Šiauliai streets tell their stories. Vytauto Street

Vytauto Street is among the central ones today. Previously, this street was the edge of the city. In the city plan of 1852, Vytauto Street was called Posadnaja ulica (Priemiesčio Street), and in everyday language, the name would turn into Posadnoji. It was inhabited by urban farmers.

In 1871, the street was named Griaznaja ulica (Purvinoji Street) in the design plan. The townspeople did not quite like the newly proposed name, so the old one was used almost until World War I.

In honour of field marshal Paul von Hindenburg, Germans baptized this street in his name.

After the war, the name Posadnoji was restored.

In 1924, the name Pagyžių Street was approved, although many residents found it unfit. It was not until 1940, after the death of Kazimieras Venclauskis, a lawyer who lived on the street, that the city council named the street after him.

When the German occupation began, the name of the social democrat K. Venclauskis was inappropriate; therefore, in 1942, the street was named after Vytautas. The latter name remained unchanged during the Soviet period.

Kuršėnkelis (Kuršėnai Road)

During the occupation of Imperial Germany, the current Vilniaus Street in Šiauliai was broken into two parts: of Šeduva and Kuršėnai. When the city was occupied by Imperial Germany, the Germans divided one of the city’s longest streets into two parts: the section from Lake Prūdelis to the current Tilžės Street was called Szadow Strasse (Šeduvos Street), and from Tilžės Street to the Hill of Rebels, Kurszany Strasse (Kuršėnų Street).

Jonas Krikščiūnas Jovaras

A Lithuanian poet, booksmuggler, one of the most active distributors of forbidden press during 1897-1904. The participant of the revolution between 1905-1907. Was repeatedly persecuted and arrested by the police for active activities. In 1918, the revolutionaries elected him to the Council of Kairiai Workers’ Representatives. He kept a bookstore for young people, which was also used by Juozas Grušas as a child. During 1911-1945, lived in Kalniškiai, was engaged in agricultural work. In 1946, moved to Šiauliai.

Started writing poems being encouraged by Povilas Višinskis. Most poems were written between 1904 and 1910, which is why they reflect both youthful moods and the revolutionary pathos of that time. When the revolution began in 1905, agitation phraseology of social democratic press began to prevail in poetry. Many of his poems, such as “Ko liūdi, berželi?”, “Tylus, tylus vakarėlis” have become folk songs.

The house where the poet lived at Vytauto St. 116 remained.

The Venclauskiai House-Museum

The Venclauskiai house was built in 1926. The author of the house design is the famous architect Karolis Reisonas.

During the interwar period, the people of Šiauliai called this building the White House. The building belonged to the Venclauskiai family until 1944. During World War II, S. Venclauskienė and her daughters harboured Jews of Šiauliai in their home, hiding them on the basement floor and in the attic.

Since 1957, the building has been handed over for the use of Šiauliai Aušra Museum. In 1991, Danutė and Gražbylė Venclauskaitės donated their parents’ house “for eternal use for museum purposes”.

The Owners of the Venclauskiai House Kazimieras Venclauskis and Stanislava Jakševičiūtė

K. Venclauskis graduated with a degree in law from the University of Tartu and worked in Riga. In 1908, he moved to Šiauliai to practice law. He met his future wife Stanislava Jakševičiūtė (1874-1958) in 1902 and got married in Riga. Both were active people involved in Lithuanianness activities, participated in various national revival campaigns, were among the organizers of the evening parties gegužinės in Šiauliai district, Aleksandrija. Under cover of the evening parties were people were dancing, singing, intellectuals secretly spoke about the future national state being built. K. Venclauskis was the first burgomaster of Šiauliai, a member of the Constitutive Seimas, First and Second Seimas.

S. Jakševičiūtė – the first Lithuanian professional actress and director. Graduated from St. Petersburg and having returned to Šiauliai, performed in the Russian theatre troupe, organized activities herself.

In 1899, she directed the first Lithuanian performance of Juozas Vilkutaitis-Keturakis “Amerika pirtyje” (“America in the Bathhouse”) and played the main role. The performance was shown in Palanga during the press ban, and in 1904, it was also brought to Šiauliai.

In 1904, the situation was still complicated, it seemed that the performance will not take place in Šiauliai. Thanks to the eloquence of the Venclauskiai, the performance was shown, and it was a great success.

Another interesting fact is that in the performances directed by Stanislava, not only she but also the famous lawyer K. Venclauskis played. He was a serious, solid man but also had an artist’s vein, his wife managed to involve him in her initiatives.

S. Venclauskienė was also an active public figure. She took great care of children, participated in the activities of various societies, was a member of Šiauliai City Council.

The Venclauskiai Family

One hundred children raised, educated and let out into the world is only one merit of the Venclauskiai family. Foster children were surrounded by the Venclauskiai with such warmth and love that their daughters did not feel being exceptional in any way; one of them only at the age of 10 or 12 found out that she was a real daughter of the Venclauskiai, not a foster child. Although K. Venclauskis tried to limit the number of foster children and asked not to have more than 30 children sitting at the table at the same time, this rule was not always successfully followed.

The Venclauskiai sheltered, raised and let out into the world about 100 children. This large family was more Stanislava’s initiative – Kazimieras himself might not have chosen such a large family, but he was a democratic and tolerant man, so he supported his wife’s choice. Stanislava would admit children to her home without any selection. Maybe an outsider would say that gifted children should have been taken, educated, but Stanislava did not understand that. She would shelter those in need without any questions.

Children in the Venclauskiai family felt very good, they were very warmly received, and a democratic atmosphere prevailed at home. Stanislava not only provided housing for her foster children but it was very important for her to provide children with science and knowledge. She had great opportunities for that: when the boys’ gymnasium was being built, Stanislava’s father donated part of the plot to its construction. An agreement was concluded that two generations of this family will have the right to study at the gymnasium for free. Stanislava brought the desire to care for others from her family. The Jakševičiai also took care of several homeless children, it can be said that Stanislava inherited goodness from her parents.

The City’s First Hospital – Šiauliai Jewish Hospital

The Jewish community opened a modern hospital on what is now Vytauto Street. It is known that its construction was supported by Chaimas and Dora Frenkeliai. The hospital was spacious and light, the building was equipped with water supply, the patients were cared for by merciful nurses, and the poor were cared for by a care society established here. The entire hospital complex consisted of a two-story brick building and two other wooden buildings housing a pharmacy, a chemical laboratory, a laundry room, and premises for storing inventory.

During the interwar period, the Jewish community decided not to use the hospital only for treating Jews; therefore, the building was rented to the city municipality, providing conditions for treating people of other nationalities. There were 5 doctors working in the eighty-bed hospital that treated about 1,5 thousand patients every year; treatment was paid.

The Cents Room. Farewell to the National Currency – Litas

As the introduction of the euro was approaching, artists and representatives of non-governmental organizations implemented the idea of a monument to the Lithuanian currency – the Cents Room. During the events of Šiauliai Days on August 29-30, 2014 and Šiauliai Nights on September 12-13, people of Šiauliai gathered carrying cents and litas and full of ideas on how to use that money creatively. Everyone who brought a cent or litas of any denomination and contributed to the campaign was entered in the book. The finished book with 2500 signatures of Šiauliai residents and guests from other Lithuanian cities, foreign countries Latvia, Germany, Portugal, Poland, China, etc. was left in the Cents Room for future generations.

The director of Šiauliai University Library Gražina Lamanauskienė, who agreed to help implement the idea of the Cents Room, designated a room in the library. The project involved all library staff, university students. Cents were also glued by kindergarten children together with their educators, national defence volunteers, pupils, elderly people, representatives of non-governmental organizations, members of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, members of Šiauliai City Council, staff of Šiauliai City Municipality. People from all Lithuania came to glue cents, and those who did not have such possibility sent cents by post.

Walls and ceiling of the room were glued with cents, a symbolic throne was built too. A huge one litas coin and the Lithuania’s map were hung above it. The whole area of the map was covered with white cents, settlements were glued with coins of 10, 20 and 50 cents, while cities were designated by metal litas coins.

Another exhibit of the Cents Room is the Vytis Cross, made from ten litas silver coins.

On March 5, 2015, coins of the Cents Room were counted – it took 1 hour and 40 minutes for 14 students of Šiauliai Vocational Training Centre. A special committee was set up to record the results. It was announced that the Cents Room was made from 157 130 coins comprised of 93 437 pieces of 1 cent coins, 31 145 pieces of 2 cent coins, 29 877 pieces of 5 cent coins 606 pieces of 10 cent coins, 414 pieces of 20 cent coins, 192 pieces of 50 cent coins, and 52 pieces of 1 litas coins. The total value of coins is 3 305 litas and 65 cents. Protocols signed by the committee were passed on to the Lithuanian Records Registration Agency Factum.

The Waterworks Museum

The construction of the water supply tower began in 1939 according to the sketches of the Professor P. Morkūnas and some of A. Janulionis’ working drawings. During the Nazi occupation, the construction of the water tower was suspended. At the end of June of 1945, the construction works were resumed. The tower construction works were led by the engineer Jonas Vencius. The intermittent tower construction lasted nine years, until 1948.

In 1948, the tower was filled with water from the first Lepšiai Water Supply Station in Šiauliai, which was put in operation on October 30, 1948, which is the official date of establishing waterworks. Until 1991, the water tower was used for water supply. In 1991, it was disconnected from the water supply network.

In 1974, to perpetuate changes in waterworks, achievements of people working here, the waterworks museum was founded on the ground floor of the tower. In 1983, it was granted a name of a public museum.

The museum is unique in that its exposition circles around the perimeter of the round tower in the area of about 100 square meters. Rich and varied museum exposition reflects the company’s history, development of the city’s water supply and sewerage, modernization of the company’s facilities, and traditions of the company’s staff.

Photographs of the early 20 century, which can be considered the rarity of the museum, are among the most interesting exhibits. Relics do not only tell both about water supply and sewerage construction process but also reveal part of Šiauliai history. No less interesting are collected and preserved work tools, instruments, models of facilities.

The Cross on the Façade of the Water Tower

The repair works of Šiauliai water supply tower revealed a long-kept secret – a cross hidden under plaster. The construction of the water supply tower was started in 1939 according to the sketches of the Professor P. Morkūnas and some of A. Janulionis’ working drawings. The works were interrupted by the war, and the construction of the water tower was resumed in 1945.

The construction of the red brick tower, begun between the wars, was continued with light bricks. According to the recollections of V. Rimkus, moving from one colour to another, the bricklayers laid a red cross facing Vasario 16-osios Street. The masons built the cross as a contradiction to the atheist propaganda – a symbol of resistance to the occupation. The cross was there until someone noticed and later, plastered it.

18
May
2022

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