, concrete building material and advertising tower. Kaunas has one of the largest collections of modernist buildings in any European city.
I first became aware of this a couple of years ago when a friend drew my attention to Kaunas Modernism , an excellent Facebook group concentrating on the inter-war architecture of Lithuania's second city. Last week I spent thee days there, admiring some of the city's best examples of modernism and finding out how there came to be so many of them. I also managed to find a little time to enjoy some of the city's best cakes! Until the 's this was a relatively small city, characterised by wooden houses and baroque churches.
A construction boom during the 's and 's changed this with many new civic and commercial buildings as well as stylish new apartment blocks. This was because from , Kaunas acted as a temporary capital for Lithuania. Vilnius was under Polish rule during this period and Kaunas needed to acquire the trappings of a national capital. Unfortunately, the new found confidence and period of growth was not to last as invasion by the Soviets and then German occupation preceded incorporation into the Soviet Union.
Lithuania did not regain independence until During the intervening years many outstanding buildings fell into disrepair, were significantly altered or even demolished but a lot survived and this post highlights a few of my favourites from my recent visit.
Central Post Office, Laisves Avenue is the main thoroughfare of the New Town. Pedestrianised during Soviet times it is today a tree lined boulevard where people come to shop, stroll, sit outside the many cafes or ride along the green coloured cycle path. It is also the location of four outstanding modernist buildings, two of which were the work of architect Feliksas Vizbaras.
