Page 238 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Estonia Latvia & Lithuania

236  LITHU ANIA REGION B Y REGION

Panoramic view of Town Hall Square, with flagpoles and church spires
a Čiurlionis House a court, and prisoners were f Church of
Čiurlionio namai marched from its cells to the St Casimir
square to be beheaded. The hall
Savičiaus 11. Map 2 D4. Tel 262 2451. Šv Kazimiero bažnyčia
Open 10am–4pm Mon–Sat (entrance was constructed at the end of Didžioji 34. Map 2 D4. Tel 212 1715.
from side door). the 18th century and designed 5 5:30pm Mon–Fri, 10:30am &
by the Classical architect
The former house of Mikalojus Laurynas Stuoka-Gucevičius (see noon Sun.
Konstantinas Čiurlionis (see p228). Today, the hall hosts
p265) was turned into a about 200 cultural and social The city’s first Baroque church,
museum in 1995, to mark the events around the year. St Casimir was destroyed by fire
120th anniver sary of the birth three times after being built by
of Lithuania’s beloved artist the Jesuits bet ween 1604 and
and composer. Čiurlionis lived 1635, prompting heavy
here in relative poverty with reconstruction in the 1750s.
his wife Sofija, from October Much of the interior was
1907 until June 1908, when destroyed in 1812, when
they left Vilnius in search of Napoleon’s army used the
success in St Petersburg. church as a granary. It became
Quite modest in scale, this a Russian Orthodox church
museum does not attempt to during the 19th century and
rival the more extensive one onion domes were added to it.
dedicated to Čiurlionis in During World War I, it served
Kaunas (see p264). Instead, it “Extreme Crafts”, art exhibits at the as a Lutheran church for the
mainly serves as an information Contemporary Art Centre German army and was then
resource and a venue to hear returned to the Jesuits and
his chamber music concerts. d Contemporary res tored in the 1920s. The dome
Reproductions of the artist’s Art Centre was rebuilt in 1942 and the
paintings adorn the walls, as Šiuolaikinio meno centras crown was added. The Soviets
do photographs of him. Even used the church as a museum
today, Čiurlionis’s grand piano Vokiečių 2. Map 2 D4. Tel 212 1945. of atheism from 1963. It was
stands here. Open noon–7:30pm Tue–Sun. & - reconsecrated in 1991.
= ∑ cac.lt
s Town Hall Square The main gallery space for
Rotušės aikštė modern art exhibitions in Vilnius,
the Contemporary Art Centre
Didžioji 31. Map 2 D4. _ Kaziuko features works by both
Crafts Fair (Mar). ∑ vilniausrotuse.lt
Town Hall: Tel 261 8007. n Didžioji Lithuanian and inter national
31, 262 6470. Open 9am–1pm, artists. The star attraction is the
2–6pm daily. Fluxus Room, with a perma nent
exhibition dedicated to Fluxus,
Fully repaved in 2006, Town Hall the radical art move ment that
Square was for centuries a emerged in New York in the
market place and the centre of 1960s. The room pays special
public life. It still bustles with tribute to the movement’s
activity, mainly during the annual creator, Kaunas-born George
Kaziuko Crafts Fair (see p212), Maciunas (1931–78). Memorabilia
when craft stalls line the square. evoking the populist spirit of
The square’s main building, the Fluxus festi vals and photographs Altarpiece at the Church of St Casimir,
Town Hall, was earlier the site of of Maciunas fill the room. depicting the saint’s resurrection
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp304–305 and pp326–8

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