Justiniškės

If you stop at the former ‘Žuvėdra’ sewing factory (once employing as many as 1400 people), you will see a street stretching towards the Jewish cemetery on your left. This was an important suburban road that started near Saltoniškės and Žvėrynas. There was the Justiniškės (Justynówka in Polish) estate, whose name shifted along this road 3-5 kilometres to the west at the end of the 20th century.

Until the middle of the 20th century, an important road from Vilnius to Sudervė and further to Dūkštas and Kernavė passed through what is now Justiniškės. It was described by the famous Romantic poet and writer Władysław Syrokomla. He mentioned that in the middle of the 19th century, there used to be the beautiful and well-kept manor house of Lewandowszczyzna, which by the time he travelled there, had already been abandoned, as well as a number of inns on the way to Gineitiškės.

Until the end of the 1970s, Justiniškės district was the site of the modest villages of Ąžuolinė and Lūž(i)ai situated between the former Justiniškės farmstead and Buivydiškės. Most of the territory of present-day Justiniškės consisted of pastures, cultivated fields, and small groves. The former street layout can still be imagined looking westwards from the surviving section of the road to Sudervė. The last houses of Lūž(i)ai village were demolished in the early 21st century and replaced in 2006-2007 by a staggered-level staircase-shaped building of 4-11 storeys (Rygos g. 6).

Viršuliškės, Justiniškės and Šeškinė meet at the intersection of Rygos g. and Laisvės Ave. Around this place was the village of Ąžuolinės. On both sides of Rygos g. there are two interesting buildings from the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries: a medical institution and a shopping centre.

On the left is a High Tech-style furniture and interior design centre (Laisvės pr. 62), built in 2000 (architects – S. Kuncevičius and A. Jakutis). It is an interesting and multi-faceted building: the dynamic part of the façade facing the intersection is rounded off by a glass wall, a soaring wood-planked eaves and a round window as its accent, while parallel to Rygos g. is a static, monumental part with rhythmically arranged metal pilasters. Next to the shopping centre was a fountain, with water flowing from a retaining wall into a pool a few centimetres deep.

On the right side of the intersection is a post-modern private medical institution (Laisvės pr. 64A, architects – D. Ruseckas, I. Maknienė, and D. Kitovas). The construction of a monolithic residential building with a tailor’s shop and a clothing store on the first two floors was interrupted in the middle of the project, but after a redesign and change of use, it was completed in 1998. The corner part of the building, which is clearly visible at the intersection, is emphasised by the 30-metre-high staircase spire, which is high above the building’s cornice. The bay windows and the attic stand out in the monochrome environment of Justiniškės. Interestingly, the three-storey bay windows on either side of the staircase spire seem to echo the silhouette motif of the staircase staggered-levels of the monolithic blocks in Justiniškės.

In order to protect the residential neighbourhoods of Justiniškės from street noise, the so-called ‘screen houses’ (known in Lithuanian as ‘namai-ekranai’ from the French ‘écran’) were built for the first time in Vilnius, forming a noise barrier. This unbroken row of blocks of flats stretches as far as 330 metres in length.

The motif of the defensive noise pollution wall seems to be taken from a medieval city, and the deep recesses of the loggias are reminiscent of shooting holes. Such references are typical nods to the architectural language of postmodernism. The stairwells are accentuated by glass pyramids on the roof, a popular element of postmodernism.

To avoid monotony, the volumes are fragmented: periodically, the buildings are recessed into the depths of the block or designed to jut out, and the tranquillity of the façades is diversified by open-air walkways. The flats on the ground floors have their own separate external entrance doors, while the flats on floors 2-5 are accessed through the open balcony walkway. The staircases are on the side of the building facing the bustling Laisvės pr., with only the kitchen windows facing the street. The living rooms and bedrooms are on the west, quiet side of the house away from the road.

Justiniškės stands out from other mass-built residential districts in Vilnius because for the first time, terraces and gardens were allocated to some ground-floor apartments – you will see them as you walk around the wall of the building.

The row of nine-storey blocks built on a perimeter principle on the right side of the avenue connecting ‘Sietuvos’ pro-gymnasium secondary school with the market and the Justiniškės Shopping Centre is interesting in that the ground-floor flats are surrounded by gardens. In the 1970s and 1970s, sociological studies revealed that people did not want to live on the ground floors of apartment blocks, so planners thought they could attract newcomers by installing small private gardens next to several of the buildings. The block opposite (Taikos g. 10) is interesting because it was the home of Ričardas Kazlauskas, a naturalist and the favourite of Lithuanian children and the author of the television programme ‘Langas į gamtą’ (‘Window to Nature’). His house has been home to more than 100 species of Lithuanian birds, various species of fish, rare amphibians, exotic spiders, an iguana, a family of swans, and even a beaver.

Several dry fountains were previously located in the centre of the avenue.

At Justiniškės Market, pay attention to the details: the colours, smells, and sounds. The atmosphere is somewhat reminiscent of the bazaars of East and Central Asia or the Middle East. Justiniškės Market is one of the largest in the northern part of Vilnius.

The market is adjacent to the district’s largest shopping and service centre (formerly called ‘Justiniškės’). The building complex was built in 1986 and extended in 2005. Unfortunately, although the number of retail and service areas increased, and more cafés were added, the reconstruction destroyed the main square of Justiniškės with its stepped fountain and the sculpture welcoming Spring ‘Sveikas, pavasari’ (1987) by V. Šerys. The shopping centre built on a slope was connected to the square by an unusual staircase.

On the other side of the shopping centre is the administrative part of the centre of Justiniškės, which houses the municipality, a library, a café, a former post office, a pharmacy, a hairdresser’s, and other institutions. The complex of buildings forms a cosy, almost enclosed system of two squares, the highlight of which was once a cascading fountain. The western part of the area is closed off in an urban style by residential buildings built in 2000 (architects: A. E. Paslaitis, T. Balčiūnas, and G. Paslaitis).

This was the first such complex combining administrative, commercial and entertainment functions in the capital city of Lithuania after the restoration of independence. Designed in 1991-1993, it was built in 1993-1995 (architects – E. Gūzas, S. Malikėnas, D. Kesminaitė, and R. Perkauskas).

The three-storey cylindrical volume (retail space) with a pyramidal crown is surrounded by rectangular office blocks. From Justiniškių g., the exterior staircase leading up to the sloping parts of the building looks impressive. ‘Justė’ is a fine example of post-modern architecture from the 1990s in Vilnius.

The beautiful ‘Justė’ of Justiniškės’ was adjacent to ‘Makso pramogos’ – the most popular Vilnius nightclub at the time. In the evenings, several thousand nightclubbers could party here at the same time. Entrance to ‘Max Dance World’ cost 5-25 litas, and the entertainment lasted until 6am. The complex is also a reminder of the tensions among teenagers in the 1990s: the deep ideological disagreements and the resulting conflicts between ravers, rappers, and other street subcultures, such as the so-called ‘urlaganai’.

The building’s entrances and interiors were decorated with sculptures by J. Meškelevičius, J. Genevičius and J. Šimonėlis.

The administrative and commercial centre of Justiniškės and the highest point of the residential area are visually distinguished by two types of monolithic multi-storey buildings: four 17-storey (there are steps down to the semi-basement ground floor) buildings constructed on the high ground between Justiniškių and Rygos g. These tower blocks (architect: Č. Mazūras, designer: J. Sidaravičius), which stand at the highest point of the district, act as a landmark, showing the observer the location of the commercial and administrative centre of Justiniškės. Visually, the high-rises are reminiscent of the monoliths of Lazdynai, but the colour scheme is different – they are painted in several shades of red and brown with light coloured strips of balconies and glazed gallery loggia rooms. The upper part of the building widens slightly, giving the multi-storey buildings an even more monumental appearance. The monolithic skyscrapers of Justiniškės are featured in the 2019 photo album ‘Justiniškės. Žvilgsnis pro objektyvą’, which took a look through a camera lens and captured images of the district.

Three staggered-level blocks with 7-13 floors (architect – D. Ruseckas, designer – J. Sidaravičius) are built on Rygos g. The fourth one stands slightly further back, in the middle of the south-facing part of the district, and marks the local centre with a shop (formerly ‘Žilvinas’, now the ‘Maxima’ supermarket).

The rounded balconies of the lowest parts of the staggered-level buildings facing the pedestrian alley are reminiscent of Bauhaus architecture. The blocks grow taller towards the geometric centre of Justiniškės and the highest hills of the area. This architectural wave creates a visual expectation, culminating in the high-rise tower blocks on the other side of Rygos g., strung together in an urban line, and culminating in quiet pedestrian alleys with fountains. The uppermost part of the 13-storey building, after deepening the rounded stairwell, is visually divided. The façade is also dynamic thanks to the recessed rows of balconies, the plastic decor of the façade, and the different finishing materials (different coloured plaster and ceramic tiles).

The monolithic houses with a bold, stepped silhouette are the symbols of Justiniškės, visible from the intersection of Laisvės pr. and Rygos g. Together with the tower-like monolithic buildings, they are the visual landmarks of the whole district. Only in Justiniškės are there such staggered-level monolithic blocks. If you go to Sigito Gedos pr., pay attention to the residential building with commercial premises (architects – V. Lupu and E. Biretienė), which was constructed at the crossroads in 2000.

The pedestrian alley connecting the district centre with the sports ground and the Mykolas Biržiška Gymnasium was named in 2018 after the poet Sigitas Geda, who lived in the block of flats at Taikos g. 88, and who was inspired to write his poetry when he walked around Justiniškės by the manor house and the ponds in neighbouring Buivydiškės.

At the beginning of Sigito Gedos Alley, there is another one of several concrete amphitheatres in Justiniškės. These are located along the district’s pedestrian alleys, connecting residential areas and schools to the district centre. This amphitheatre was renovated in 2017 and hosts the Justiniškės neighbourhood festivals.

A rectangular fountain, renovated in 2008, is open in Sigito Gedos Alėja in summer. In total, five large fountains and several dry fountains have been installed in Justiniškės, more than in any other residential area in Vilnius, and the public transport stop now known as ‘Taikos stotelė‘ was at one time called ‘Fontanų’. The oval fountain at the end of the alley, which had been inactive for two decades, was transformed into a recreational area in 2017 by Polish artists Magdalena Szwajcowska and Michał Majewski. Together with the bursting fountain and the flowering flowerbeds, the alley was also featured in the HBO series ‘Chernobyl’ (2019), which captivated film fans around the world and depicts the idyllic life of the city of Pripyat prior to the nuclear disaster.

As you walk towards Buivydiškės Manor and its park, you will see the old village cemetery on your right, where mainly the inhabitants of Pašilaičiai village were buried. The western part of the village belonged to Buivydiškės district, and after the construction of the new residential area, this area became part of Justiniškės. As a result, the cemetery is named after Justiniškės and Buivydiškės (the latter being the official name). After crossing the transport viaduct to the other side of the Western Bypass, you will come to the Sudervė river pond system (about 35 ha), a favourite recreational spot for the inhabitants of Justiniškės. The ponds are full of birds, especially beautiful swans. The ponds mark the boundary between Vilnius City and Vilnius District (Zujūnai). The classicist Buivydiškės Manor and park are located just behind the ponds on a peninsula (formerly an island).