Pasivaikščiojimas po pradingusį miestą: Kaunas Stanislovo Lukošiaus žvilgsniu

LTAlbumas „Pasivaikščiojimas po pradingusį Kauną“ skirtas populiarinti Kauno miesto muziejuje saugomą gausų fotografo Stanislovo Lukošiaus (1906-1997) archyvą, atskleidžiant jo kultūrinę ir istorinę vertę. Pirmai platesnei pažinčiai parinkta leidinio tema - XX a. 6-9 dešimtmečiais pakitęs Kauno istorinio centro kraštovaizdis. Jame išvysime Senamiesčio ir Naujamiesčio vaizdus, kurių jau nebėra, - senieji pastatai ir kvartalai užleido vietą naujoms statyboms, gatvių jungtims, aikštėms, laiptams. Kai kurie buvo neatpažįstamai perstatyti ar restauruoti, kiti pakeitę funkciją tapo primiršti. Ieškant pradingusių objektų irjų istorijų ši knyga nuves mus penkiais maršrutais nuo pilies iki Nepriklausomybės aikštės. Pateikta informacija turėtų papildyti Įprastus kelionių vadovus ir žinynus, kuriuose daugiau pasakojama apie išlikusį kultūros paveldą. Kažkam ji primins vaikystės ar jaunystės laikus, kitus nustebins ir paskatins į tas pačias miesto erdves pažvelgti kitu žvilgsniu. [Anotacija knygoje]

ENThis is the first publication from a planned series of albums dedicated to presenting the rich archive of photographer Stanislovas Lukošius (1906-1997), which is being kept in the Kaunas City Museum, professionally divided into several themes. This first album includes a selection of images of the “lost Kaunas” capturing spaces in Senamiestis and Naujamiestis neighbourhoods that have undergone radical changes during the Soviet occupation. Stanislovas Lukošius was born in the Samogitian village of šarkalnė. Raised in a patriotically-oriented noble family, he was sent away to attend a newly established Lithuanian gymnasium in Telšiai in 1918. He moved to Kaunas in 1926, studied at the Construction Department of the Technical Faculty of the University of Lithuania, and worked as a construction contractor. In the 1930s, he dedicated himself more intensely to photography but at first he was more inclined towards making family- and panoramic photographs. His sizeable archival collection of negatives and photographs was lost during the flood of 1946. Since his two brothers were part of the anti-Soviet resistance movement, his life was tense-their family had to stay in hiding during the major deportation operations, and it was only after Stalin’s death that they could breathe a sigh of relief. The “epoch” of Stanislovas Lukošius as the most famous 20th century chronicler of changing Kaunas starts at around 1956 and continues until the beginning of the 1990s. While working at the building planning institutes, he used to photograph not only the results of their work - building sites, newly erected factories, shops, cafes, and blocks of flats - but often also the situation in a given area before the works were carried out, including old buildings on the verge of being demolished; and in the city’s historical centre, he would capture architectural heritage in general.As we can see from the descriptions of the photographs in the manuscript albums that he compiled, he was interested in the history of streets and buildings and viewed the city through the eyes of a local historian. By taking plentiful photographs of objects unrelated to the direct task at hand, during the Cold War, he risked attracting the attention and causing the displeasure of the KGB authorities. Even though Kaunas remained relatively undamaged during World War II, and the demolition of old buildings was precluded after the end of the war due to the shortage of accommodation, in later years, “shoddily-made” buildings began to be demolished to make space for new buildings designed for civic or residential purposes, for streets to undergo widening, for squares with monuments commemorating the leaders of the time, and for factories which had to demonstrate the ostensible advantages of the socialist era. Thus not only were many individual old buildings destroyed, but entire blocks too. Many of them were far from being architecturally valuable - it is not the purpose of this album to estimate the exact historical or aesthetic worth of these buildings. Instead, this album serves as a reminder of spaces in the city that have undergone significant changes and become almost unrecognisable as a result, which once used to accommodate wooden huts alongside brick ones, a century-old marketplace, a pier painted blue, the remnants of a Soviet urban sauna, an arch bridge built by German prisoners of war, and many other fragments of the city swallowed up by the stream of time. [From the publication]