The Centras eldership ( lt, Centro seniūnija) is an eldership in the city of

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

, Lithuania, based on two neighbourhoods of Kaunas - the Old City and the New City. It lies at the confluence of two major Lithuanian rivers, the

Nemunas The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ...

and the

Neris The river Neris () or Viliya ( be, Ві́лія, pl, Wilia ) rises in northern Belarus. It flows westward, passing through Vilnius (Lithuania's capital) and in the south-centre of that country it flows into the Nemunas (Neman), at Kaunas, as ...

. The borough borders

Žaliakalnis Žaliakalnis (literally, "the green hill") is an Elderships of Lithuania, elderate in Lithuania's second largest city, Kaunas. Žaliakalnis is located north of the old town and the city center area, between the Neris and Girstupis valleys. It is on ...

in the north,

Šančiai Šančiai is an elderate in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas. It is located on the right bank of the Nemunas River, and is divided into Higher and Lower Šančiai. Its 2007 population was 23,237. Remains of transatlantic pilots of '' Lituanica'' S ...

in the east,

Aleksotas The Aleksotas elderate ( lt, Aleksoto Seniunija) is an elderate in the southern section of the city of Kaunas, Lithuania, bordering the left bank of the Nemunas River. Its population in 2006 was 21,694. The elderate borders Vilijampolė and Cen ...

in the south and

Vilijampolė Vilijampolė is a neighborhood in the city of Kaunas, Lithuania, located on the right bank of the Neris River and the Nemunas River, near their confluence. Part of a larger which consists of Vilijampolė, , , and neighorhoods, and covers 1,720 h ...

in the west.

Kaunas Old Town The Centras eldership ( lt, Centro seniūnija) is an eldership in the city of Kaunas, Lithuania, based on two neighbourhoods of Kaunas - the Old City and the New City. It lies at the confluence of two major Lithuanian rivers, the Nemunas and the ...

- the oldest part of Kaunas town, located to the east of the confluence of the Nemunas and Neris rivers, occupies 144 hectares. There are a lot of surviving

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

and

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

buildings, especially in the western part of the Old Town. Many notable buildings and facilities are located in the Old Town, such as the

Kaunas Town Hall The Town Hall of Kaunas () stands in the middle of the Town Hall Square at the heart of the Old Town, Kaunas, Lithuania.The structure dates from the 16th century. It houses a Museum of Ceramics. History The Town Hall is distinguished by its slend ...

, the

Kaunas Castle Kaunas Castle is a medieval castle in Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. Archeological evidence suggests that it was originally built during the mid-14th century, in the Gothic style. Its site is strategic – a rise on the banks o ...

and the Historical Presidential Palace,

House of Perkūnas The House of Perkūnas is one of the most original and Gothic secular buildings, located in the Old Town of Kaunas, Lithuania. Originally built by Hanseatic merchants and served as their office from 1440 until 1532, it was sold in the 16th cent ...

, also the

Kaunas Cathedral Cathedral Basilica of apostles St. Peter and St. Paul of Kaunas ( lt, Kauno Šv. apaštalų Petro ir Povilo katedra bazilika) is a Roman Catholic cathedral basilica in Kaunas, Lithuania. History The exact date when the first Gothic style chu ...

, the Church of St. Gertrude, Vytautas' church and many other churches. Great variety of museums, such as

Museum of the History of Lithuanian Medicine and Pharmacy The Museum of the History of Lithuanian Medicine and Pharmacy ( lt, Lietuvos medicinos ir farmacijos istorijos muziejus ) is located in a restored 16th-century building at the Town Hall Square in the Old Town of Kaunas, Lithuania. It moved to ...

Povilas Stulga Museum of Lithuanian Folk Instruments The Povilas Stulga Museum of Lithuanian Folk Instruments ( lt, Povilo Stulgos lietuvių tautinės muzikos instrumentų muziejus) is located in the Old Town of Kaunas, Lithuania. Its permanent collection contains Lithuanian and international musical ...

Maironis Maironis (born Jonas Mačiulis, ; – 28 June 1932) was a Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest and the greatest and most-known Lithuanian poet, especially of the period of the Lithuanian press ban. He was called the Bard of Lithuanian National Revi ...

Lithuanian literature Lithuanian literature ( lt, lietuvių literatūra) concerns the art of written works created by Lithuanians throughout their history. History Latin language A wealth of Lithuanian literature was written in Latin, the main scholarly language in ...

Museum,

Communication History Museum Former Communications History Museum was a museum supported by Teo LT AB, former AB Lietuvos Telekomas, in the Old Town of Kaunas, Lithuania. The building is an old merchant house, where were storages for grain to be exported. The building was ...

, Museum of

Gemology Gemology or gemmology is the science dealing with natural and artificial gemstone materials. It is a geoscience and a branch of mineralogy. Some jewelers (and many non-jewelers) are academically trained gemologists and are qualified to identif ...

and Kaunas City Museum are situated. The largest seminary in Lithuania -

Kaunas Priest Seminary Kaunas Priest Seminary ( lt, Kauno kunigų seminarija) is the largest seminary in Lithuania serving the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kaunas. It is part of the Faculty of Theology of Vytautas Magnus University. Its current rector is Aurelijus Žuk ...

is located at the westernmost part of the Old Town. The seat of

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kaunas The Archdiocese of Kaunas ( la, Archidioecesis Kaunensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Lithuania. The episcopal see is in Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. The archdiocese's moth ...

is based nearby. The main Kaunas street in the Old Town, and its continuation in the New Town - the pedestrian

Laisvės Alėja Laisvės Alėja (literally Liberty Boulevard or Liberty Avenue) is a prominent pedestrian street in the city of Kaunas, Lithuania. It stretches between the St. Michael the Archangel's Byzantine-style church to the Central Post Office and ...

runs across the eldershipo. Laisvės Alėja is the longest pedestrian street in the whole Europe – 1.7 km. Laisvės Alėja connects Vilnius Street and Kaunas Cathedral. There was a horse-drawn tram in Laisvės avenue until 1929 which was called this way because a tram on a railing (Lith. ''konkė'') was drawn by horses. Banks, various offices, restaurants, cafes, and many modern shops are situated in this street. It is a favorite place for walk and meetings of Kaunas citizens. Kaunas' New Town - the district, located east of Old Town, began to develop from 1847,

tzar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

-time type of the new rectangular structure of the city. The New Town of Kaunas occupies 314 hectares. The New Town is especially known for

Interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relativel ...

functionalism architecture In architecture, functionalism is the principle that buildings should be designed based solely on their purpose and function. This principle is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly in regard to modern archite ...

complexes when Kaunas became the

Temporary capital of Lithuania The temporary capital of Lithuania ( lt, Laikinoji sostinė) was the official designation of the city of Kaunas in Lithuania during the interwar period. It was in contrast to the declared capital in Vilnius, which was part of Poland from 1920 u ...

. In the New Town Kaunas City Municipality, numerous business centers, hotels, and some shopping centers are situated. There are also the Kaunas Synagogue, the St. Michael the Archangel Church and the only mosque in Lithuania, the

Kaunas Mosque Kaunas Mosque ( lt, Kauno Mečetė) is the only mosque in the city and district of Kaunas, one of only four mosques in Lithuania as well as the only brick mosque in Lithuania and the Baltic countries. It is in Centras eldership, Tatars Street 6 ...

located in the New Town.

Kaunas Red Cross Hospital Red Cross Hospital in Kaunas is the oldest still functioning hospital in the city and in Lithuania. History Hospital was founded November 29, 1908. Around this hospital the Medical faculty of the Higher Courses (later developed to University ...

is located in the centre. On the bank of Nemunas River, on an island, the largest indoor arena in the

Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

was opened in 2011, the

Žalgiris Arena Žalgiris Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New Town of Kaunas, Lithuania. The arena is located on an island of the Nemunas River. It is the largest indoor arena in the Baltics. The arena's maximum possible seating capacity for basketba ...

. The arena was acknowledged as the most visited Euroleague arena two years in a row. The

Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Lithuanian University of Health Sciences ( lt, Lietuvos sveikatos mokslų universitetas, LSMU) is a medical school in Kaunas, Lithuania. The present-day Lithuanian University of Health Sciences is a consolidation of two institutions of higher educ ...

, the

Vytautas Magnus University Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) ( lt, Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas (VDU)) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university. Initially it was known ...

and the

Kaunas University of Technology Kaunas University of Technology (abbreviated as KTU, ) is a public research university located in Kaunas, Lithuania. Established in 1922, KTU has been one of the top centers of Lithuanian science education. According to Lithuanian National Univ ...

are located there, as well as numerous museums: the

Tadas Ivanauskas Zoological Museum The Tadas Ivanauskas Zoological Museum was established in Kaunas, Lithuania, in 1919 by Tadas Ivanauskas (1882–1970). The museum collects and exhibits various animals: hunting trophies, Taxidermy, stuffed animals, Insect collecting, insect col ...

, the

Žmuidzinavičius Museum Žmuidzinavičius Museum ( lt, Žmuidzinavičiaus muziejus), also known as the Devil Museum (''Velnių muziejus''), is a museum in Kaunas, Lithuania, dedicated to collecting and exhibiting sculptures and carvings of devils from all over the world ...

, the

Vytautas the Great War Museum The Vytautas the Great War Museum ( lt, Vytauto Didžiojo karo muziejus) is a museum in Kaunas, Lithuania. It was built in Art Deco and early functionalism style. Originally it was established in 1921 by Vladas Nagevičius but later it was deci ...

and

Kaunas Museum for the Blind The Kaunas Museum for the Blind ( lt, Muziejus neregiams) in Kaunas, Lithuania opened in 2005. It was the first museum for the blind in the Baltic States and one of the first in Eastern Europe. The museum, located in the catacombs underneath St. M ...

. M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum based in central Kaunas, is primarily dedicated to exhibiting the works of Lithuanian painter and musician M.K. Čiurlionis. Central Kaunas is connected with the neighbourhood of

by the Žaliakalnis Funicular Railway constructed in 1930s. The headquarters and some other administrative buildings of the

Kaunas Fortress Kaunas Fortress ( lt, Kauno tvirtovė, russian: Кοвенская крепость, german: Festung Kowno) is the remains of a fortress complex in Kaunas, Lithuania. It was constructed and renovated between 1882 and 1915 to protect the Russian ...

' commandant are still used for public needs. Central Kaunas is also well known for its public statuary. The main culture institutions of the city are also located there, such as

Kaunas State Musical Theatre The Kaunas State Musical Theatre is a musical theatre in Kaunas, Lithuania. It was established on November 27, 1940, in the former State Theatre hall adjoining the Laisvės Alėja. For some time, it mostly presented operettas. The building The ...

Kaunas State Drama Theatre The National Kaunas Drama Theatre is the biggest theatre in Kaunas, and one of the oldest functioning theatres in Lithuania. There are six different creative spaces for events in the Kaunas Drama Theatre. History Its beginnings date to the 1 ...

, Kaunas Chamber Theatre and Kaunas Symphony Orchestra. The M. K. Čiurlionis Bridge and

Vytautas the Great Bridge Vytautas the Great Bridge, also known as Aleksotas Bridge before 1930 and from 1940 until 23 February 2008, crosses the Nemunas River to connect Aleksotas and Old Town in Kaunas, Lithuania. Its length exceeds 256 meters, and its width is of 16 ...

link the district to

and

Petras Vileišis Bridge Petras Vileišis Bridge formerly known as Vilijampolė Bridge is a bridge connecting Kaunas Old Town and Vilijampolė, Lithuania. It is the last bridge over the Neris River before its mouth. Its length exceeds 291 metres, width 14 metres. The b ...

links it to

. The New Town of Kaunas is well connected with

Kaunas International Airport Kaunas Fluxus Airport ( lt, Kauno tarptautinis oro uostas), is the second-busiest civil airport in Lithuania after Vilnius Airport and the fourth-busiest in the Baltic states. The airport is located in the central part of the country, northea ...

by developed public transportation. At the eastern edge of central Kaunas, central

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

and

Kaunas Railway Tunnel Kaunas railway tunnel ( lt, Kauno geležinkelio tunelis) is one of the two railway tunnels existing in Lithuania and the only railway tunnel operating in the Baltic states. Passenger trains are operating between Vilnius and Kaunas through this tu ...

are situated.

Gallery

Kaunas Old Town in winter 2.jpg, Kaunas Old Town in winter Kaunas centre view from Resurection church.jpg, Centre of Kaunas Kaunas Old Town in winter.jpg, One of the Kaunas Old Town restaurants Kauno pilis2010-11.jpg, The Tower of Kaunas Castle Centras, Kaunas, Lithuania - panoramio (12).jpg,

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It e ...

in the Old Town S. Daukanto gatve.jpg, S. Daukanto gatvė in Kaunas Kaunas Town Hall (2012).jpg, Kaunas Town Hall Vienybe Square.jpg, Vienybės Square in the New Town LT Kaunas, 2019.07.20, fot Ivonna Nowicka (3).jpg, A cobblestone lane with a leisurely cat

References

City of Kaunas - Eldership of Centras

External links

Website of Kaunas city
* {{Kaunas elderates Neighbourhoods of Kaunas Tourist attractions in Kaunas