We know many districts of Vilnius at first glance, but we know very little about their history. City districts often hide many faces, and Viršuliškės is no exception. What did the district look like before the 8s? How did Viršuliškės change after the first apartment buildings appeared? You can find out all this by visiting the exhibition "The History of Viršuliškės" at the "Mada" shopping center and registering for free excursions that invite you to discover and get to know this district of Vilnius.
The district hides an interesting past
“When I worked at the Vilnius City Museum, I had the idea to explore not only the Old Town and the surrounding districts, but also those that are further away from the center. They are all interesting and have their own history, and we chose Viršuliškis as one of the smallest and most concentrated districts. We realized that apart from “Mada” and V. Kančiauskas’ sculpture “Giesmė”, which everyone simply calls Gaidis, we know nothing more about Viršuliškis,” says the author of the exhibition, Vilnius University Povilas Andrius Stepavičius, PhD student at the Faculty of History, employee of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Department of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania.
In the archives – forgotten images from history
When collecting material for the exhibition, the historian was perhaps most interested in finding out what Viršuliškės looked like before the 8s, when the first buildings were built. apartment buildings home
“First came books, then archives. This district is grateful that a lot of information about construction, architects, and their projects can be found in archives. They also include photographs taken from airplanes. One of them is exhibited at the exhibition, depicting the village of Viršuliškės in July 1944. When researching the pre-war and war periods, the Polish-language press of that time was the most helpful,” says PA Stepavičius.
They also spoke to residents of the area.
In preparation for the exhibition, the historian and his colleagues interviewed 25 residents of Viršuliškės: "Almost everyone did not know that the current territory of the 2nd trolleybus and bus park and the surrounding area, which includes the Press House and the modern apartment buildings standing nearby, belong to the territory of the old Viršuliškės village. One photograph, which can be seen in the exhibition, depicts Viršuliškės in the 8s - both the old village and part of the newly built district are visible in the background."
Shopping mall – a space for learning
According to Sigita Stasiūnienė, director of the Mada shopping center, the goal of this exhibition is to offer visitors a space where people not only shop, but also discover and broaden their horizons.
"History lives not only in museums and books, it lives here, in our everyday lives, in our residential areas. We are happy to contribute to the knowledge of Viršuliškės and promote community in an informal, accessible environment for everyone. The exhibition invites you to learn about the past at a time when the shopping center itself is preparing for a new stage - renewal and reconstruction are coming soon, and this exhibition presents the vision of the future shopping center," says S. Stasiūnienė.
Tours invite you to travel in time
The shopping center is also giving away 4 free tours of Viršuliške: the first tour took place on June 12, the remaining three will take place on June 19, 26, and July 3.
"The tours will be led by guide Andrius Pavelko, who has been intensively exploring Vilnius for several decades and has more than 30 thematic tours in his arsenal. I think this is a great opportunity to get to know the face of Viršuliškės in more depth. By inviting people to tours, we want to encourage people to ask questions, share memories, and create a common memory," says S. Stasiūnienė.
The history of the district's greenery has not changed.
Although the former rural area, where many new buildings stand today, has changed most noticeably in Viršuliškės, according to PA Stepavičius, the district still remains what the settlers who moved here in the 8s wanted: "They wanted Viršuliškės to be a green district and I'm glad it remained that way - there are plenty of places here where it's nice to sit and hang out."
According to the historian, it is gratifying that people are interested in the history of their districts, it is fun that they come to listen to lectures, participate in excursions, ask questions, share photos even from their personal archives, and want to discover and learn.
"We hope that this exhibition will not only broaden our horizons, but also inspire us to be more interested in our environment, its changes, people and their stories," says S. Stasiūnienė.
All free tours will take place at the same time – 18 p.m. As the number of places is limited, we encourage you to register in advance by email. [email protected] or by phone 05 241 6583. The free exhibition "The History of Viršuliškės" is open from June 10 to July 13 on the second floor of the shopping center.
