Prague Journal

Saturday, May 21, 2005

Before heading back to Kaunas, we drove up the hill to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Nida. This church was built in 1887-1888. From 1966-1988 this was the site of the Curonian Spit Historical Museum, after which time the Church was given back to the Evangelical and Lutheran community. Now Catholic as well as Lutheran services are held here. The main altar of the Church was restored from 1990-1992. An organ was installed in 1984. Since 1988, organ music festivals, poetry readings, and advent, chamber, and choral music concerts take place in the Church. The cemetery in the churchyard is also lovely, with interesting krikštai (krikštas is in the singular) marking the graves of the deceased. Unique to the area a krikštas can be of various nature-related themes, and is placed at the foot of the grave.
We retraced our path to Klaipeda, sailed to the mainland on the ferry, and headed to Kaunas. We stopped at Maxima, a huge supermarket, for dinner provisions, wine, beer, and chocolate. Then, after a short rest at Vicki’s flat, went downtown for a stroll around Old Town.
Kaunas is the second largest city in Lithuania. In 1408, Magdeburg rights were granted to the city of Kaunas by the privilege of Vytautas the Great. During the early 20th century, governed by its first Burgomaster Jonas Vileisis, Kaunas was the home of the Lithuanian Government and the capital city; a period considered by many as the golden age of the city. On the 20th of May, 1463, Kazimieras Jogailaitis renewed and expanded the privileges of the city, so May 20 is now celebrated as Kaunas City Day.
Annually, objects of historical value are created for this event, for example an anthology of verse about Kaunas Coti, the symbol of the festival “Kaunutis” or a coin of Taurus. Townspeople and guests crowd in folk art fairs, concerts that demonstrate both the achievement of professionals and amateur artists, and represents the artistic life of Kaunas City. This weekend Kaunas’s Old Town is adorned with street vendors and musicians, with evening concerts and fireworks.

posted by JWinn @ 11:08 PM