The Town Hall of Kaunas () stands in the middle of the Town Hall Square at the heart of the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

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 Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

.The structure dates from the 16th century. It houses a Museum of Ceramics.

History

The Town Hall is distinguished by its slenderness and grace. Its tower of height of 53 meters is the highest in the old city. Present Town Hall located in the square was not the first in Kaunas. The previous one was destroyed by the fire. The construction of Kaunas town hall started in 1542. At first it was a one-storey building with not daubed facade and vaulting cellars. In the 16th century the first floor was built and the eight storey tower was built in the east of the building. The ground floor was adjusted for trading and prison guards, the first floor - for trial, magistrate, treasure, archive and office. Cellars were used to store the goods. The cellars of the tower were used as a prison. In the year 1638 the

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 ...

reconstruction was made. In the year 1771 -1775 the second reconstruction was made by architect J. Matekeris. He rebuilt the part of building, which was demolished in the 17th century, replanned the premises and added additional floor to the tower. He decorated the town hall with

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 ...

and

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...

style decorations, rebuilt the pediment and erected there the sculptures of Grand Dukes of Lithuania (they survived only until the 19th century). In the year 1824 the town hall was used as the premises of the orthodox church and later - ammunition storage. In the year 1836 the town hall was reconstructed again. The residence for Russian czars was made there. From the year 1862 and 1869 there was The Kaunas town club, Russian club, firemen office and Russian theatre. In the year 1869 Kaunas municipality was established in the Town hall. In the year 1944 it was replaced by the archive and in the year 1951 the archive was replaced by Kaunas technical institute. HY13f

In 1973 the Wedding Hall (marriage registration office) was opened in the ground and first floor of Town hall. The cellars were used by a Ceramics museum. The same year reconstruction damaged the building a lot. In the year 2005 the last reconstruction was made, some of damage was eliminated and the Town hall was painted this time not with white color, but with ivory. Kaunas Town hall is called "The white swan". Today it is used for the wedding ceremonies, official welcome of city guests, signing of agreements and official events. It features a historical museum of the city mayor, and stores the most important attributes of the city used in ceremonies – a great city key, a mayor’s mark (a gilded chain), samples of the city’s coats of arms and flags, a ceremonial master’s sign and a traditional bell, and the historic flag of the temporary capital city of 1930. The city’s guest book is stored in the Town Hall, and currently has over 350 entries, among them greetings by four kings and queens, three dukes, twelve presidents, Pope John Paul II, cardinals, mayors of other European cities and other famous people. In 2018, historical Lithuanian symbol

Columns of Gediminas The Columns of Gediminas or Pillars of Gediminas ( lt, Gediminaičių stulpai, ; be, Калюмны, translit=Kaliumny, 'Columns') are one of the earliest symbols of Lithuania and its historical coats of arms. They were used in the Grand Duchy o ...

, dating to the 17th century, were uncovered and restored on one of the town hall's walls.

References

{{Reflist City and town halls in Lithuania Buildings and structures in Kaunas Landmarks in Kaunas Tourist attractions in Kaunas Objects listed in Lithuanian Registry of Cultural Property