In the last century – the century we have just left behind – there have been so many changes that Vilnius can look both very recognisable and completely different from what it used to be.
If you look at the images in photographs of early 20th-century Vilnius captured by the famous photographer Jan Brunon Bułhak and compare them with Vilnius today, you’ll see many recognisable buildings and traditions, but also many images of places that have already disappeared, as well as the entertainment spots of city dwellers. Today, the Neris River is no longer a river for timber rafting, horses no longer trot along the city streets, but buses do instead, and you can go shopping at Halės Market or live in city cottages that didn’t exist in the 20th century. In the last century, Vilnius expanded rapidly, with many surrounding villages, hamlets, and even towns being incorporated into the city. Now the electricity supply has been switched on in the city, it seems to have supercharged the city’s engine; Vilnius is hurtling into the future at breakneck speed. Living conditions are rapidly improving, innovation and science are flourishing, new factories are springing up, the city’s entertainment is changing, and many ‘firsts’ are being experienced. The things we have got used to and take for granted today seemed like small miracles 100 years ago.
Visit the first cinema to experience the art of illusion, turn on the light switch and remember the history of electricity in Vilnius, get on a bus and think about where the first Vilnius citizens travelled, turn on the tap in the Old Town to get a drink of clean water from a centuries-old pumping station, and take a look at the whole of Vilnius and the changes of the century from the observation deck of the Television Tower. Enjoy your walk through the familiar, yet at the same time forgotten, Vilnius of the 20th century!
What will you see/learn along the route?
- When did the first buses hit the streets of Vilnius?
- Where can I see an underground stream flowing?
- What did the computer made in Vilnius look like?
