A Walking Tour through the Old Town’s Avenues with Historian Vilmantas Dunderis

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We invite you to join us on a walking tour through Alytus’ avenues and discover the city’s interwar architectural heritage.

Following the restoration of Lithuanian statehood, land reform became one of the country’s key priorities. It sought to provide farmers with land and reduce the influence of large landowners, and as part of it, 300 hectares of forest and land were taken from the Alytus Manor estate and allocated for the development of the city. During the First World War, much of the forest was cut down, giving the area the name Kelmyne (Area of Stumps). In 1922, engineer and technician Zenonas Rackevičius prepared a plan for a new part of the city, which was revised several times by the Lithuanian Reconstruction Committee of the Ministry of the Interior. The new neighbourhood eventually became known as Naujamiestis (New Town), today a part of the Old Town.

In 1933, Alytus became a resort town. The Dzūkija Forest District transferred part of the woodland along the Nemunas River to the city, where a new summer resort neighbourhood named Kurortas (Resort) began to take shape.C ity engineers Stasys Taškūnas and, later, Vytautas Trečiokas were responsible for planning its streets and overseeing development. Under their supervision, boulevard-style streets were created, and thanks to the abundance of leafy avenues, interwar Alytus rivalled Kaunas.

The streets of the new neighbourhoods were intended to evoke the city’s historical past and national identity. In the northern part of Naujamiestis, they were named after historical and legendary figures, in the south – after towns and settlements of the Dzūkija region, and in the Kurortas neighbourhood, the streets were given the names of prominent cultural figures.

The walk begins at the former primary school designed by architect Stasys Taškūnas, now home to A. Ramanauskas-Vanagas Gymnasium. The route will then continue along Birutės Street and Margio and Vytauto Avenues, where we will visit another building designed by S. Taškūnas. From there, we will head to Šarūno Street to see a private house designed by V. Trečiokas, and returning to Birutės Street, we will visit another primary school designed by him. The final part of the route takes us along Maironio and Gardino Streets, bringing our journey through Alytus’ interwar avenues to a close.