About Vilnius for a Tourist

The history of Vilnius as the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania posed an ideological threat to the Soviets, and in the period immediately following the war, no guides were published. In the 1950s, several brochures came out, and in 1960, A Guide to Vilnius written by the employee of the State Art Museum Juozas Maceikaand the head of the same museum Pranas Gudynas (1919–1979) was published. The past and the present of Vilnius were shown from the perspective of the Communist party, a great deal of attention was given to Soviet figures and places of their activity, as well as the “achievements” of socialism. The authors took the reader to Vilnius streets and neighbourhoods, presenting not only revolutionary and Soviet locations, but also places of historical heritage, palaces and churches included in the list of architectural monuments of the Lithuanian SSR, and discussed their historical and artistic aspects. Full of ideological compromises, this guide is a fruit of Khruschev’s “thaw” and the period of liberalisation, and sheds more light on history and heritage. No more guides of similar scope were published in the Soviet period.

Publications about Vilnius of the Brezhnev era were scanty, contained limited information and were heavily censored. The editor of the Mintis publishers, Arolfas Medonis (1931–1984), wrote the booklet About Vilnius for a Tourist (1965) and the brochure Vilnius (1966). The rich history of the city disappeared, being reduced to the struggle between the oppressors and the oppressed and revolutionary deeds. The propaganda text praises the changes brought about by socialism and the city’s growth; Lenin Avenue with its institutions is called the heart of the city. Architectural monuments are described formally, without their historical context, and the names of saints in the titles of churches are stripped of the abbreviation “St”.

Text author Laima Laučkaitė

Expositions: ‘Vilnius Forever. A Dialogue of Artworks and Guides to the City’, 25 May 2022 – 30 April 2023 Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curator Laima Laučkaitė.

The history of Vilnius as the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania posed an ideological threat to the Soviets, and in the period immediately following the war, no guides were published. In the 1950s, several brochures came out, and in 1960, A Guide to Vilnius written by the employee of the State Art Museum Juozas Maceikaand the head of the same museum Pranas Gudynas (1919–1979) was published. The past and the present of Vilnius were shown from the perspective of the Communist party, a great deal of attention was given to Soviet figures and places of their activity, as well as the “achievements” of socialism. The authors took the reader to Vilnius streets and neighbourhoods, presenting not only revolutionary and Soviet locations, but also places of historical heritage, palaces and churches included in the list of architectural monuments of the Lithuanian SSR, and discussed their historical and artistic aspects. Full of ideological compromises, this guide is a fruit of Khruschev’s “thaw” and the period of liberalisation, and sheds more light on history and heritage. No more guides of similar scope were published in the Soviet period.

Publications about Vilnius of the Brezhnev era were scanty, contained limited information and were heavily censored. The editor of the Mintis publishers, Arolfas Medonis (1931–1984), wrote the booklet About Vilnius for a Tourist (1965) and the brochure Vilnius (1966). The rich history of the city disappeared, being reduced to the struggle between the oppressors and the oppressed and revolutionary deeds. The propaganda text praises the changes brought about by socialism and the city’s growth; Lenin Avenue with its institutions is called the heart of the city. Architectural monuments are described formally, without their historical context, and the names of saints in the titles of churches are stripped of the abbreviation “St”.

Text author Laima Laučkaitė

Expositions: ‘Vilnius Forever. A Dialogue of Artworks and Guides to the City’, 25 May 2022 – 30 April 2023 Lithuanian Art Centre TARTLE (Užupio St. 40, Vilnius). Curator Laima Laučkaitė.