The Reformed Garden opens - a magnificent monument will also be erected (event program)

Today, on July 14, the Reformati garden is opened - another cozy green space in the heart of Vilnius. Here, where there is now a circular stepped foot of the monument with a black polished granite fountain in the middle, in the near future there will be a monument to the pioneers of the Reformation and Lithuanian writing - ten most famous XNUMXth-century poets. personalities.

These distinguished men were able to creatively take advantage of the opportunities provided by the interaction of Lithuanian, German, Polish, and Czech cultures and creatively laid the foundations of our culture in the New Age. Some preached the ideas of modernizing the structure of society, others defended the Motherland with diplomacy and weapons, others worked patiently to create Lithuanian writing and new layers of the Lithuanian language.

The monument will be erected to Mikalojas Radvilas Juodaj - defender of the Independent State of Lithuania, promoter of social and cultural progress; To Mikaloj Radvilas Rudaja - Voivode of Vilnius, Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Grand Etemon; To Abraham Kulviečius - the founder of the Reformation in Lithuania; Stanislaus Rapolionis - the first famous Lithuanian theologian, translator of hymns into Lithuanian; to Martyn Mažvydas - the author of the first Lithuanian book; Baltramiejs Vilents – creator, translator and publisher of Lithuanian literature; Jonas Bretkūnas – translator of the Bible into Lithuanian, creator of Lithuanian literature, historian; Andrii Volanas - the ideologist, theologian, and one of the most famous political publicists of the Reformation in Lithuania; Merkel Petkevičius - who paid special attention to the teaching of the Lithuanian language, prepared and published the first Lithuanian Evangelical Reformed book at his own expense in the printing house he founded in Vilnius, Jokūbs Morkūnas - the first Lithuanian printer, translator of the postil into Lithuanian and publisher.

Each of them will be dedicated to a granite column with visual and informative texts prepared by the most famous Lithuanian scientists - researchers of the Reformation: cultural historian Ingė Lukšaitė; Dainora Pociūtė, Lithuanian literary and cultural expert, full member of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences; Lithuanian linguist Ona Aleknavičienė; Lithuanian literary historian, bibliographer, translator Sigitas Narbutas.

The Lithuanian Society for the History and Culture of the Reformation (LRIKD) took the initiative to build a monument to the pioneers of the Reformation and Lithuanian writing in Vilnius. - public, non-confessional, non-political organization that cooperates with the Vilnius city municipality. The idea has been matured since 1996. This is evidenced by an outdoor boulder with an inscription near the monument site.

The authors of the monument are sculptor prof. Dalia Matulaitė and architect prof. Jūras Balkevičius, whose project in 2017 Ministry of Culture in the public competition organized jointly with the Lithuanian Artists' Union and LRIKD, the commission recognized the winner of the first place.

"The works performed by the contractor organization Eikos statyba of the Reform garden and the monument manufacturer and builder Žybartuva show that today we can state the fact that the construction works of the monument are halfway through," says LRIKD chairman Donatas Balčiauskas. - Considering the difficult pandemic situation of the recent period and taking into account the financial possibilities of the sponsors, LRIKD applied to the Vilnius City Municipality with a request to extend the deadline for the completion of the monument's construction until the fourth quarter of 2022. The request was granted."

Support providers, donations of 5000 euros or more will be entered in the list of patrons on the pedestal of the monument. Funds for the construction of the monument can be transferred to a special account: Lithuanian Reformation History and Culture Society; Company code 190763313AB SEB bankas, account LT69 7044 0600 0090 8619; To the monument "Pioneers of the Reformation and Lithuanian writing".

Opening program

The opening starts at 18:XNUMX. We will welcome the renewed garden with joy:

Performances by the string quintet "Intermezzo" will be performed (performance starts at 18:20 p.m.)
Yoga classes for those who missed work (19:00 p.m. and 20:15 p.m.)
For the little ones – soap bubble blowing workshop (from 18:30 p.m.)
Food vans will be waiting for the hungry (all evening!)