Vileišis Palace
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Vileišis Palace is a Neo-baroque style architectural ensemble 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 ...
, built for Petras Vileišis. Vileišis was a prominent
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 ...
n engineer, political activist, publisher, and philanthropist who commissioned the palace in 1904 and supervised its construction. The ensemble consists of a main house, a guesthouse, and an outbuilding. It currently houses the
Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore The Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore () is a scientific institution in Lithuania. It conducts research in Lithuanian literature and folklore. It resides in the former Vileišis Palace in Antakalnis district of Vilnius.
. It was renovated during the early 2000s.


History

The palace's architect, August Klein, created two blueprints, one Neo-classical and the other Neo-baroque. Vileišis selected the Neo-baroque style, because of the site's proximity to the baroque St. Peter and St. Paul's Church. Work on the ensemble began in 1904. According to witnesses, the lime used in its construction was diluted with separated milk rather than water. Some materials not customarily used at the time were employed, such as
ferroconcrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low ultimate tensile strength, tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having ...
. Building materials were bought from
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and the
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. The project was completed in 1906. It was situated on a one-half
hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...
site, surrounded by a
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fence and elaborately landscaped. The main palace has two floors. Petras Vileišis' office and an ante-room were located on the first floor, as were a hallway, two drawing rooms and a dining room. The large chandelier in the vestibule was a gift from the workers at the ''Vilija'' factory. A
terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...
between the first and second floors was surrounded by a
balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...
. The family's bedrooms were located on the second floor, while servants' quarters were located in the attic under the mansard roof. The interior was decorated in Neo-classical and
Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...
styles, featuring
crown molding Crown molding (interchangeably spelled crown moulding in British and Commonwealth English) is a form of cornice created out of decorative moulding installed atop an interior wall. It is also used atop doors, windows, pilasters and cabinets. ...
, sculptural elements, and pastel tiles. Portraits, busts, and
bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
s of Lithuanian literary and cultural figures were displayed throughout the palace. The ensemble's guesthouse is three stories tall, with two stairways. Vileišis established a
printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...
for the
Vilniaus žinios ''Vilniaus žinios'' (literally: ''Vilnius news'') was a short-lived newspaper published in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was the first legal Lithuanian-language daily newspaper to appear after the Lithuanian press ban was lifted on May 7, 1904. History ...
, the first legal Lithuanian-language daily newspaper printed in Vilnius, in the basement. The newspaper's editorial and administrative offices were on the first floor; other offices were located on its second floor. On January 9, 1907 the first Lithuanian Art Exhibition was held at the guesthouse, presenting the artwork of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis and Antanas Žmuidzinavičius. It was the first exhibition of Čiurlionis' paintings. The ensemble's outbuilding, constructed in yellow brick, is two stories tall. This building was used as a book bindery and as living quarters for servants. Petras Vileišis and his family lived in the palace until
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 ...
. In 1926, Vileišis died and the palace was inherited by his daughter, Elena Vileišytė. In 1931, she sold the entire ensemble to the Lithuanian organization Rytas for 55,000
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. From 1941 to 1990 the palace housed the Lithuanian literature and Lithuanian language institutes. Since 1990, it has housed the
Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore The Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore () is a scientific institution in Lithuania. It conducts research in Lithuanian literature and folklore. It resides in the former Vileišis Palace in Antakalnis district of Vilnius.
.


The Palace today

The palace underwent three years of renovation in the early 2000s and was re-opened in 2007. Since it was structurally sound, its restoration was largely cosmetic. During the renovation, many significant historic documents were found hidden in the palace walls. However, the long-missing copies of the Act of Independence of Lithuania, signed in 1918, were not found, despite a popular belief that they were hidden in the palace. Petras Vileišis' brother, Jonas Vileišis, was one of the Act's signatories.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vileisis Palace Houses completed in 1906 Palaces in Vilnius 1906 establishments in the Russian Empire