The phenomenon of Kaunas Interwar period architecture in 1919 - 1939

Abstract

Ten new countries were formed after World War I in Europe. One of them – Lithuania – got independent from the Russian Empire in 1918. More than 100 years of occupation left deep scars in Lithuania’s history. A revival became both an opportunity and a significant challenge. Two years after Lithuania got independent, the capital Vilnius was occupied by Poland and the second-largest city Kaunas was announced as the provisional capital. This significant historical moment determined radical transformations of Kaunas city. Restoring the Lithuanian identity, especially without Vilnius, became one of the major priorities. Therefore, trying to create Lithuanians’ architectural style served as a tool for inspiring society and for showing the advanced progress of the newly reborn country to the rest of Europe. These modernist buildings of Kaunas were named as the Architecture of Optimism. The positive feeling about Lithuania’s future was prevailing at that period because the country has not seen such radical progress of living environment in ages. In just 20 years Kaunas from countryside looking area became a modern, competitive city: the centre of academic, economic and political life. The city’s number of residents increased from 92 to 155 thousand (Vaitekūnas, 2021). This situation strongly influenced the architectural and urban identity of the city. From newly built individual art deco style houses to an art museum – distinctive modernist architectural style reflected the search for national identity and the turn towards the West. Architecture students that were coming back from abroad to independent Lithuania affected these searches drastically. The mix of modern Western approach and traditional values influenced previously mentioned distinction of architecture.