Žvėrynas
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Žvėrynas (literally ''the
menagerie A menagerie is a collection of captive animals, frequently exotic, kept for display; or the place where such a collection is kept, a precursor to the modern zoo or zoological garden. The term was first used in 17th-century France, referring to ...
'') is one of the older neighbourhoods and smallest elderships in
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
,
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
. According to the 2011 census, 11,079 people live within its 2.6 km² area. It lies on the banks of the
Neris The river Neris () or Vilija (, ) 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) from the right bank, at Kaunas, as its ma ...
River, and is situated to the west of the Lithuanian Parliament building. The river surrounds it from three sides and isolates it from the city. On the other side of the river, to the northwest, lies
Vingis Park Vingis Park () is the largest park in Vilnius, Lithuania, covering . It is located in Vilkpėdė eldership near a curve of the Neris River, hence its Lithuanian name "vingis" which means "bend" or "curve". A pedestrian bridge connects the p ...
. Initially, it was a private out of town hunting area until the end of the 19th century, later it was developed as a
resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...
and therefore many decorated wooden houses have survived from these times.


History

Originally the district belonged to the
Grand duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in ...
Vytautas the Great Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...
, who established forest reserve there, and later to Radziwiłł family, who has built wooden hunting house in the area and maintained wild animals for hunting purposes (hence the name). In 1825, a summer house was built which later became the residence of the
Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
of the
Vilna Governorate The Vilna Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire. In 1897, the governorate covered an area of and had a population of 1,591,207 inhabitants. The governorate was defined by the Minsk Governo ...
. At the very end of the 19th century, Žvėrynas became the property of Russian businessman Vasiliy Martinson who in turn sold individual tracts of land to the city's residents. In 1901, the resort town was incorporated into the city of Vilnius. It remained mostly residential with very few industrial enterprises. After Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, Žvėrynas became one of the most prestigious neighborhoods of the capital due to the proximity of
Seimas The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (), or simply the Seimas ( ; ), is the unicameralism, unicameral legislative body of the Lithuania, Republic of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of Government of Lithuania, govern ...
, the number of embassies,
Neris The river Neris () or Vilija (, ) 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) from the right bank, at Kaunas, as its ma ...
river and the
Vingis Park Vingis Park () is the largest park in Vilnius, Lithuania, covering . It is located in Vilkpėdė eldership near a curve of the Neris River, hence its Lithuanian name "vingis" which means "bend" or "curve". A pedestrian bridge connects the p ...
. Žvėrynas has a number of government and educational institutions, finance and insurance companies, as well as health care institutions. Žvėrynas is the site of Vilnius' only
kenesa A kenesa ( Karaim: כְּנִיסָא ''kǝnîsāʾ'') is an Eastern European or Persian Karaite synagogue. Kenesas are similar to Rabbinical synagogues. In Eastern Europe, they are laid out along north-south axis (facing Jerusalem). Starting ...
. There are also
Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
Our Lady of the Sign The icon of ''Our Lady of the Sign'' (; ; ) or ''Platytera'' () is the term for a particular type of icon of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary), facing the viewer directly, depicted either full length or half, with her hands raised in the ''orans'' posi ...
church (1899-1903) near
Žvėrynas Bridge The Žvėrynas Bridge () is a bridge over the Neris River in Vilnius, Lithuania. It connects Naujamiestis, Vilnius, Naujamiestis with the district of Žvėrynas. History The bridge was first built of timber in 1892 by a landowner in Žvėryna ...
(1907), Orthodox chapel (1871) near Vingis pedestrian bridge and Catholic church in the Northern part of the district, the later being not finished according to the project because of the
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
(façade towers and dome were never built). Žvėrynas is famous for its well preserved and maintained wooden architecture and interwar brick villas as well as modern architecture. There are more than a hundred wooden summer cottages and city villas, built mostly in 1890s-1910s. Compositors'
modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
quarter of 16 villas, designed for leading Lithuanian musicians and a palace for concerts and various events, were built in the 1960s. Prestigious Jewish Sholem Aleichem Gymnasium is situated in Žvėrynas.


References


External links


Map of Žvėrynas

Wooden Architecture of Vilnius Historic Suburbs

Žvėrynas Community Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zverynas Neighbourhoods of Vilnius