June

According to the minutes of KAUET meeting of 2009 05 22
www.kamane.lt, 2009 06 04

Final restoration of the castle on the remaining foundations

South-eastern part of the castle

Castle yard

South-eastern wall of the castle

In brief: What is the future of Kaunas Castle? Should the remaining authentic features be restored or should a kitsch variant of Vilnius Royal Palace be created? In order to protect the most important historical sign of Kaunas from political speculations or other mad ideas, an unusually extensive meeting of Kaunas Architecture and Urbanism Experts’ Council (KAUET) was organised.

“Restoration of Kaunas Castle eastern tower with walls and bastion”. Technical project offers. Organiser: Culture Heritage Division of the City Development Department of Kaunas City Municipality Administration. Design created by KPRPI and P.A.R.Y.Ž.I.U.S UAB, project author – Kęstutis Mikšys.

The meeting was chaired by Gintaras Prikockis, it was also attended by representatives of the public association Pilis (Castle), representatives of Restauracija UAB, representative of Kaunas Historic Association L.Saldukas, chairperson of the Joint Democratic Movement, Kaunas Branch Kuckaitė.

According to G.Prikockis, the 1st stage of the technical project of “Kaunas Castle Restoration and Adaptation to Public Needs”, which is co-funded by the European Economic Area and Norwegian Financial Mechanisms is presented in the meeting. The object is very important to Kaunas. The study of possibilities to reconstruct Kaunas Castle was analysed in autumn of 2006.

K.Mikšys presents his project of restoring Kaunas Castle. As it is not known how the upper part of towers looked like, it was decided not to recreate what was not known but to use architectural means in the work. The project of restoration was prepared according to analogues of castles of the 14th-15th century. Therefore, the task is to restore the silhouette of the castle, its volume – in part, its size and to perform the partial conservation and restoration of the castle remains.

The participants of the meeting raised various questions regarding the restoration plan details, the representatives of the association Pilis tried to find out why the project authors refused the reconstruction of the entire castle. After all ideas and offers were expressed, the decision was passed by the experts’ council.

DECISION

1. The present project of restoration of Kaunas Castle eastern tower with walls and bastion and the principles of further development should be approved of. The project developers should take into regard the following notes of experts:
1.1. More attention should be paid to tidying of the castle place: restoration of defensive trenches, formation of the quay. The most important is to adjust the castle place for public needs (9 experts).
1.2. It is recommended to restore the fragments of the castle silhouette from lighter materials, which could not be mistaken for authentic materials used in the castle (4 experts).
1.3. It is offered to improve the expression of the tower and to search for signs of contemporary times (3 experts).
1.4. It is recommended to elaborate the function of the castle (3 experts).
1.5. It is believed that no big areas should be restored – only the zones that could be used for public purpose (3 experts).
1.6. It is offered to restore the castle place without water. The creation of park from the castle place is a beautiful initiative. Active life should take place here; therefore, the function is very important (2 experts).

Prepared by Jūratė Merkevičienė