As part of the week-long European Heritage Days programme, visitors will have the opportunity to see the Kaunas Central Post Office building – abandoned for several years and closed to the public. After the restoration works, which will begin shortly, one of Lithuania’s most iconic buildings will become home to the National Institute of Architecture.
On Thursday, everyone is welcome to take part free of charge in the guided tour and discussion “Heritage as a Partner: (Not) the Last Date”, organised by the Ąžuolynas Library and the National Institute of Architecture. Tours during 15:00–19:00 will be organised in groups of 15 on a first-come, first-served basis.
Everyone who would like to see architect Feliksas Vizbaras’ interwar modernist masterpiece before the most significant changes in its history are welcome at the former Kaunas Central Post Office entrance, at Laisvės Ave. 102. No registration is required.
An interwar architectural landmark
The Kaunas Central Post Office building is one of the most important representative structures of the interwar period. Although the need for a new post office building became evident as early as 1924, the final decision was taken only in 1929, as the commemoration of the anniversary of Vytautas the Great’s death approached.
The initial proposal in 1929 was prepared by Kleopas Gaigalis, an engineer at the Post Administration, but shortly afterwards engineer Feliksas Vizbaras. The architect designed a building that integrates organically into the development of the city’s main street, combining modernist architecture with explorations of the so-called “national style”.
According to the architect himself, the design sought to meet “the requirements of modern construction today: more space and light, a clear layout of premises, and the avoidance of unnecessary so-called architectural embellishments.”
Construction of the Kaunas Central Post Office building was completed at the end of 1931. By the end of that year, the city’s main post office moved in, followed in early 1932 by the Post Administration of the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The official opening began on the morning of 8 January with the building blessed by Rev Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas.
The Ministry of Culture’s newest institution
In 2020, Lietuvos paštas announced that the building, in poor condition, would be sold at auction. Proactive residents of Kaunas urged the city and national authorities to take action more quickly, proposing potential uses and visions for the site.
Later, the Ministry of Culture purchased the building and decided to establish the National Institute of Architecture there. The plans include spaces for exhibitions and educational activities, conference halls, a professional literature reading room, and a café.
As part of the conservation and adaptation (construction) works, the worn engineering systems and courtyard infrastructure will be renewed, the historic building itself will undergo comprehensive restoration, and a contemporary cultural centre of national and international significance will be established, dedicated to architectural art and history.
The project for the conservation and construction works at the Kaunas Central Post Office was prepared in 2025 by UAB Projektavimo ir restauravimo institutas (architect Marija Nemunienė). The total value of the building’s renovation design and construction works is approximately EUR 16.5 million.
The National Institute of Architecture is expected to open its doors to visitors in early 2028. It is headed by the founder of the Contemporary Art Centre in Vilnius. Under his leadership, the CAC became one of the most important contemporary art institutions in Eastern Europe, helping to shape the international careers of several generations of Lithuanian artists, curators, and art historians.
