Naujininkai

This is the ideal place to understand the power of context. If you were to put the building in front of you somewhere in the Old Town, you would hardly notice it at all, but when it’s nestled amongst rather utilitarian apartment blocks, the impression is much greater. It is often assumed by Vilnius residents to be a former manor house, but in fact it is an eye hospital built between 1881-1884. In its day, it was famous for its modern operating theatres, which were particularly well lit by natural light – if you walk around the back of the building, you will notice a semicircular protrusion. Over time, the hospital’s functions kept evolving, but until 2015, it operated as a medical institution (and, in its last phase, as a nursing hospital). The street on which the complex stands will never let you forget its founder, the artist and philanthropist Countess Maria Tyzenhauz-Przezdziecka.

An almost identical building stands in Naujamiestis, on the corner of J. Basanavičiaus and Muitinės Streets, and for good reason – they had the same purpose. For three hundred years, from the beginning of the 16th century, Vilnius was surrounded by a medieval city wall with nine gates (only Aušros Vartai survived), but in the first half of the 19th century, the Tsarist authorities decided to dismantle the wall and move the boundaries further away. This led to the creation of a dozen new ‘city gates’, officially known as guardhouses. The colonnaded buildings contained a couple of rooms for the military, and in the street next to each guardhouse stood pillars decorated with the Governor’s coat of arms and a barrier. If you wanted to enter the city, you had to go through a checkpoint. After serving for more than half a century, the guardhouses were closed in the mid-19th century, and one of the reasons for this is simple: as the facilities were not connected to a continuous wall, they could be avoided quite easily by more nimble travellers. After the closure of the guardhouses, many of the buildings were demolished or rebuilt beyond recognition, and only two have survived – this one and the one on J. Basanavičiaus Street.

It is the most important Orthodox cemetery in Vilnius. Although Lithuanian historiography is relatively unaware of many of the names of even the most famous people buried here, their high positions are revealed by the inscriptions ‘General’, ‘engineer’, ‘merchant’, etc. It is worth mentioning the founder and long-time head of the Vilnius Drawing School, the painter Ivan Trutnev, the sculptor Juozapas Horbacevičius, and the historian Pavel Kukolnik. The suppressors of the 1863-1864 uprising are also laid to eternal rest here. The landmark of the cemetery, the Orthodox Church of St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk, was designed by the architect Nikolai Chagin. Looking down from the hill, a semicircular pink chapel can be seen nearby; having contributed 4,000 roubles to the cemetery, this is where Tikhon Zaitsev is buried. It is said that when the monument to Lenin was erected in Lukiškių Square during the Soviet era, several tombstone slabs were taken from this cemetery and used for the plinth. The cemetery is still operational and was extended in 2007-2008.

Although they were from the same nation, Russian Christians split into two separate denominations around 1666 – the Orthodox, who embraced the reform of Patriarch Nikon, and the Old Believers, who rejected innovation and clung to the old traditions. When they did not accept the changes, the Old Believers were persecuted in Tsarist Russia, and many of them found refuge in the Commonwealth of the Two Nations. Even today, in eastern Lithuania, especially in the Rokiškis and Zarasai districts, we can still find a number of Old Believer villages with a small wooden Orthodox church at the centre of village life. The centre of the Vilnius Old Believer (Sentikių) community is in Naujininkai, where the only official Sentikių house of worship and cemetery is located. Although the church building (then still without towers) was erected around 1882, for several decades it was officially known as a shelter because the Tsarist authorities in Vilnius forbade the Old Believers from having a place of worship, and it was only after the Russian Revolution of 1905 that the religious regime was relaxed, and the Sentikių church was officially registered. Leonid and Eugenia, representatives of the Pimonov family, perhaps the most prominent Old Believer family in Lithuania, are buried in this cemetery.

The dome of the Aleksandras Neviškis Orthodox Church is the highest of the three places of worship in Naujininkai. It was built between 1896-1898 according to the then fashionable principle that it should be both a church and a school (single-storey annexes were intended for the school, which was operational until 1915). From 1937–1960, the complex was home to the Mary Magdalene Orthodox Convent, and thanks to the efforts of the sisters, the Orthodox Church was repaired after the devastating air raid of July 1944. After the removal of the convent and the construction of new buildings, a detention centre for juvenile girls who had a troubled upbringing operated on the site, and the four-storey building on the left with bars on the windows reminds us of its more recent existence. After Lithuania regained its independence, the Orthodox Church was returned to the faithful and, after renovations, opened its doors to everyone in 2012. A few years later, the nuns returned here – to the only functioning Orthodox convent in Lithuania.

Before the Second World War, the name Škaplierinė also existed in present-day Naujininkai; it was applied to the territory of the former Škaplierinė (Шкаплерная, Szkaplerna) Street, and to the name of the viaduct, which has not survived, over the railway connecting the present-day Švitrigailos and Dariaus ir Girėno streets. It is not clear what gave rise to the name. A scapular (škaplierius) is a Catholic religious article, two pieces of cloth joined by a ribbon. This symbol is the most significant in the Carmelite tradition. It is important to note that the Carmelites were located in the vicinity of the Aušros Vartai and Arklių Street, so maybe they also had land in Naujininkai? This question remains unanswered, as does the other issue of why the street was given the name ‘Dzūkų’ in 1940.

Although the earliest Soviet master plan envisaged a park with fountains and plants on the site, history has led to the construction of an eight-storey park for… taxis. In 1974, the entire fleet of the state-owned Vilnius Taxi Company was moved to Naujininkai, rather than staying in the old garages on Naugarduko Street. Like other companies and factories of that era, the taxi depot had its own recreational facilities, five-year plans, and sports teams. The building was home to around 800 taxis, a similar number of drivers, a control room, a repair shop, a car wash, and all the other facilities necessary for such an establishment. The serpentine of the taxi park was particularly famous, even being used in the introduction to the famous Soviet children’s film ‘The Adventures of the Electronic’. The taxi depot’s hard times began in 1987 when some drivers were allowed to work as private hire drivers, but the hardest hit was caused by the sudden change from a planned to a market economy at the beginning of Lithuania’s independence. Afterwards, the building, which for many years had been considered a mighty landmark, began to deteriorate. It was even considered as an anti-advertisement of Vilnius for any tourist going from the airport to the city centre, but a couple of years ago, with the arrival of new owners, the building has been rejuvenated – the outside has been renovated and the inside has been transformed into an electric karting track, a sports club, and soon will become a museum of vintage machinery, as well as office space, cafes, and so on.

The incredible-looking way-side shrine, set amongst the blocks of flats, is testimony to the historical route that once passed through this way. If you go through the Rūdninkų Gate and walk along Šv. Stepono Street, you will reach this very spot – beyond it is Rūdninkų Forest, which had always been a favourite of the nobility. The historical continuity was interrupted by the railway constructed in the mid-19th century, so the chapel and the road at the foot of the hill, with the stones of the old pavement peeking out from under the asphalt, look like a lost cause in the 21st-century. In 1973, the small statue of St. John Nepomuk was transferred to the repository of the Lithuanian Museum of Art, while the stone structure itself has remained standing until today. However, if you use your imagination, you can envisage the scene in your mind of the Dukes and their entourages passing through Naujininkai on their way to a hunt.

When Vilnius became the European Capital of Culture in 2009, Naujininkai was not forgotten either. Here, sculptor Darius Bražiūnas installed his work of art that many refer to as ‘The Violin Key’, but it is actually called ‘The Fern Branch’! It is said that this symbol wishes good luck to travellers arriving in Vilnius from the airport and, conversely, bids farewell to those leaving. In order to fit in with the image of the industrial district, the sculpture was made of metal.

When Vilnius was part of Poland between the wars, the Polish government decided to diligently fortify the city, preparing it for possible war and isolation from Warsaw. New military roads and a narrow-gauge railway were built through Vilnius, and barracks, bunkers, and headquarters were erected; ammunition depots were constructed in the forests, including Burbiškės. During the Soviet era, the area retained its military function, and the white brick buildings constructed for various purposes during this period remain to this day in the forest. As you cross Tūkstantmečio Street over a strangely constructed bridge, you will soon notice the wooden railway sleepers preserved under your feet. The entire former military area in the forest is rapidly changing, with defensive objects giving way to apartment buildings, so it is worth making the trip today. Nevertheless, despite all the human activity then and now, it is the expressive nature of this forest that is most enjoyable. You’re more likely to come across a roe deer or a squirrel than a person when you go for a walk in the forest.