Virtual exhibition
The territory, in which the Memorial Complex of the Tuskulėnai Peace Park is established, was known as the land of the royal court, called Derevnictva, functioning as an auxiliary farm of Vilnius castles with a large farmstead, orchards and ponds from the 16th century. The founder of the manor was Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Sigismund Augustus. More than once, the family of the sovereign stayed in the manor, situated in the outskirts of Vilnius. In the middle of the 17th century the manor lost its royal status. It became the possession of the noblemen such as the Wołowiczowie family, the Pacowie family and the counts of the Tyzenhauz family. The territory was surrounded by large hunting areas and the pilgrimage route to the Vilnius Calvary passed through it. In the second half of the 18th century, the estate of the manor was divided into separate and independent homesteads. A part of the manor homestead, that was acquired by the Canons Regular monks of the Lateran Order, started to be called Tuskulėnai, and the other part of the former manor was referred to as Derevnictva homestead...
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The plan of Vilnius suburb Antakalnis. 1807.
Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania
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Tuskulėnai manor development plan. 1939 m.
National Museum of Lithuania
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Vilnius environs. Tuskulėnai. The beginning of the 1930s. Janas Bulhakas‘ photo.
Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
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Vilnius environs. Tuskulėnai. The beginning of the 1930s. Janas Bulhakas‘ photo.
Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
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Tuskulėnai manor house
Tuskulėnai manor house that has survived up to the present day was built around 1825 on the order of Vilnius Governor-General of the Russian Empire Alexander Rimski-Korsakov. The manor house is an example of a country residence of the period of Late Classicism. According to the data of historical sources, it was designed by one of the pioneers of Late Classicism in Lithuania, professor of architecture at Vilnius University Karol Podczaszyński.
Tuskulėnai manor house, situated on the right bank of the River Neris, is noted for its original volumetric-spatial composition. The manor house is one storied, of a rectangular plan, with a mezzanine to which mansard premises are attached on both sides. The facades of the manor house are symmetrical, of moderate forms, decorated with architectural details.
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The pediments of the central part of the eastern façade of the house, facing the River Neris, were decorated with stucco mouldings of plant motifs and on the roof there were three sculptures of antique mythological goddesses – Diana, Juno and Venus – which was a very rare adornment of residential buildings. The walls and the ceiling of the representative halls inside the house were amply decorated with paintings of the Classicism period, and the floor was made from embossed parquet. The stoves, decorated with ornate tiles, heated the premises.
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"Vilnius environs. Tuskulionys“. 19th century.
Lithography by L. P. Bišebua and A. Adam according to A. Žemaitis.
,Vilnius album: from Jonas Kazimieras Vilčinskis’ publications. Vilnius: Vaga, 1987.
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When the manor house was reconstructed at the end of the 19th century, the window openings and the place of the main entrance were partly changed; the stucco mouldings of the eastern façade and the sculptures, erected above the pediment, were destroyed.
Tuskulėnai manor house 1942–1943.
Antonovič-Bauer’s personal archive
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Tuskulėnai manor house 1942–1943.
Antonovič-Bauer’s personal archive
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After the Second World War the manor house fell into the hands of the Soviet repressive structures NKVD (MVD). Due to its improper maintenance the house lost its original appearance.
Tuskulėnai manor house.1996.
The Design and Restoration Institute
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Tuskulėnai manor house. 1996.
The Design and Restoration Institute
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Between 2005 and 2008, on the basis of historical, iconographic and archaeological investigations, Tuskulėnai manor house was restored: the constructions were reinforced, the original structure of the plan was recreated, mural and plafond painting of the Late Classicism period was uncovered and restored, the eastern façade was again decorated with the stucco mouldings of plant motifs and the sculptures of antique goddesses.
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Tuskulėnai manor house. The second decade of the 2000s.
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Tuskulėnų dvaro rūmai. XXI a. 2 deš.
Sculptures of Antique goddesses on Tuskulėnai manor house. The second decade of the 2000s.
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Tuskulėnų dvaro rūmai. XXI a. 2 deš.
The mural and plafond painting in Tuskulėnai manor house. The second decade of the 2000s.
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Tuskulėnai manor house. The second decade of the 2000s.
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Tuskulėnai manor house. The second decade of the 2000s.
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Tuskulėnai manor house. The second decade of the 2000s.
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The Officina of Tuskulėnai manor
The officina of the manor started to be built together with the manor house – in the first half of the 19th century, and it was reconstructed and extended at the end of the 19th century. The current building is a result of construction work that lasted for almost a century. All stages of the construction had an effect on the integrity of the architecture of the exterior.
The building consists of two separate clearly defined volumetric parts. The oldest of them is a part of the brick officina, designed by the architect of the Late Classicism style Karol Podczaszyński for the servants of the manor to live in. This part is decorated with the same décor elements as the manor house itself.
At the end of the 19th century, a wooden extension was built which had an outstanding original architecture of complex cornices and round semi-columns with tall windows, installed between them. Judging from a broad gate at the ends of the building, a conclusion can be drawn that there was a coach house or stables.
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The officina of Tuskulėnai manor. 1930.
Lithuanian National Museum
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In 1940 the officina, together with the cellars of Tuskulėnai manor house, were nationalised, and in 1944 it went to the repressive structures – NKVD (MVD). Later the spacious inside premises were divided into small rooms and the exterior of the building was overshadowed by a great number of other buildings.
The officina of Tuskulėnai manor. 1996.
The Design and Restoration Institute
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The officina of Tuskulėnai manor. 1996.
The Design and Restoration Institute
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The officina of Tuskulėnai manor. 1996.
The Design and Restoration Institute
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The officina of Tuskulėnai manor. The second decade of the 2000s.
Between 2005 and 2008 the officina of Tuskulėnai manor was restored. The original plan structure, the facades and their architectural details were recreated.
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The officina of Tuskulėnai manor. The second decade of the 2000s.
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The officina of Tuskulėnai manor. The second decade of the 2000s.
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The White Manor
In 1866 Tsar’s General Alexander Losev built himself a hunting lodge. That was a small one-storey building of simple composition with a cellar; it had no distinct features of style and was barely decorated.
Losiuvka panorama (Panorama of the White Manor). 1934. Juozapas Kamarauskas‘ watercolours.
Francišekas Valickis‘personal archive
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In 1928 the engineer geodesist, Head of Vilnius City Geological Service Franciszek Walicki bought a damaged hunting lodge with the outbuildings from the then owner Lidia Minakova and turned it into a summer cottage for his family. The building was reconstructed: new windows were inserted, a wooden veranda was built, water supply and electricity were installed. A terrace, decorated with elaborate carvings, was annexed to the eastern part of the building. The local population gave a name of the White Manor to the house as it was painted in light colour.
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White Manor. The third-fourth decades of the 1990s.
Francišekas Valickis’ personal archive
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A well maintained orchard was planted; well tended flower gardens and a kitchen garden were laid out in the Walicki family estate. An oval flower garden of intricate composition with specially designed stairs leading to it was built on the terrace, formed on the slope.
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The White Manor. The third-fourth decades of the 1990s.
Francišekas Valickis‘ personal archive
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In 1944, after Lithuania’s re-occupation by the Soviets, the White Manor was nationalised and turned into a summer cottage for the Soviet party nomenclature. Later a kindergarten for the children of the KGB workers functioned in it and there were flats for the KGB officers there.
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The White Manor. 1996.
The Design and Restoration Institute
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The White Manor. 1996.
The Design and Restoration Institute
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The White Manor. The second decade of the 2000s.
Between 2005 and 2008 the White Manor was restored.
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The White Manor. The second decade of the 2000s.
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The White Manor. The second decade of the 2000s.
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During the restoration work a valuable kiln, dating back to the 17th century, was found in the cellar of the building. It is thought that building materials, burned in that kiln, were carried across the River Neris to the building site of the Church of St. Peter and Paul and the monastery on the other bank of the river.
Dainius Strazdas’ personal archive
Building ceramics kiln of the 17th century.
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Chapel of St. Theresa
In 1930–1931 Franciszek Walicki built a chapel of St. Theresa in memory of his parents in the territory of Tuskulėnai manor, next to the White Manor. Famous Vilnius sculptor Piotr Hermanowicz was a consultant, surpervising the construction of the chapel, and the author of its interior. This chapel of harmonious proportions and compact volume with decoration elements is a unique pre-war construction of monolithic reinforced concrete. A small belfry with a gilded cross was built on the tiled roof of the chapel. The picture of St. Theresa, painted in oil by Marijonas Kulešas, was placed above the altar and an elaborate chandelier was hung there. A resting area and a bench were built next to the Chapel.
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The Chapel. 1931 Adomas Miendzyblocks’ watercolour.
Francišekas Valickis’ personal archive
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The consecration ceremony of the Chapel of St. Theresa on 17 September 1931.
On 17th September 1931, after obtaining permit from Vilnius Archbishop Metropoliten, the Chapel was consecrated and solemnly opened to the public. At weekends Catholics who lived nearby used to gather there for mass.
Francišekas Valickis‘ personal archive
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The consecration ceremony of the Chapel of St. Theresa on 17 September 1931.
Francišekas Valickis‘ personal archive
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The Chapel of St Teresa in 1996.
In 1944, after the White Manor had been nationalised, the Chapel of St Theresa was neglected and lost its sacral function.
The Design and Restoration Institute
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Between 2005 and 2008 the Chapel was restored, its altar and the cross of the belfry were recreated.
The Chapel of St. Theresa. The second decade of the 2000s.
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The Chapel-Columbarium
The Chapel-Columbarium is an underground construction in the form of a burial mound. A cone-shaped chapel is arranged inside it and a gallery of crypts for burying human remains surrounds it. The remains of 717 people, killed in the NKGB (MGB) internal prison in Vilnius between 1944 and 1947, were put to rest there on All Soul’s Day in 2004.
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Authors of the Chapel-Columbarium are Vytautas Edmundas Čekanauskas, Algirdas Umbrasas, Lina Masliukienė, Gitenis Umbrasas, Gediminas Karalius, Marius Šaliamoras and Jūras Balkevičius. The project commenced in 1996 and the Chapel-Columbarium was completed in 2003–2004.
Construction of the Chapel-Columbarium. The first decade of the 2000s.
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Architect Marius Pranas Šaliamoras’ personal archive.
The Chapel-Columbarium. The second decade of the 2000s.
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Small coffins containing the remains in the Chapel-Columbarium. The first decade of the 2000s.
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Vault mosaic Trinity. The first decade of the 2000s.
In 2009 vault mosaic Trinity, created by painter monumentalist Gitenis Umbrasas, adorned the dome of the Chapel-Columbarium in which the wings of three birds – the swan, falcon and owl – symbolising fate, happiness and freedom are interwoven.
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The sculpture by Gediminas Karalius, called the crown of sufferings. The second decade of the 2000s.
In the same year the crown, created by the sculptor Gediminas Karalius, was placed on the top of the burial mound shaped hill.
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This construction, intended for the memorial and sacral purpose, was designed taking into consideration the specifics of the relief – on the side of the park it can be viewed as a burial mound-shaped hill and the main entrance with a deepened portal is built in its steep slope on the side of the river. The main building material of the Chapel-Columbarium is concrete which is used as its construction and décor: this material is best suited for the underground building due to its durability and it symbolises the tragic fate of the people, laid to rest there.
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Chapel-Columbarium. The second decade of the 2000s.
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The exhibition was arranged by the employees of the of the Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania
Elena Matulionienė, Aleksandras Nesvat, Beata Stanevičienė ir Dovilė Lauraitienė.
Send your comments and additional information to the following e-mail: elena.matulioniene@genocid.lt
