Kaunastic isnotactuallyarealword.Yet. It
wascreatedoutof theneedtoexpressamixof
marvel,discovery,nostalgia,spontaneityand
audacity.Allof thesethingsarecommonto
Kaunas,
acity formerlyknownasthe
temporarycapitalofLithuania
and,asof2016,aUNESCO
DesignCityandacandidate for
theEuropeanCapitalofCulture
2022.
Kaunaswaspreviously
designatedtobecomea first-class
fortresscitybytheTsarofRussia
(youcanstillvisitsomeof the fortsthat
havemuseums inthem). Itadoptedthemerits
andhardshipsofacapitalwhenVilniuswas
occupiedbyPoland in1920s–and itremained
thecapitalofLithuaniauntil1939.Thesetwo
decadesplayedapivotalrole inshapingthecity’s
character,duringthistimenumerousexamples
ofspectacularmodernarchitecturewerebuilt,
which lateraidedKaunas inclaimingthetitleof
UNESCODesignCity.Theretro feel isstill there
– largelybecauseof thearchitecture.Thecity is
hometoaseriesofmulticultural initiatives
dedicatedtorestoringthediverseart
andarchitecturewhichmayhave
been lostasaresultofWorldWar
TwoandtheSovietoccupation.
Here’s justashort listofsome
ofKaunasticplacesandevents,
representingthewidevarietyof
thingstodothroughoutthecity.
Somesimilarobjectsor ideascan,
ofcourse,be foundelsewhere,but,
even ifnotbornhere, the listedonesare
somewhat…kaunastic.
1
ZALGIRISARENA
KaraliusMindaugaspr.50,zalgirioarena.lt
Basketball isareligion inLithuania.Thecountry
maybeunlucky infootball,butthetallguysmake
themhappy.That’sespeciallytrue inKaunas,
hometoŽalgiris,Lithuania’smostdecoratedteam.
Euroleague(that’stheequivalenttotheChampions
League infootball)gamesareoftenplayed inthe
impressive,multifunctionalŽalgirisArena,and
attendancesherehaveheldseveralEuropean
records.Gotoamatch,particularly ifyouhave
neverattendedone– it’sgreatfun.Greenandwhite
alltheway.
2
DEVILS’MUSEUM
V.PutvinskisSt.65
Thisunusualmuseumboastsacollectionofmore
than3,000devilmodels,woodcarvings,softtoys
andartworksofdifferentshapes,sizesandorigins.
EccentricpainterAntanasŽmuidzinavičius,started
hiscollectionback in1906,andthemuseumwas
opened in1966.Sincethen ithasbeenappreciated
bytouristsfromallovertheworld,whooftenpost
devils,masks,witchesandothermythological
characterstheyfind intheirhometownstothe
museum(orthey leaveadevilortwoatthestairsof
themuseumandquicklyrunaway…)
PROMOTION
7
KAUNASTIC
IDEAS
Design, culture, sportsorhistory–whatever your
passion, Lithuania’s cityofKaunashas something for
you. Readon forways toget your trip started
